Proverbs 11: 12 Neighborhood relationships

Note: Sorry I skipped a day… it was hubby’s and my 34th wedding anniversary and I played hooky over the weekend from writing my blogs… :)

Today’s proverb is one that speaks of neighborhood relationships, and the wise way to handle them.

Proverbs 11: 12 (NKJV)

12 He who is devoid of wisdom despises his neighbor,
But a man of understanding holds his peace.

First, let’s look at the definitions of the main words. The Online Dictionary gives the definition of the word, “devoid” as: Completely lacking; destitute or empty… and the definition of the word, “despises” as: 1. To regard with contempt or scorn 2. To dislike intensely; loathe 3. To regard as unworthy of one's interest or concern:

This verse, then, speaks of those that are completely lacking in wisdom and the fact that they tend to have no interest or concern for their neighbors. Throughout God’s word, His purpose is to draw people together in love and care for each other. We see that He feels that someone who doesn’t care about others is lacking in His wisdom.

The end of the verse goes on to tell us that “a man of understanding,” which we have seen in other studies in this book is a description of a “righteous man,” will “hold his peace…” Generally when THIS phrase is used, it means that person will hold his tongue or be very careful in the way that he handles situations. He will be in control of himself and his reactions to the problems that come up, and handle them in ways that God would lead him in. This, in turn, will lead to healing instead of further strife.

Proverbs 11: 9 Hypocrisy

Today’s verse covers the problems that neighbors can have when one or more of them have a problem with hypocrisy.

Proverbs 11: 9 (NKJV)

9 The hypocrite with his mouth destroys his neighbor,

But through knowledge the righteous will be delivered.

The Thesaurus on the Free Online Dictionary gives these definitions of a hypocrite – 1. A person who professes beliefs and opinions that he or she does not hold in order to conceal his or her real feelings or motives 2. A person who is inwardly evil but outwardly professes to be virtuous 3. Someone who leads you to believe something that is not true.

These types of people live on lying and gossip, and the words that come from their mouths, can cause great harm and even destruction to those around them. In contrast, those that are lead by the Spirit of God through knowledge of His Word and His Ways can find ways to extricate themselves from the webs of lies the hypocrite has woven for them. Their character and the ways that they have lived will show others which one is telling the truth and which is lying.

Proverbs 11: 4 Riches vs Righteousness

The verse we are studying today, warns us not to put our trust in riches, but in being right with God. We will use verses from the Bible with God’s definitions of the major ideas from today’s verse.

Proverbs 11: 4 (NKJV)

4 Riches do not profit in the day of wrath,
But righteousness delivers from death.


God is a God of Love, and as such, He must judge evil. There is coming, a “Day of Wrath,” when God WILL pour out His judgment on those that refuse to accept Him as their Lord and Jesus as their savior! He gave up His son to save us and there is nothing further He can do. We don’t have to face this… It is our choice. Here is what God has to say about the “Day of Wrath” in Isaiah 13:9-13 (NKJV)


9 Behold, the day of the LORD comes,
Cruel, with both wrath and fierce anger,
To lay the land desolate;
And He will destroy its sinners from it.

10 For the stars of heaven and their constellations

Will not give their light;

The sun will be darkened in its going forth,

And the moon will not cause its light to shine.

11 “ I will punish the world for its evil,

And the wicked for their iniquity;

I will halt the arrogance of the proud,

And will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.

12 I will make a mortal more rare than fine gold,

A man more than the golden wedge of Ophir.

13 Therefore I will shake the heavens,

And the earth will move out of her place,
In the wrath of the LORD of hosts

And in the day of His fierce anger.

Psalms 49: 16-20 (NIV) warns us not to be overawed with “riches,” because riches, in themselves, will not bring life.

16 Do not be overawed when a man grows rich,

when the splendor of his house increases;
17 for he will take nothing with him when he dies,

his splendor will not descend with him.
18 Though while he lived he counted himself blessed—

and men praise you when you prosper-

19 he will join the generation of his fathers,
who will never see the light of life .
20 A man who has riches without understanding

is like the beasts that perish.

NOTE: It is the man that has "riches WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING" that will perish. It isn't the riches that bring about condemnation, it is putting them before God that does.

Psalms 15: 1 – 5 gives us a definition from the Bible, of the person that God feels is “righteous,” and who will end up in Heaven…

1 LORD, who may dwell in your sanctuary?
Who may live on your holy hill?
2 He whose walk is blameless

and who does what is righteous,

who speaks the truth from his heart
3 and has no slander on his tongue,

who does his neighbor no wrong

and casts no slur on his fellowman,
4 who despises a vile man

but honors those who fear the LORD,

who keeps his oath

even when it hurts,
5 who lends his money without usury

and does not accept a bribe against the innocent.

He who does these things

will never be shaken.

Now, let's read, again our verse from today: Proverbs 11: 4 Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, But righteousness delivers from death. After reading God’s definitions, I found this verse to be much more meaningful and significant in it’s meaning for me… I hope that you did too!

Proverbs 10:23 A Fool vs. The Wise

Proverbs 10:23 (NKJV)

23 To do evil is like sport to a fool,

But a man of understanding has wisdom.

When God talks about “fools,” He is speaking about those that “…say in their heart, there is NO God.” Psalm 14:1 (NIV) “The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good.” These people love to do “evil” just as so many love to play sports. It is an adventure to them… a source of getting an adrenaline (hormonal) high, just as exercise raises endorphins in those that play hard in their sports. From the evil companions that they keep company with, they will receive glory and honor, but their ways will still end up bringing them death.

As we saw numerous times throughout the first several chapters of Proverbs, those that study God’s ways and His word will gain understanding of God, and since He is the creator of everything, The more we understand about Him and His world, the more likely we are to make wise choices.

Proverbs 10 : 13 & 14 Wise or Foolish Lips...

Today’s verses give us some more attributes of those that are wise, and those that are foolish.

Proverbs 10: 13 & 14 (NKJV)

13 Wisdom is found on the lips of him who has understanding,

But a rod is for the back of him who is devoid of understanding.

14 Wise people store up knowledge,

But the mouth of the foolish is near destruction.

Both of our verses today start out speaking about wisdom. Verse 13 tells us that a person that is wise and understanding, speaks wise words… wisdom is “found” on his lips, and verse 14 goes on to tell us that a wise person will “store up knowledge.” They don’t just “hear” it, they seek after it and put it into their heads, hearts and actions, so that they will remember it.

The second part of both of these verses show contrasts to the first parts. Verse 13 contrasts those who are “devoid of understanding” to those that “have understanding.” “A rod is for the back…” speaks of people who are caught and punished for doing foolish, ungodly things. All of us do these types of things at different times of our lives… especially when we are young. Hopefully these incidences become less frequent as we grow in knowledge and understanding of God and His ways.

God also tells us that “those He loves, He chastens…” when they need it, and there are several places in the Bible that speak about this principle. Just as we give our children the choices to choose between following our rules and not following them, if they will eventually NOT be safe if they don’t follow, then we will, if we are wise parents, discipline them so that they will stay on “safe paths.” God does the same for us, because He loves us even MORE than we love our own children.

The first part of verse 13, which as we saw, speaks of having wisdom on his lips, contrasts with the last part of verse 14 which tells us that people that speak foolishness are near destruction. As we have studied before, our words flow from what is in our hearts, and if they are full of ungodly things (The fool says, in his heart, there is NO God…) then each time the “foolishness” flows, it draws us closer to destruction because it draws us AWAY from God.

Proverbs 9: 13 – 18

These last six verses of Chapter 9 contrast with the verses from our last study. Those verses were about wisdom, and these are about “Folly,” as again portrayed as a harlot or adulterous woman.

Proverbs 9: 13 - 18 (NKJV)
The Way of Folly

13 A foolish woman is clamorous;

She is simple, and knows nothing.

14 For she sits at the door of her house,

On a seat by the highest places of the city,

15 To call to those who pass by,

Who go straight on their way:

16 “ Whoever is simple, let him turn in here”;

And as for him who lacks understanding, she says to him,

17 “ Stolen water is sweet,

And bread eaten in secret is pleasant.

” 18 But he does not know that the dead are there,

That her guests are in the depths of hell. (Sheol)

Verse 13 speaks of a “foolish woman” that “is simple, and knows nothing.” This “foolish” woman is loud and obnoxious (clamorous) and sits near her house, but on the way, or path to the high places where the other verses have told us that the young person should go to so that they can study wisdom. She calls out and tries to distract those that are trying to “go straight on their way…”

I see a picture here of the way that the world and “evil” sits in wait and tries to distract us from following the paths that God wants us to follow. Those that try to follow the “straight” path, often find their way surrounded by temptations that would call us from that path.

Verse 16 continues the message that most of the chapters that we have studied have put forth, in that this “woman of evil” targets those that are “simple” or “lack understanding.” She tempts these foolish young people the same way that they are being tempted today… by telling them that the sinful thing that she is presenting is “good.” This is the same lie that those that get into drugs, alcohol, etc. get started… even those of us that crave too many carbs, sweets or other things that are bad for us.

Water and bread, are things that we NEED, but we must be careful to use it wisely, in the ways that God created it to be used. It is the same with all the things that God put on this earth to bless us, but that have gotten twisted and misused.

The last verse warns that those that would follow the ways of “Folly” or foolishness, don’t realize that they are on a path AWAY from God and the LIFE He gives, and that following this other path will, eventually, lead to their death. These verses conclude with, “her guests are in the depths of hell.”

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 9: 1 - 6

This is the last chapter on the differences between “wisdom” and “folly,” where both are portrayed as women that a “young man” needs to choose between. After this, we will look at the small, pithy "proverbs" that this book is known for. As we have seen before, these chapters that we have been studying are being used to “teach” a young person, so they have come at the same basic premises over and over as that is one of the main ways people learn. I guess that “practice makes perfect” sort of works here, too!

Proverbs 9:1 - 6 (NKJV)

1 Wisdom has built her house,

She has hewn out her seven pillars;

2 She has slaughtered her meat,

She has mixed her wine,

She has also furnished her table.

3 She has sent out her maidens,

She cries out from the highest places of the city,

4 “ Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!”

As for him who lacks understanding, she says to him,

5 “ Come, eat of my bread

And drink of the wine I have mixed.

6 Forsake foolishness and live,

And go in the way of understanding.

In Verses 1 & 2, we see that Wisdom, FIRST, puts her own house in order, building it with seven strong pillars … and seven almost always denotes “completion.” So she isn’t going off trying to teach until after she has had a chance to grow and learn, herself. After the house is strong, then she prepares the “meat and wine” that she will share.

Verse 3 shows her (Wisdom) sending out her maidens (which would be her “messengers”) to the highest places in the city, which would be another place, like the gates, that people gather to listen, teach and discuss ideas.

In Verses 4 - 6, her message to the young in these places is, come and search for “understanding.” She implores the simple ones to “eat of my bread.” Jesus often refers to himself as “the bread of life.“

John 6:32-41 (NKJV)

32 Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

34 Then they said to Him, “Lord, give us this bread always.” 35 And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. 36 But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe. 37 All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.

39 This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. 40 And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”

As we see again, Jesus IS part of Wisdom’s feast, and, all the way through scripture, the wine represents the Holy Spirit, so Wisdom is calling people to join in a feast that will bring TRUE, everlasting fulfillment and life, and as Verse 6 comments, we must leave our old, foolish ways of thinking from BEFORE turning to God, so that we will eat of this “Bread of Life.”