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 11: 5 & 6 Righteousness vs Wickedness/Lust

Both of our verses today, speak to us of those that are righteous as opposed to those that are wicked or lustful. As we have seen throughout our study of this book, this is the main theme of Proverbs, and is repeated in many different ways to emphasize it’s importance.

Proverbs 11: 5 & 6 (NKJV)

5 The righteousness of the blameless will direct

(Or make smooth or straight) his way aright,
But the wicked will fall by his own wickedness.

6 The righteousness of the upright will deliver them,

But the unfaithful will be caught by their lust (or their own desires).

As we have seen before, those that follow Godly paths in their lives are blessed by God. They are given wisdom and guidance from God which directs them in the ways they should go, and delivers them from problems that come up in their lives.

We have also seen that those who choose NOT to follow God, but their own lusts of the flesh, become more and more wicked. God has two definitions for the word, “unfaithfulness.” The one, most everyone is familiar with, speaks of one spouse betraying the other by having a lustful relationship with someone else.

The other definition has to do with not being faithful to God and His ways of love. We see this clearly in the following verses:

Leviticus 6:2-5 (NIV)

2 "If anyone sins and is unfaithful to the LORD by deceiving his neighbor about something entrusted to him or left in his care or stolen, or if he cheats him, 3 or if he finds lost property and lies about it, or if he swears falsely, or if he commits any such sin that people may do- 4 when he thus sins and becomes guilty, he must return what he has stolen or taken by extortion, or what was entrusted to him, or the lost property he found, 5 or whatever it was he swore falsely about. He must make restitution in full, add a fifth of the value to it and give it all to the owner on the day he presents his guilt offering.

In verse 6 of our verses today, we are told that the “unfaithful” WILL be caught, because their lust will lead them on, deeper and deeper into their sinful ways. The verse in Leviticus tells us what types of sin God considers “unfaithfulness” to Him, but it also speaks of being able to make restitution. The verses after this section speak of the blood sacrifices required to pay for these sins, and those of us that have accepted Christ as our Savior, know that He paid that price for our sins.

ALL of us have sinned, and God knows about it, so we have been caught. If we continue to go down the sinful paths, we will fall, but if we turn from them, accept what Christ did for us and choose to be righteous through Him, then we will be blessed and “delivered.”

Proverbs 11:1 Don’t Cheat Others!

Hi, fellow Wisdom Seekers! Today we will be starting a new chapter. Let’s see what the Lord has to teach us for today!

Proverbs 11:1 (NKJV)
1 Dishonest scales are an abomination to the LORD,

But a just weight is His delight.

The note in my NIV Bible says that, “In a culture with no bureau of weights and measures, cheating in business by falsification of standards was common…” God calls those that follow HIM to be very careful NOT to cheat others in any way! He says that cheating is an “abomination” to Him. The word, “abomination,” as defined in the Online Dictionary, means, 1. Abhorrence; disgust. 2. A cause of abhorrence or disgust. 3. an action that is vicious or vile; an action that arouses disgust or abhorrence.

This would be another form of lying, and John 8:44 (NKJV) says, that if you lie, 44 You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. Proverbs 6: 17 lists lying as one of the “Seven Deadly Sins” that God hates!

As we can see, God feels quite STRONGLY about cheating and lying, which go hand in hand. Revelation 22:14-15 (NKJV) makes this VERY clear! It says, 14 Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city [speaking of heaven]. 15 But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.

Lying and cheating are the exact opposites of everything the Lord wants of His people. This verse concludes with “a just weight is His delight” because God’s ways are ways of love, caring, help, and truth toward our “neighbors.” These things build up trust and confidence between His children (those that choose to follow Him), and eventually, we will all be living together in His kingdom, so we need to start building the type of relationships here that we will live with, forever, there!