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TH1128: On-Line

Teaching Notes

PROVERBS

Please turn in your Bibles to Proverbs chapter 21, as we continue our study through the Word of God.

PROVERBS 21

VERSE 1

1. Solomon is saying that God directs leaders just as channels or canals direct water. God raises people up and He brings them down, He is sovereign. Now if you don't believe in the sovereignty of God, chances are when something happens in your life you will refer to it as being "good luck" or "bad luck" depending on the circumstances. There is no such thing as luck, God is in control. It is as King Nebuchadnezzar said after he came to his senses and turned to the true and living God. In Daniel 4:34-35 we read the king speak the following of the Lord, "...For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, And His kingdom is from generation to generation. All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; He does according to His will in the army of heaven And among the inhabitants of the earth. No one can restrain His hand Or say to Him, 'What have You done?'"

VERSE 2

1. Man looks at the outward and if it profits him then it is good. God looks at the heart, the motivation behind our actions. You see, without Christ we can justify almost anything in our life. The problem is we don't set the standard, God does, and outside of Christ all our righteousness, all our good works, are like filthy rags.

VERSE 3

1. We just spoke on man's outward actions and how God is not interested in them, He searches the heart. God does not want you doing all the religious activities, all those works, He wants a relationship with you and that begins in the heart. And that relationship must be based in obedience to His Word and in truth! It is as David said as he confessed his sin with Bathsheba before the Lord, in Psalm 51:16-17 we read "For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart; These, O God, You will not despise."

VERSE 4

1. Whatever is the passion of your heart will be reflected on your face or your appearance. The word for "plowing" can also refer to a lamp or light. In other words you will radiate either the love of God, or the love of the flesh which is manifested with haughtiness and pride.

VERSE 5

1. Years ago my wife wanted to earn some extra money by working out of our home. Our children were small and we did not want to leave them with a sitter while she worked out of the home. So she saw these ads of how to make money in the home, lots of money. And, against my better judgment, we sent in the money and found out the only ones making this kind of money were the ones putting the ads in the paper. Solomon is saying to us that we need to plan out what we are going to do and plan it carefully, don't just act hastily or you will find devastating results.

VERSE 6

1. Dishonest gain will not be a blessing but it will ensnare you into its evil path that will eventually lead to death.

VERSE 7

1. The life span of those in gangs, those that are involved with violent activity is a lot shorter than the average person, those that are living righteously.

VERSE 8

1. When a person is doing wrong they have to lie, cheat, cover-up so their evil actions won't be manifested. For the upright, they don't have to hide anything for their actions are right.

VERSE 9

1. To live on the housetop meant you were open to the elements of nature; the rain, cold, wind and-so-on. And Solomon, having 700 wives and 300 concubines felt it would be better to endure the storms from nature than it would be to try and endure the storms that were raging inside the home. He said in Proverbs 19:13 "...And the contentions of a wife are a continual dripping."

VERSE 10

1. This is the type of person that is addicted to evil. That inward drive to do evil is manifested in actions and affects the lives of those around them.

VERSE 11

1. The idea here is that the scoffer may not learn from his mistakes, but when he is punished, those witnessing that will learn from him. Also, the wise will listen to instruction, learn from it and apply it to their lives.

VERSE 12

1. We see the wicked get away with so much today, and we feel it isn't fair. If anyone feels that way, then you don't have a proper perspective of the situation. The wicked are not going to get away with anything. Asaph, in Psalm 73 had the same problem. He saw the wicked prosper and he struggled. How did he get re-focused? In Psalm 73:17 we are told "Until I went into the sanctuary of God; Then I understood their end." When he spent time with God he had a proper perspective of the situation - the wicked will not get away with anything, they will be judged for their evil. Don't lose perspective of things, for in these days it is easy to do when you see evil people prospering.

VERSE 13

1. The implication is if we ignore those in need, then when we are in need our requests will be ignored.

VERSE 14

1. Now Solomon is not endorsing bribes, but just stating a fact. Another way to look at this is that we can send flowers, candy and they can help dispel anger between our spouse and us. There is nothing wrong with that, in fact I encourage it.

VERSE 15

1. There is joy in serving the Lord. At least there should be. A love to do what is right should be the desire of our heart. You see, there is a joy in knowing where we are going, but there will be horror for those that reject Christ. Paul put it this way in II Thessalonians 1:6-10, "since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe, because our testimony among you was believed."

VERSE 16

1. Outside of Christ people are nothing more than spiritual zombies, dead in their trespasses and sins. When people reject the truth, move away from it, instead of being around the living, they are living among the dead.

VERSE 17

1. What is the passion of your heart? You can tell by just watching and listening to people. If you love pleasure you will be spiritually poor and never satisfied. Think about this for a minute. One example is seen in sports. It seems that to continue to have that rush you have to keep pushing it more and more to the limit. David said in Psalm 17:15 and 27:4 what he was satisfied in. We read "As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness...One thing I have desired of the LORD, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD, And to inquire in His temple." May that be our hearts desire, to be conformed into the image of God and to dwell with Him forever! What more do you need?

VERSE 18

1. God will deal with the unrighteous, no longer will the righteous suffer at their hands.

VERSE 19

1. Poor Solomon, he has moved from the rooftop to the wilderness now.

VERSE 20

1. The wise servant saves, plans his days while the fool spends all he has and is left with nothing.

VERSE 21

1. What are you seeking in life? Whatever you are seeking you will find - but you may not like the end result unless you seek after the Lord and His truth. If you do He will reveal Himself to you. As Jeremiah 29:13 says "And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart."

VERSE 22

1. Victory is not obtained by strength but by wisdom. Using what God has given you in your daily life and realizing that our weapons are not carnal in the battle we are in, but spiritual. (II Corinthians 10:4).

VERSE 23

1. Our tongue can get us in a lot of trouble. We need to guard what comes out of our mouth. As James said "Indeed, we put bits in horses' mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body. Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires. Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind. But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison." James 3:3-8.

VERSE 24

1. The name here reflects the character of a person. What do people call you?

VERSES 25-26

1. The lazy person wants so much and yet he can't obtain it because he refuses to work. And that passion to obtain things that he refuses to work for kills him.

VERSE 27

1. If the heart does not match up with the persons action, their works, then to God all their efforts are worthless, they are an abomination to Him.

VERSE 28

1. You will get caught in your lies.

VERSE 29

1. The wicked harden their hearts to God. They refuse to be directed by God. On the other hand, we rejoice in God's direction, that He establishes a path for us to take for His way is the best way for us.

VERSE 30

1. You can't fight against God and win. If you try to go against the will of God, His Word, you will lose. It is as Paul said in II Corinthians 13:8 "For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth."

VERSE 31

1. The horse was like the tank of today, it gave you an advantage in battle. And the Lord told Israel not to multiply horses. Why? Because He did not want them trusting in them for their military strength to give them the victory for then they would give themselves a pat on the back when they would win. He wanted them to trust in Him for the victory and thus He would get the glory. It is as Psalm 33:16-20 says. We read "No king is saved by the multitude of an army; A mighty man is not delivered by great strength. A horse is a vain hope for safety; Neither shall it deliver any by its great strength. Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him, On those who hope in His mercy, To deliver their soul from death, And to keep them alive in famine. Our soul waits for the LORD; He is our help and our shield."

2. You can sum up verses 30 and 31 in the following way: There is nothing you can do that will avail against God nor is there anything you can do that will avail without God!

PROVERBS 22

VERSE 1

1. As Christians our character should be above reproach. It should reflect the character of God. If you take care of your character, then God will take care of your reputation, no matter whatfalse accusations may come your way. As Paul said in Philippians 2:14-15, "Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world."

VERSE 2

1. Isn't that interesting. I wonder how many times this verse is quoted by the health, wealth and prosperity teachers? What Solomon is speaking of is the sovereignty of God, He has created us all. Being rich does not mean God loves you more or any less, it is according to His will, His plan for your life.

VERSE 3

1. A wise person will count the cost of his actions before he ventures down that path. If it leads to destruction he will avoid it. A fool will run head first into it and suffer the consequences of his actions.

VERSE 4

1. Paul said in Ephesians 1:3 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ." Yes we are blessed with many material blessings, but those are not eternal, but spiritual blessings are, and thus they are more valuable to us than all the riches of this world.

VERSE 5

1. Those living in rebellion against God live a hard life many times. Their bodies reflect the hard life they are living.

VERSE 6

1. What a precious promise of God. We are told to teach our children the things of God, but it doesn't end there. We are also to train them which is different than teaching. In training a child you are having them put into practice that which you have taught them. Practical application of those lessons which will stick with them. Then as they grow to be adults these truths will be in their hearts, and even though they may stray for a time, they will come back. Now of course there is always mans free will, he can chose what course he wants to take. Thus, this is a general principle, that will come to pass most of the time.

2. Jay Adams writes: "The verse stands not as a promise but as a warning to parents that if they allow a child to train himself after his own wishes (permissively), they should not expect him to want to change these patterns when he matures. Children are born sinners and, when allowed to follow their own wishes, will naturally develop sinful habit responses. The basic thought is that such habit patterns become deep-seated when they have been ingrained in the child from the earliest days."

VERSE 7

1. Don't get yourself into such a debt that you become a slave to it, working 2 jobs to stay afloat!

VERSE 8

1. Again we see the principle of what you sow is what you will reap.

VERSE 9

1. There is a blessing to help those in need. Solomon said in Proverbs 11:24-25, "There is one who scatters, yet increases more; And there is one who withholds more than is right, But it leads to poverty. The generous soul will be made rich, And he who waters will also be watered himself." Also, we read last week from Proverbs 19:17, "He who has pity on the poor lends to the LORD, And He will pay back what he has given."

VERSE 10

1. It is as Proverbs 26:20 says "Where there is no wood, the fire goes out; And where there is no talebearer, strife ceases." Remove the fuel, don't feed the fire, and it will go out. And yes, sometimes you have to remove yourself from a situation that is causing nothing but strife.

VERSE 11

1. It is a blessing to be around people with a gentle spirit. Also, the King of Kings will be honored by it.

VERSE 12

1. God's truth will always stand and wickedness will be exposed, their lies will come crashing down upon them.

VERSE 13

1. A lazy person will find any excuse not to work, and they love to exaggerate why they can't work. If they would put that kind of energy into work, they would be doing good. But they don't!

VERSE 14

1. As you rebel against God you are drawn into many perverse lifestyles.

VERSE 15

1. Solomon is speaking of discipline, not abuse. If a child is left to his own nature, which is sin, he will become an adult who is out of control. They have to be taught and trained in how they are to walk. Henry Ward Beecher observes: "It is not hard to make a child or a tree grow right if you train them when they're young, but to make them straighten out after you've allowed things to go wrong is not an easy matter."

VERSE 16

1. God is the defender of the underdog. He watches over the orphaned, the poor, the widow and the stranger. And I know many like to take advantage of people who are in these positions, but God will deal with you as you have dealt with them.

VERSES 17-21

1. Solomon is going to speak on some issues here and he wants us to pay attention. He wants us to hear, apply, keep, stay fixed upon these things, understanding that these truths are from God.

VERSES 22-23

1. Again God is warning against taking advantage of the poor.

VERSES 24-25

1. Solomon is warning us not to befriend a angry person. Why? Because he will bring you down to his level. You will learn his ways. And before long, you too will be an angry person.

VERSES 26-27

1. I don't know what happened to Solomon that he keeps hitting this point so hard, but may we learn the lesson. Don't co-sign a loan for a stranger, for if they don't pay you will have to, and you can lose a lot more than just your shirt in this deal!

VERSE 28

1. The boundary lines were set by placing piles of stones up and these boundaries were established for generations. Now at night some may sneak out and change those boundary lines to give them extra land and God is warning against this kind of activity.

VERSE 29

1. Solomon is telling us to do our best on the job, be honest in our business dealings. If we do we will be blessed. One example is that of Joseph, sold into slavery by his brothers. Then thrown into prison for something he didn't do. And because in all his actions he did not compromise, God raised him up to be second in command over all of Egypt, and placed him in a position to save his people, his family from the famine that had swept across the land. In other words, cream rises to the surface!