Proverbs 11: 10 & 11 People Reflect on Their Municipalities

The type of people in a town, city or even a country, will give that “municipality” a specific reputation. Today’s verses touch on this topic.

Proverbs 11: 10 & 11 (NKJV)

10 When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices; And when the wicked perish, there is jubilation.
11 By the blessing of the upright, the city is exalted, But it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked.

First, let’s look at the definitions of the main words, that we haven’t studied before, in these verses:
1. city: A center of population, commerce, and culture
2. perish: To die or be destroyed, especially in a violent or untimely manner
3. jubilation: a feeling of great joy and celebration

4. exalted : Elevated in rank, character, or status.
5. overthrown : To bring about the downfall or destruction of…

Both of our verses today start with the effects that people that are righteous and upright, have on helping a city to prosper. These people follow God and/or His wise ways and their lives will be blessed because of it. When the righteous are blessed (“when it goes well with…” AND when they are receiving “blessings”) then the city or area that they live in will also be blessed because they will have more to spend, and more ways to help their neighbors. We have seen examples of this principle before in our United States history, when our country was blessed because we had a morally based society… one that was basically based on a Judeo-Christian heritage. We became one of the strongest, most blessed, AND most giving countries in the world.

Over the past 50 or so years, we have seen things turn around and start to go downhill. As the ratio of those that follow righteous, moral lives compared to those that are following wicked ways, tip the other way, our cities, towns and society in general are having more and more problems.

Verse 10 tells us that when the “wicked perish,” there is “jubilation.” Think about the celebrations that occurred when Saddam Hussein’s reign was overthrown to get a good picture of the truth of this verse.

The last part of verse 11 says that cities are “overthrown” by the mouth (or words) of the wicked. We have seen this on a small scale with the gangs pushing each other to do things that continually grow worse, and we have seen it on a large scale through the words of Adolf Hitler that ended in a World War.

We have even seen examples in the past year or so of whole cities and towns that are perishing and being foreclosed on because of the lies of wicked, greedy men that gave loans to so many when they really couldn’t afford it.

Our lives DO make a difference to those who live round us, and we need to be sure that they see the effects of God’s love and work in our lives, for that may be the only way they will ever think about learning about God.

Proverbs 10: 3

Proverbs 10: 3 (NKJV)

3 The LORD will not allow the righteous soul to famish,

But He casts away the desire of the wicked.

Today’s verse is another contrast between the “righteous” person and the “wicked” one. It contains a wonderful promise for those who choose the “paths of righteousness.”

NOTE: In most translations of the Bible, when the word “LORD” is in all capital letters, it has been translated from the Hebrew word, YHWH, which is so holy that many very devout Jewish people won’t even speak the word. When it has been translated from the Hebrew word, Adoni, it is written as “Lord,” and when the two Hebrew words are used together in the Old Testament, it is translated as “ Sovereign LORD.”

As we saw in our last study, the word, “righteous,” is defined in the Online Dictionary as: 1. Morally upright; without guilt or sin. The word, “famish,” is defined as: 1. To cause to endure severe hunger. 2. To cause to starve to death. This is a literal definition, and not someone who is just “very hungry,” but this is speaking of someone who is “starving to death!” This verse, then, says that God will NOT allow the righteous soul (a reborn soul) to starve to death. It is a promise we need to remember and have faith in.

To “cast away” is to: chuck out, discard, throw away, or throw out, and, as we have studied before, the “desires of the wicked,” could also be called the “lusts of the flesh.” Those that follow these “lusts” or fleshly desires are in direct opposition to the things of God, and they shall eventually be “cast away.”

Proverbs 9: 7 - 12

Today’s verses speak of how we should handle scoffers. They also speak of the differences between scoffers and wise men. The Online dictionary defines a "scoffer" as: "someone who jeers or mocks or treats something with contempt," and in this case it would be someone who is treating God's Word and wisdom this way.

Proverbs 9: 7 - 12 (NKJV)

7 “ He who corrects a scoffer gets shame for himself,

And he who rebukes a wicked man only harms himself.

8 Do not correct a scoffer, lest he hate you;

Rebuke a wise man, and he will love you.

9 Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser;

Teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.

10 “ The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom,

And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

11 For by me your days will be multiplied,

And years of life will be added to you.

12 If you are wise, you are wise for yourself,

And if you scoff, you will bear it alone.”

I found verses 7 & 8 to be very interesting. They tell us NOT to even try to correct scoffers because, apparently it very rarely, if ever, does any good, and all it DOES do is cause arguments that bring “shame” on the person who is trying to help and drives the “scoffer” away from you.

It may even cause him to “hate” you. Worse, if you try to rebuke a “wicked man,” you might even come to bodily harm yourself!

I know that there are people like David Wilkerson, that wrote “The Cross and the Switchblade,” that have been given special grace and power by the Holy Spirit to work with people of this “nature,” but they have received a specific “call” of God. For the average person, I think that we should remember that arguing with someone like these that are mentioned, just causes more problems. I think the best thing we can do is to keep them in prayer, until, or unless they come "seeking"!

The end of verse 8, and all of verse 9 tells us that those that are “seeking” wisdom, or “wise men” react quite differently to rebukes (done properly), instructions, and teaching. THESE type of people will see the wisdom in your “help” and end up loving you, becoming “still wiser” and add to his “learning.”

The principle from Prov. 1:7, which says “7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. (NKJV)” is sort of repeated in verse 10 of this chapter, and this verse goes on to say that “the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” As I mentioned when we studied Proverbs 1:7, This is a scripture that is quoted quite often… and we see this one illustrated way too often in our world today… at least the part about “fools.” (For those that weren’t with us at the beginning of our study of this book, I will repeat the paragraph from that study)

The Hebrew words that are translated as “fool” in Proverbs, and often elsewhere in the Old Testament, denote one who is “morally deficient,” which is the ultimate end of those who turn away from seeking to become wise and/or those who reject discipline in their lives. It is easy to see that more and more of our young people are turning away from seeking wisdom from their elders, and are rejecting discipline in their lives. This verse tells us that this is the reason that our country is becoming more and more devoid of morals in so many of our youth.

Verse 11 also repeats a principle that has been put forth in our earlier studies in Proverbs 3:2. It states, again, that having “wisdom” will add to the life that we are given. We also learned in that study, that King Hezekiah DID ADD YEARS (15 to be exact) to his life because he understood God and His principles. (See 2 Kings 20: 1 – 6)

Our last verse today tells us that we can’t “make” anyone else wise… we can only work on making ourselves wise. We can help those who are also searching for wisdom, but it is up to them to seek, search for, ask, and then put the principles into their lives so that they can grow in wisdom. It goes on to say that being a scoffer, will ALSO be up to you and the way you decide to live, and you will have to bear the results of that choice.

Proverbs 8: 1 - 3

Today we start chapter 8 of Proverbs. This chapter is all about the “Excellence of Wisdom.” It goes over the attributes of wisdom and the things that result from following Godly wisdom. There are many principles in this chapter that, if followed, will bring prosperity in body, soul and spirit, and it even speaks of the possibility of getting “wealth” as well. This is a totally uplifting chapter with only the final verse again stressing the warning of NOT following wisdom.

Proverbs 8: 1 - 3 (NKJV)

The Excellence of Wisdom
1 Does not wisdom cry out,

And understanding lift up her voice?

2 She takes her stand on the top of the high hill,

Beside the way, where the paths meet.

3 She cries out by the gates, at the entry of the city,

At the entrance of the doors:

Chapter 8 again portrays wisdom as a woman calling out to those who would listen to her. As we saw in chapter 7, foolishness was portrayed as an adulterous woman who leads into the “lusts of the flesh” and this contrasts with those verses.

Verses 1 and 2 portray the call of “Wisdom” as a call to an abundant life of God’s blessings. It is a call that God wants all of His people to listen to and follow. It is there… out in the open… in obvious places… loudly proclaiming itself to any that would open their hearts to God’s call upon their lives.

Verse 3 continues with this idea and is also based on the Jewish customs of the day where the older men would gather by the gates and in public places to discuss important matters. The young person that wanted to gain knowledge and understanding would be free to go to these places and sit and listen, or be taught, about important issues of life, area news, etc. from men that had lived long lives and gained knowledge and wisdom through those lives.

By the time they reached this age, especially in those days, only the wiser men would still be around to be at these discussions. The ones that hadn’t learned wisdom, would have died, been incarcerated, or wouldn’t be interested in speaking in a group such as this.

I think that having respect for older people that have lived much of their lives and come to a place of peace and comfort through following God was God’s original plan for young people to learn. The book of Timothy in the New Testament covers some of these areas. If we take the time to learn from older people that have lived through “youth’s mistakes,” learned from them, then went to God and found Him to be a forgiver of those sins and a lover of their souls, then we can avoid many of the pitfalls that they have gone through.

In previous chapters and verses, we have seen that God’s plan was that parents started their children out young, teaching them at home to have respect for their elders, and guiding them to wise, interesting people of God. A young person that is taught that kind of love and respect from a young age, will tend to gravitate toward wise, older people throughout their lives. That would be what God would want for us as parents of very young children. Once they hit adolescence, it is much harder for them to talk to their own parents, but if they have been taught properly, through this principle, then they will gravitate toward other older people that they have grown to trust.

If we are older, now, ourselves, then we need to take the time to sit with younger people and share, WHEN THEY ask for advice or want to talk. Wisdom can’t be pushed on another, but it can be shared. These men, which sat at the gates, were available. They didn’t go out seeking and chasing down young people to preach at them.

Proverbs 6: 1 - 5

Today’s study will cover the first 5 verses of Chapter 6. These verses cover a different kind of “folly” than those we have studied before in this book. The definitions of the word “folly” from the online dictionary is as follows: 1. A lack of good sense, understanding, or foresight.: 2. a. An act or instance of foolishness:.b. A costly undertaking having an absurd or ruinous outcome.

Here are our verses for today:

Proverbs 6: 1 - 5 (NIV)

Warnings Against Folly
1 My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor,
if you have struck hands in pledge for another,
2 if you have been trapped by what you said,
ensnared by the words of your mouth,
3 then do this, my son, to free yourself,
since you have fallen into your neighbor's hands:
Go and humble yourself;
press your plea with your neighbor!
4 Allow no sleep to your eyes,
no slumber to your eyelids.
5 Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter,
like a bird from the snare of the fowler.

The type of folly that is spoken of in these first 5 verses is about putting up collateral or “securities” for someone else, or doing or saying something that puts you in debt, in some way, to another. The Bible teaches us to help others in many ways, (Luke 6:35 says, But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest…) I think, in this verse, the key being not to expect something back. Be prepared to make it a gift…

In many verses, the Bible also warns people to be very careful about borrowing or lending money. Proverbs 22:7 says, The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.

The first verse in Proverbs 6 doesn’t say not to lend, but tells us not to put up our things or livelihood, as collateral for someone else. The second part of this verse and the next one speak of making foolish promises, without thinking things through.

God takes vows or promises very seriously, which is why Jesus says in Matthew 5:37: But let your communication be, Yea, yea; or Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil. James 5:12 goes on to say: But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation.

These verses tell us not to make promises, but to, in essence say, “I will try my best to help in this manner…” There is even a story about a man who made a foolish vow to God that if God would help him, he would sacrifice the first thing that came out of his place when he returned home. That first thing happened to be his only daughter… You can read the story in Judges 11:30-39.

Verses 3-5 tell us that if we mess up and do get ourselves in a problem of this type, then we should try our best to get out of it as soon as possible. These verses say that once we realize what we have done, we shouldn’t even go to bed (Allow no sleep to your eyes, no slumber to your eyelids) until we get things straightened out. We should do WHATEVER it takes (Go and humble yourself; press your plea with your neighbor!) to get out from under, for if the “neighbor” forgives us our debt, then we are free of it.

By stressing all the points in these verses, Solomon hopes to make it very clear that we need to think before we speak or make promises. I think that in these problem times, these words can help us to make some hard but wise decisions.

Proverbs 3: 9 & 10

In today’s world, with the economic crisis throughout our land, these are very important verses to learn and take to heart because these are not just proverbs, but are also promises that are found over and over, throughout the whole Bible.

Proverbs 3: 9 & 10

9 Honor the LORD with your possessions,
And with the firstfruits of all your increase;

10 So your barns will be filled with plenty,

And your vats will overflow with new wine.

These scriptures aren’t just talking about tithing, though that is a very important teaching that is one of the foundations of being blessed by God in our lives. Tithing, or giving to God the first tenth of everything you receive, is one of those “principles” that we talked about in Verses 5 thru 7 in the last study, in that most people would ask “How, if you are giving away money that you need because you are barely making it now, can that be a wise move?”

God’s answer:

5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart,

And lean not on your own understanding;

6 In all your ways acknowledge Him,

And He shall direct your paths.

7 Do not be wise in your own eyes…

There are several reasons that God wants us to tithe, and I don’t believe this is JUST money He is talking about. Look at verse 9 in today’s study: Honor the LORD with your possessions, and with the firstfruits of all your increase… Here, it says to honor Him with your possessions, not just your money, but ALL that you have... give Him your whole heart... If people need help and you have something that can help, let them use it or help them with it, and do it as a blessing to God, because of all that He does for you, not because you want something from Him, and He will bless you for that! The principles of “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” come to mind here, also.

“Tithing” has become almost a dirty word to a lot of people because it has been so abused by SOME big churches or TV “evangelists,” but in God’s economy, it was meant to be a blessing, just as sex, food, and so many other things He has given us are supposed to be, but have been twisted into something ugly. It was meant to help us keeps our mind and heart centered on God, and to KNOW that He is the one that provides for us in ALL things. It was to keep us from getting into the mindset that WE are providing for ourselves.

It was such an important principle, that I am going to put most of chapter 3 of the book of Malachi here so you can read it for yourselves and not have anything taken out of context. Also, this is just another way of saying the same thing as the verses we are studying today. Read this and meditate on it, for it is FULL of promise and wonderful blessings!!! The first part of the chapter speaks of Christ’s return …

Malachi 3 (NKJV)

1 “… Behold, He is coming,” says the LORD of hosts.
2 “ But who can endure the day of His coming?
And who can stand when He appears?

For He is like a refiner’s fire and like launderers’ soap.

3 He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver;

He will purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver,

That they may offer to the LORD an offering in righteousness.

4 “ Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasant to the LORD,

As in the days of old, as in former years.

5 And I will come near you for judgment;

I will be a swift witness against sorcerers,

Against adulterers, against perjurers,

Against those who exploit wage earners and widows and orphans,

And against those who turn away an alien—

Because they do not fear Me,” says the LORD of hosts.

6 “ For I am the LORD, I do not change; (He has always been longsuffering and merciful)

Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.
7 Yet from the days of your fathers, you have gone away from My ordinances

And have not kept them.

Return to Me, and I will return to you,” says the LORD of hosts.

But you said, “In what way shall we return?’

Do Not Rob God
8 “ Will a man rob God?

Yet you have robbed Me!

But you say, ‘ In what way have we robbed You?’

In tithes and offerings!

9 You are cursed with a curse, for you have robbed Me... even this whole nation.

10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse,

That there may be food in My house,

And try Me now in this,” says the LORD of hosts,

“ If I will not open for you the windows of heaven

And pour out for you such blessing

That there will not be room enough to receive it.

11 “ And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes,

So that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground,

Nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,” says the LORD of hosts;

12 And all nations will call you blessed,

For you will be a delightful land,” says the LORD of hosts.

The People Complain Harshly

13 “ Your words have been harsh against Me,” says the LORD,

“ Yet you say, ‘ What have we spoken against You?’

14 You have said, ‘ It is useless to serve God;

What profit is it that we have kept His ordinance, (These two verses sound like so many people today...)
And that we have walked as mourners before the LORD of hosts?

15 So now we call the proud blessed, for those who do wickedness are raised up;

They even tempt God and go free.’”

A Book of Remembrance

16 Then those who feared the LORD spoke to one another, (I think I want to be in this group)

And the LORD listened and heard them;

So a book of remembrance was written before Him

For those who fear the LORD

And who meditate on His name.

17 “ They shall be Mine,” says the LORD of hosts,

“ On the day that I make them My jewels. (Literally the Hebrew word means, special treasure)

And I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him.”

18 Then you shall again discern between the righteous and the wicked,
Between one who serves God

And one who does not serve Him.

I KNOW that I really want to be one of God’s “special treasures”… and I KNOW that I NEED His blessings, so I plan to follow His ways and not what seems “wise in my own eyes…” How about you? We will continue these verses in the next study...