Proverbs 24:1-14
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New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update Chapter 24
1 Do not be envious of evil men,
Nor desire to be with them;
2 For their minds devise violence,
And their lips talk of trouble.
3 By wisdom a house is built,
And by understanding it is established;
4 And by knowledge the rooms are filled
With all precious and pleasant riches.
5 A wise man is strong,
And a man of knowledge increases power.
6 For by wise guidance you will wage war,
And in abundance of counselors there is victory.
7 Wisdom is too exalted for a fool,
He does not open his mouth in the gate.
8 One who plans to do evil,
Men will call a schemer.
9 The devising of folly is sin,
And the scoffer is an abomination to men.
10 If you are slack in the day of distress,
Your strength is limited.
11 Deliver those who are being taken away to death,
And those who are staggering to slaughter, Oh hold them back.
12 If you say, “See, we did not know this,”
Does He not consider it who weighs the hearts?
And does He not know it who keeps your soul?
And will He not erender to man according to his work?
13 My son, eat honey, for it is good,
Yes, the honey from the comb is sweet to your taste;
14 Know that wisdom is thus for your soul;
If you find it, then there will be a bfuture,
And your hope will not be cut off.
15 Do not lie in wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous;
Do not destroy his resting place;
16 For a righteous man falls seven times, and rises again,
But the wicked stumble in time of calamity.
17 Do not rejoice when your enemy falls,
And do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles;
18 Or the
The Book of Proverbs mentions humility quite a bit, and humility has gotten a bad rap and a lot of bad press.
Humility is not self hatred or lack of self-confidence and it is not a call to mediocrity. It is the habitual quality whereby we live in these truths: We are creatures and not the creator.
Our lives are a composite of good and evil.
In our littleness, we have been given extravagant dignity.
So to get the best out of the Book of Proverbs may require us to have a healthy dose of humility, so we can truly hear what God is saying to us and for us. The ultimate example for us in this is Jesus Himself. reminds us that “He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross”.
Proverbs require us to have an honest conversation with ourselves about about ourselves to begin and in some cases continue our relationship with God.
The Book of Proverbs is considered wisdom literature. The Hebrew word for skill is wisdom. So skill or wisdom is the overarching theme in Proverbs. Whether flying a plane, negotiating a dispute, sewing a dress, gathering food in the summer, or speaking before a king, skill is needed. And the skill of living is the sort of wisdom about which Proverbs is concerned.
Just as God used wisdom to bring order out of chaos when creating the world, so Proverbs seek to quip the young and naive with the skills needed to bring order out of the chaos called life.
Regardless of where confusion reign - finance or friendships family or faith, wisdom can restore order. The wisdom on Proverbs offers a set of instructions for wise living, a handbook for skillfully living a godly life. The concrete examples and truisms are meant to be generalized and applied to different situations.
They represent contrasts between the wise and the foolish, between the righteous and the unrighteous as well as the common consequences of a course of action.
They shall be taken not as promises, but as warnings to live prudently or to be actions or face the negative consequences.
The questions we should ask our selves when we rear Proverbs are:
What is the virtue reccommended?
What vice is warned against?
What value is held up for approval?
Some say the Proverbs are restrictive and behind the times, but they have stood the test of time and are as relevant today as yesterday.
Proverbs contribute no new insights, no hot of the press theories, no Dr. Phil or Oprah endorsements. Just the very wisdom of God, given to show us the value of the straight and narrow.
I just want to spend a little time in Chapter 24 of Proverbs today. This chapter is just full of wisdom for us to consider in our lives.
It starts out with : Do not envy the wicked, do not desire the company; for their hearts plot violence, and their lips talk about making trouble.
Have you ever been jealous or envious of someone who on the surface always seems to have a lot of money or status or friends or a lot of stuff?
You’re struggling trying to make it everyday, and can’t seem to catch a break. Its easy to become envious in that situation but God has other thought on the matter.
When we take our eyes off our own lives and start comparing it with others, we always seem to come out on the short end of the stick.
Especially when we know someone is profiting from evil. You and I are fighting hard everyday and can’t seem to make any headway and the people committing some of the worse sins are living their best life now.
Now look at Verses 3 and 4. they tell us the way to move beyond envy. Its knowledge. “By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures.
Know who you are and who you belong to, will vault you and I past envy. Knowing and understanding how God loves you and has a plan for you life establishes in you and I a rock solid foundation to stay the course in your faith.
Through the knowledge of the wisdom of God, families and strong foundations are built. The house also includes your heart. Fill the empty spaces in your heart with the knowledge of God and with how you are filled with rare and beautiful treasures. Those are the skills abilities and talents that God has given to you.
Verse 5 tells us that “the people with skill always prevail through greta power. Not just any kind of power, not your everyday run of the mill power but great power. The power that can only come form God.
Now in order to manage great power requires great strength and that strength comes from knowledge. There is a saying that says” Knowledge of the subject instills confidence”. You and i should know God as well as we know our own name. You and I have extreme knowledge in what are names are and none can convince you that your name is not your name.
God
Because you know that you know that you know you own name. It should be the same about knowing God and His Word. If you are still coming to church for as long as you have been coming and you are still looking for a fresh word form the Lord and you brag to people about how long you have been going to church or how long you have been walking with the Lord.
But the only scriptures you know , the 23rd Psalm or the same 5 or 6 scriptures that get thrown out every Sunday ot get you hyped up and shouting at the right time.
If you are not coming to church for confirmation of what you are receiving from God during your personal prayer and Bible study, then its time for you to be like that Magi in and go in a different direction.
The direction you have been going is obviously is not getting you any closer to God. yOur going the wrong way.
You and I are going to have to be strong enough to change directions. That strength will come form our prayers. Have you ever heard the saying Little prayer little power, much prayer, much power? Time to check you power supply.
I bet if I ask most of you how much power does your cell phone have you may not even have to look at it to know. If i ask you how much power does your walk with God have you may not know. let me help you, everyday that you read your Bible and pray your walk with God is 100% powered, all, day, long, no matter, how much, you use it.
If our phone drop below a certain point, we can’t even think about anything else but getting it plugged in to get a charge. When our faith drops below a certain point we shouldn’t think about anything else but plugging in and getting a charge.
Being a Christian some days requires a great deal of power not to submit to the sins and temptations of this world. Our knowledge of God and His Word supplies us all the power we will ever need.
Now there is one more thing we need to talk about and then I’m going to sit down, and its verse 6.
For by wise guidance you will wage war, and in an abundance of counselors there is victory. The wise person is not completely self-reliant, instead the wise person looks to many advisors to seek to overcome any difficulty or personal weakness. Wise strategy is always more important then mere strength.
In the same way you want to use the right tool for the job you want to use the right advisors for the situation. You don’t call carpenter to to bake a cake why would you go to someone with no experience or worse yet bad experience with what you’re dealing with.
Let me close with this simple message: You don’t need to worry about anything, when you have wisdom form knowing God and His Word. You will never falter or quit in times of trouble when you possess wisdom. You will show the strength of character that comes with wisdom.
So, being envious of others is not our concern because at some point there will be a day of reckoning and at that time is that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.