Posted by Jeff Short on April 14, 2017 · Leave a Comment
There shall no evil happen to the just: but the wicked shall be filled with mischief.
– Proverbs 12:21
The word for
evil means trouble or sorrow. The first phrase seems to run counter to reality. We know the wise and good have sorrows and troubles that come to them in life. We understand the meaning when we consider the contrast. The
just don’t have the troubles and sorrows of their own making as the
wicked do (Proverbs 14:14). The word for
mischief means calamity or adversity. The
wicked will not only have distresses but will be
filled with them, which indicates fully and continually. This is the fruit of their own way (Proverbs 1:31).
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Posted by Jeff Short on April 6, 2017 · Leave a Comment
The wicked is snared by the transgression of his lips: but the just shall come out of trouble.
– Proverbs 12:13
Proverbs speaks much to words, their use and their danger. Here words of
transgression, or rebellion, ensnare the speaker. Solomon warned his son of speaking hastily and the snare that could result from it (Proverbs 6:1-2). The word for
trouble means tightness, or straitness. We might say to get in a bind. The
wicked speak rebellious words that get them in a bind (Proverbs 18:7), but the
just speak wise words that deliver, or keep, them out a bind (Proverbs 13:2; 18:20).
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Posted by Jeff Short on March 1, 2017 · Leave a Comment
An hypocrite with his mouth destroyeth his neighbor: but through knowledge shall the just be delivered.
– Proverbs 11:9
The word for
hypocrite means to be soiled or defiled. It is a word for a godless person we might describe as a reprobate, blasphemer, etc. To destroy means to decay and to corrupt, or bring to ruin. The proverb describes those who use their speech to subvert others, like the heretics Paul warned about (Romans 16:17-18). The
just will be
delivered from such deception through
knowledge, or discernment. Such knowledge equips us to sort the things we hear and to tell whether they are truth and wisdom or not (Colossians 2:8).
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Posted by Jeff Short on February 21, 2017 · Leave a Comment
A false balance is abomination to the LORD: but a just weight is his delight.
– Proverbs 11:1
The law forbade conducting deceptive transactions and cheating the scale (Leviticus 19:35-36; Deuteronomy 25:13-16). God rebuked Israel for this sin through the prophets (Amos 8:5; Micah 6:10). Wisdom likewise teaches the abomination of false balances (Proverbs 16:11; 20:10, 23). A
just weight is a complete measure, or we might think of it as accurate. God delights in this sort of honesty, fairness, and just dealings.
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Posted by Jeff Short on February 18, 2017 · Leave a Comment
The mouth of the just bringeth forth wisdom: but the froward tongue shall be cut out.
– Proverbs 10:31
To bring forth is literally to germinate or bear fruit. It is also put figuratively for speech as the idea that words are the fruit produced. A
just man will bear the fruit of wisdom in his speech (Psalm 37:30). The
froward tongue is contrasted. The word indicates something twisted, crooked, or otherwise perverse. Wicked prattling will ultimately be stopped (Psalm 31:18). The cutting out promised in the proverb puts one in mind of a bad tree with bad fruit being cut down and burned up.
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Posted by Jeff Short on February 7, 2017 · Leave a Comment
The tongue of the just is as choice silver: the heart of the wicked is little worth.
– Proverbs 10:20
Solomon contrasts the
tongue of the just with the
heart of the wicked—righteous speech with the mind of the ungodly. A man’s speech is produced from the heart as if the heart were a treasure trove (Luke 6:45). Good treasure means good words and evil treasure means evil words.
Little worth indicates smallness. It is scarcity in the bad sense because the fool produces a multitude of words but scarcely any are good (Proverbs 15:28).
Choice silver is scarce in the good sense that makes it rare, valuable, and precious. It is also aesthetically pleasing, or pleasantly beautiful (Proverbs 25:11-12).
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Posted by Jeff Short on January 25, 2017 · Leave a Comment
The memory of the just is blessed: but the name of the wicked shall rot.
– Proverbs 10:7
The
memory of a person obviously speaks of that person after they are gone. Once a person has lived and died, their character and name are fixed. Their memory will either be a blessing or a stinking
rot. The memory of them will be determined by their character and way of life while they lived, whether
just or
wicked. This is wisdom’s long view of life. Wisdom considers the end of a thing before stepping foot in the path. It is pressed upon each of us to consider what sort of memory we would want to leave. The next step then is to seek wisdom and endeavor to live now in such a way that we come to that desired end. It would not be Divine wisdom to merely teach us to leave a good legacy on earth subject to the judgment of men. Divine wisdom teaches us that it is the judgment of God that matters and that should drive our life on earth (2 Corinthians 5:9-10).
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Posted by Jeff Short on August 23, 2016 · 1 Comment
But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.
– Proverbs 4:18
Verses 16 and 17 reveal the progression of the path of the wicked. The way of evil men begin with what seems a bright prospect (Proverbs 1:10-14), but progresses to slavery to sin (Proverbs 4:16-17) and finally to death (Proverbs 14:12; 16:25). In contrasts, the way of wisdom is like the sunrise that gives faint light at the first but continues to rise until it reaches full strength at the height of day.
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Proverbs 12:21
Posted by Jeff Short on April 14, 2017 · Leave a Comment
There shall no evil happen to the just: but the wicked shall be filled with mischief.
The word for evil means trouble or sorrow. The first phrase seems to run counter to reality. We know the wise and good have sorrows and troubles that come to them in life. We understand the meaning when we consider the contrast. The just don’t have the troubles and sorrows of their own making as the wicked do (Proverbs 14:14). The word for mischief means calamity or adversity. The wicked will not only have distresses but will be filled with them, which indicates fully and continually. This is the fruit of their own way (Proverbs 1:31).– Proverbs 12:21
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