Beloved, I am glad to share with you today the above theme from Pr 20.1 and following. In fact, wine, which represents in the Word communion with the joys of the world, leads to mockery (verse 1; Isaiah 28:5-14). Number of people who do not hesitate to proclaim their own goodness (verse 6), their morality (verse 9; 1 John 1:8-10), prove that they know little about their natural heart. Only the new man – the righteous – can please God by walking in faithfulness and integrity (verse 7). Let us draw our verse 10 closer to Deuteronomy 25:13-16: “Thou shalt not have in thy bag two different weights, one great and one small… you will have an exact and just weight…” In practice, this means, for example, not judging one’s own faults with leniency and those of others with severity. This brings us to verse 11. As young as a Christian is, he is called to make himself known for what he is. Less by her words than by her conduct: she must be both pure and upright, banish all troubled and unhealthy attitudes and all forms of cheating. Such conduct will be noticed because it will decide on the equivocal or dishonest behavior of many comrades. May the Lord help us to bear courageous witness to All of Us by taking model on the fidelity that Only He has perfectly realized!
The wine is mocking, the strong drink is tumultuous, and anyone who wanders into it is not wise (v. 1). This verse can be attached to v. 29 of chapter 19. It is for the mockers that the judgment is prepared. But wine gives birth precisely to that mocker that judgment will destroy. Getting lost there is madness, since that’s where the wine ends up. Mockery and tumult are the opposite of the Wisdom of which Proverbs is the code. The king’s terror is like the roar of a young lion: who irritates him sins against his own soul (v. 2; Pr 19:12). The King is mentioned several times in this chapter and in v. 1 of the next chapter, and this from various points of view. This verse is like a corollary and a repetition of the first part of 19:12. The terror that the king inspires is here the only one questioned. It is necessary to show the danger of those who irritate the king, for he sins against his own life. This brings us back to the reign of Christ (Ps. 2:12), like all those passages that have a future and typical relationship with the reign of Solomon.
The path of wisdom of which we speak does not, it is true, go beyond the earthly blessings promised to the Jewish people and does not carry the gaze of faith beyond the privileges of the Kingdom of God on earth; but it nevertheless requires new life (John 3:5) communicated to those who are begotten by Wisdom and have thereby acquired the right to be called His sons. It is the glory of a man to abstain from disputes, but every fool commits himself to it (v. 3). There is some connection between this verse and verse 1. The way to refrain from contestation is to be sober about the things that intoxicate, a profound thought that applies for us to all the things by which the world seeks to attract us to take away the enjoyment of communion with the Lord. Challenges, whatever they may be, are always the fruit of the flesh that has abandoned the path of wisdom and consequently the enjoyment of God’s presence. Indeed, “every madman is committed to it”. Because of winter, the sloth does not plough: during the harvest he will beg and have nothing (v. 4). At the beginning of winter when, after the harvests made, comes the time of ploughing, the sloth invokes the bad season to abstain from work; at the next harvest he will be reduced to scarcity and his field will provide him with nothing. What a contrast to the epistle of James (5:7) to which Proverbs so often brings us back!
The counsel in a man’s heart is deep water, and the intelligent man draws from it; it is a thoughtful heart, weighing what suits God and men. He does not have it on the tongue, but the intelligent draws from it and, in Proverbs, the intelligent is always the son of Wisdom. Thinking about it, he finds that these waters are part of the “deep waters” of the land of promise (Deut. 8:7). He draws from it the decisions, the directions for the walk and for the way to conduct himself in a way worthy of God. This counsel is also what the son finds in the father’s instruction and in that of Wisdom (8:14). Many men each proclaim his goodness; but a faithful man, who will find him? “No one is good but God alone,” but how many proclaim their goodness are great! They outwardly display this title by means of what the world calls “good works,” but God probes their hearts and knows what they contain. What is their ignorance of what man is! “But a faithful man, who will find him?” Neither fidelity nor goodness is found in the heart of man. He who is born of God is called faithful, for he shares in the character of the faithful God. He is called to deploy this fidelity by keeping the deposit that God has entrusted to him. The just walks in its integrity; happy his sons after him! As a counterpart to the previous verse, o n finds here the righteous man by the work of God; he separates himself from evil. His integrity is his strength. He is the happy man and his reward is the happiness of the sons who succeed him.
The king sits on the throne of judgment; he dispels all evil by his gaze (v. 8). It is no longer the wrath of the king as in v. 2, but the king, presiding over his throne in the government of his kingdom. A look at him is enough, because he discerns everything, so that all evil is dissipated. No evil can stand before him. This is the millennial blessing under the reign of Christ. Who will say: I have purified my heart, I am clean of my sin? (v. 9; 1 John 1:8). It is in no way in man’s power to purify his heart. He will have to say, “Cleanse me from sin with hyssop, and I will be pure; wash me and I will be whiter than the snow.” He will be able to say, “I have made my sin known to you… and you have forgiven the iniquity of my sin.” (Ps. 51; Ps. 32).
The following verses have been compiled for your edification and grouped together for your better understanding.
The Lord and Daily Life:
- Deceptive sin, the deception of sin
Rom 7:11 For sin seizing the opportunity deceived me with the commandment, and through him made me die. 1 Tim 2:14 and it was not Adam who was deceived, it was the woman who, seduced, was guilty of transgression. 2 Tim 3:13 But wicked and impostor men will ever further advance in evil, leading others astray and misguided themselves. Hb 3:13 But exhort one another every day, as long as it can be said: Today! that none of you may harden by the seduction of sin.
- Bad activity, schemers spend their time stirring up conflict
Pr 17:9 He who covers up a fault seeks love, and he who recalls it in his speeches divides friends. 2 Thess 3:11 We learn, however, that there are a few among you who live in disorder, who do not work, but who deal with trivialities. 1 Tim 5:13 With this, being idle, they learn to go from house to house; and not only are they idle, but also lovely and intriguing, saying what not to say. 1 Pet 4.15 Let none of you suffer as a murderer, or thief, or wrongdoer, or as interfering in the affairs of others.
- Honesty in measurements
Dt 25.13 Thou shalt not have in your bag two kinds of weight, one big and one small. Pr 20:10 Two kinds of weights, two kinds of epha, are both abominating to the Lord. Ez 45:10 Have right scales, a right ephah, and a right bath. Mi 6.11 Is one pure with false scales, And with false weights in the bag?
Being spiritual, man, a
Ec 3:21 Who knows if the breath of the sons of man rises to the top, and if the breath of the beast descends to the bottom into the earth? Acts 7:59 And they stoned Stephen, who prayed and said, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit! 2 Cor 4:16 That is why we do not lose heart. And even as our outer man destroys himself, our inner man renews himself day by day. John 2:26 As the body without a soul died, so faith without works died.
From all the above, we note thatthere are different qualities that bind to the different degrees of physical and spiritual development of man. John writes to the young men because they are strong. This force is their ornament and makes them victorious in battle. White hair is actually a sign of weakness, but it is actually the glory of the elderly because it represents wisdom. In morale wisdom will always grow in proportion to the true feeling of our weakness. Bruises and wounds clean the evil, and the blows, the depths of the soul. It is important to bring this passage closer to v. 27 where it is also spoken of the “depths of the heart”. It is not to have a mind capable of probing them, which judges these depths in the slightest. The natural man can know man and be a deep moralist, it does not change him in any way. To cleanse the heart it takes bruises, wounds and blows; to make the land good, you need the plow. This is where the story of the son of Wisdom begins (cf. v. 9). There is, in this whole chapter, a kind of connection that is not imposed, as in the previous chapter, but nevertheless accompanies from verse to verse the one who meditates on these sentences. In places it can hardly be indicated, but the intelligent man according to Proverbs understands it and surrenders to the guidance of the Holy Spirit to discover it at every step. We will mention, among other things, v. 1-3; v. 6-9; v. 14-19; v. 24-30 and the passages scattered over the king, which, when joined together, form such a remarkable whole. Let us recall thatin Chapter 10 begin the details that indicate to the one who listens to it, how one can avoid the traps where the simple could fall, the procedure to be followed in many circumstances, and the consequences of the actions of men; in a word, what in detail characterizes wisdom, which can be prudence for man and divine discretion for the children of God, and also, the fruit of God’s government, whatever appearances may be for a time. It is worth noting that this is neither redemption nor propitiation in this book; but that he proposes a walk in accordance with the wisdom of God’s government. Our prayers are with you all.
PRAYER OF ACCEPTANCE OF JESUS CHRIST AS LORD AND PERSONAL SAVIOR
I now invite every person who wants to become a new creation by walking in the truth, to pray with me the following prayer:
Lord Jesus, I have long walked in the lusts of the world ignoring your love for humans. I admit to having sinned against you and ask your forgiveness for all my sins, because today I have decided to give you my life by taking you as Lord and personal Savior. I recognize that you died on the cross of Calvary and rose from the dead for me.
I am now saved and born again by the power of the Holy Spirit. Lead me every day to the eternal life that you give to all who obey your Word. Reveal yourself to me and strengthen my heart and faith, so that your light may shine in my life right now.
Thank you, Lord Jesus, for accepting me into your divine family, so that I may also contemplate the wonders of your kingdom.
I will now choose a nearby waterpoint to baptize myself by immersion, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
All adoration, power and glory are yours, now and forever and ever. Amen!
I would be happy to react to any questions and comments you may have, before sharing with you tomorrow “Continuation of proverbs on the moral life (Pr 21).
May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you abundantly.
David Feze, Servant of the Almighty God.