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13:1 A wise son accepts his father's discipline,
but a scoffer does not listen to rebuke.
The point of this proverb
is humility and teachability. We want to be teachable.
We want to be correctable. From time to time,
we all make mistakes. We want to learn from our
mistakes. Those who are wise will respond properly
to discipline.
There is something within
us that doesn’t like to be corrected. As we are
growing up, most of us will come to an age when
we resent it when parents try to teach us or correct
us. If we are wise, we will humble ourselves,
and learn from them, and allow them to correct
us.
Being willing to receive
correction should not be limited to parents. It
should include others who are in authority over
us: soldiers from those of higher rank; employees
can accept correction from employers, so that
they will do a better job; members of the synagogue
from those who are in a position of authority
over them, so that they will grow to spiritual
maturity.
Someone observed: There
is little hope for those who will not so much
as hear rebuke or correction. How can you fix
a problem in your life if you will not listen
to those who tell you about it, and if you consider
them enemies that do you this kindness?
Boy, girl, young man, young
woman, especially teenager who thinks your parents
don’t know anything, and you and your friends
are smarter than your parents - you are never
to old to learn from your parents. They have more
life-experience than you, and generally more knowledge,
and more wisdom.
13:2 From the fruit of a man's mouth he enjoys good,
but the desire of the treacherous is violence.
The good man is a giver.
He gives time and things, particularly good words,
and thereby blesses himself and others. In giving
good things he receives good things. When we give
out good things - talking to others about the
truths of the Word of God, and the greatness of
God, and the importance of salvation, and the
sufficiency of Messiah, good things happen to
them and to us. Our souls are encouraged, our
resolve is strengthened, our minds are blessed.
But those who are not faithful
to God and truth don’t give good and wise words.
They are not interested in giving, but taking,
and may resort to violence to get the things they
want. Don’t be like that! Be a giver, not a taker.
Be a giver of good things to say.
13:3 The one who guards his mouth preserves his
life; the one who opens wide his lips comes to
ruin.
How many times have you
said something stupid, something hurtful, that
you later regret? How many times have your words
gotten you into trouble?
The person who talks before he considers
what he is going to say, and the right circumstances
to say it, who says whatever comes to his mind,
will hurt himself.
The wise man controls what
he says. The mature man thinks about what he is
going to say, the best way to say it; the right
time to say it. Will he speak in person about
this, or maybe by phone, letter, email?
Someone said: Take heed
that your tongue does not cut your throat. If
you learn to control what you say, you will prevent
yourself much trouble. God has give us two eyes
that we may see much. He has give us two ears,
that we may hear much. But He has give us one
tongue, and fences that in with teeth, that we
should speak little.
13:4 The soul of the sluggard craves and gets
nothing, but the soul of the diligent is made
fat.
Human beings want things.
They way to get the things you want is by regular,
diligent hard work. The one who is willing to
show up to work regularly, and on time, and work
hard all day, is generally going to earn enough
to get the things he wants.
The
lazy person also wants things, but he is unwilling
to work hard enough to get them. Instead of working
hard, improving himself, deferring purchases to
the future, saving and investing wisely, he will
place himself under the false prosperity teaching,
and claim a few verses out of context, and delude
himself into thinking that he is going to get
everything he wants.
Someone said: Diligence
is better than daydreaming. Rather than spend
all day hoping for things that they do not have,
the diligent will work toward realizing their
dreams.
This proverbs also applies
to spiritual diligence and spiritual laziness.
There are people who want a closer walk with God
and a richer spiritual life, and yet they never
seem to get it. Why? They don’t work hard enough
on their spiritual disciplines. They are not hard-working
and diligent about their spiritual duties. They
won’t discipline themselves to read the Bible
regularly, study it, mediate on it; hear it being
taught; they don’t pray regularly; they won’t
participate in the life of the congregation regularly,
serve, pitch in, help. They don’t support the
work of the congregation diligently; they don’t
engage in evangelism regularly. You reap what
you sow. If diligently sow these things, your
soul will be satisfied. You will have peace and
happiness even in the midst of life’s challenges.
13:5 A righteous man hates falsehood, but a wicked
man acts disgustingly and shamefully.
A righteous man, who knows
the Lord, and is in a right relationship with
the Creator, and who is living the right way,
knows what is true and what is false; what is
good and what is bad. He knows how important truth
is, how good, how beneficial it is. He knows how
damaging falsehood is, especially when it comes
to religion. Therefore he feels passionately about
truth and falsehood. He loves what is true, and
hates what is false.
He hates lies that are spoken.
He hates fraud in business. He hates false teaching.
He detests false prophets; he hates the religions
and philosophies that are mixtures of truth and
error, having enough truth to seduce, but enough
error to damn.
A wicked man either doesn’t
know or doesn’t care about the differences between
good and bad, right and wrong, truth and error.
He wants what he wants, and he will ignore the
truth, and engage in sinful behaviors to get what
he wants.
13:6 Righteousness guards the one whose way is
blameless, but wickedness subverts the sinner.
Our actions have an impact
on ourselves, as well as on others. Those who
are straight and true, who are honest, who are
fair, who have good morals, ethics and integrity,
their righteousness will protect them. They will
be protected from temptation; they will not be
trapped by the schemes of men. They will be protected
from the consequences of sins that they will not
fall into.
On the other hand, no matter
how wealthy, famous or powerful people may be,
those that are wicked are undermining their own
lives. Going against God’s wise principles undermines
the foundations of one’s life.
They wicked will be overthrown at last.
You want security in this life and life in the
World-To-Come? Do what is right!
13:7 There is one who pretends to be rich, but
has nothing; another pretends to be poor, but
has great wealth.
The one who pretends to
be rich is the person who buys the newest cars,
trendy clothes, fancy house, but he really has
nothing of his own. Her is in debt - everything
is leased, he has wrung up huge credit card bills.
The one who pretends to be poor, but has great
wealth is the person who does not care what
other people think. He doesn’t need a new car,
a huge house, designer clothes.
You want to get wealthier?
Don’t buy to impress others. Live below your means
and save. The more you save, the more you defer
purchases, and then invest wisely, the more you
will have. Adam Hamilton observed: “Building wealth
is hard work. Few, if any, shortcuts exist and
it takes diligence, persistence, and sacrifice
over years or decades to amass significant amounts
of capital. The only way for a nation, company,
or individual investor to become wealthy is to
consume less than they earn. Savings is the key
to wealth accumulation.”
13:8 The ransom of a man's life is his riches,
but the poor hears no rebuke.
We usually judge a person's
level of happiness by the amount of their wealth.
We think that they are more or less happy on the
basis whether they have more or less money. But
that is not always true. There are disadvantages
to wealth. It is almost only the rich are susceptible
to kidnaping and blackmail. It is the rich person
that is exposed to legal suits. When was the last
time that someone on welfare was sued, or one
of his children held for ransom? When the Jewish
people were carried off into captivity in Babylon,
it was the rich Jews that were taken away as captives
to Babylon; the poor of the land were left.
13:9 The light of the righteous rejoices, but
the lamp of the wicked goes out.
Light here represents life,
prosperity and happiness. The lamp of the wicked
that goes out represents adversity and death.
The righteous - those who are in a right relationship
with the Living God, and consistently do the right
things, are generally happier than other people.
They have hidden resources of faith and hope and
peace that the world does not have.
The lamp of the those who
ignore God and His wise principles for living
may burn brightly for a while. They may gain fame,
honor, wealth and power in this world, but eventually
their light goes out. Their success, their happiness,
is dependent on the world, and in the world there
are all kinds of problems, and eventually, the
wicked die, and this world will come to an end.
You want a better and happier and lasting life?
Follow the Lord and His ways!
13:10 Through pride (presumption, insolence) comes
nothing but strife (quarreling, fighting), but
with those who receive counsel is wisdom.
If your life is based on
false premises - that you are the most important
being in the universe; that God isn't aware of
things, or will not judge sin; that there are
no absolutes of right and wrong; no Heaven and
no Hell, you will create problems for yourself
and for others. We call this attitude pride.
Someone said: There is hardly
a quarrel among individuals, or a war among nations,
that does not come from pride, the sin of exalting
the self, the sin of seeking to be better than
another. To acquire the wished for superiority,
people and nations will argue, fight and quarrel
to get it.
Pride creates the environment
for fighting to take place. Those who are proud
are sure that they are always right. They don't
want their opinions to be contradicted or their
desires opposed. Pride makes people impatient.
They are impatient with anything that looks like
a slight. They will not forgive. They will not
admit that they might be wrong. They don’t have
the wisdom to take good advice to avoid a fight.
Those who are wise are humble.
Those who are wise listen to advice rather than
argue out of stubborn pride. Those who are humble
will recognize the superior opinion of another.
Receive counsel. Make it a habit to ask advice
from others - from your conscience, from the Word
of God, from your rabbi, your godly friends. If
you do, you will do well.
13:11 Wealth obtained by fraud dwindles, but the
one who gathers by labor increases it.
How you get your wealth
is important. If it is not gotten God's way, it
doesn’t have God's blessing. Fortunes acquired
by speculation, by gambling, by fraud, by lying,
by illegal activity, soon dwindle. The same bad
attitudes which incline men to engage in wrong
way of getting wealth, inclines them to waste
it after they get it. Wealth that is not the result
of good hard honest work is seldom permanent.
How you make your money
is very important. For example, teaching the false
prosperity teaching, and building a church on
this false teaching, which is spiritual fraud,
will eventually cause your financial situation
to diminish.
Prosperity comes from good
hard work and from good investments. Wealth that
comes about because of honesty and hard work and
smart investing will grow more, instead of growing
less; it will be sufficient to take care of us,
it will be an inheritance to our children. The
one who labors will have enough for himself and
will have enough to give to him who has needs
- Ephesians 4:28.
13:12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but desire
fulfilled is a tree of life.
Someone said: It is exciting
and invigorating to fulfill your hopes. To fail
over and over again is depressing. People can
bear frustration only so long. They must have
encouragement to continue. Few things are more
enjoyable than to enjoy that which we have long
wanted and waited for. When the desire is finally
fulfilled it is like being in a kind of paradise,
a garden of pleasure. It is sweet, satisfying,
and reviving.
Since hope that is not realized
is depressing, don’t hope for great things from
this world. Don’t hope to live like a king. Don’t
hope to be a billionaire. Don’t hope that the
whole world knows your name. Limit your hopes
for this world. Instead, place your hopes in eternal
realities; your sure hope of Heaven, and everlasting
life and happiness; your incorruptible inheritance.
You will not be disappointed, and though you wait
long for it, it will be very sweet.
13:13 The one who despises the word will pay for
it, but the one who fears the commandment will
be rewarded.
The Lord has designed the
universe so that it functions according to His
Word. Therefore, if you respect the Word of God,
and implement it, your life will line up with
the universe, with God, with truth, and you will
be rewarded with a blessed and successful life.
But if you despise the Word by knowing the Bible
but not believing it and not implementing its
truths, then your life will be out of order. You
will be opposing the universe, God, truth, and
you will suffer loss. The same holds true for
a nation, as well as an individual, and sadly,
we are despising the Word more and more. We will
pay for it.
Someone observed: Wise people
listen to wise instruction, especially the Word
of God. The individual who fears the commandments,
that respects the Word of God, and is afraid to
violate it, who stands in awe of God, who has
deference to His authority, who is afraid of displeasing
God and incurring the penalties found in that
Word, will not only escape destruction, but shall
be rewarded for his godly fear with peace and
safety. In keeping the commandment there is great
reward.
If
we want a truly successful and blessed life, we
must get to know the Word of God and implement
its truths.
13:14 The teaching of
the wise is a fountain of life, to turn aside
from the snares of death.
Wisdom - the ability to
properly apply knowledge, brings great benefits.
It is like the fountain of life - life-giving
and invigorating. Wise teaching helps us to enjoy
a full, rich, blessed and successful life. Not
only does good teaching make life more abundant,
but it also turns us from the snares of death.
In this life, there are so many ways to do so
many foolish things that will harm us. In this
fallen, demonically controlled world, there are
so many dangers, snares, traps and temptations
to be avoided, and so many foolish decisions that
can be made.
The teaching of the wise
helps us avoid life’s many dangers, and enhances
the quality of our lives. So, make sure that you
get the torat-chah-cham - the teaching of the
wise. Listen to good sermons, attend a good Bible
study. Read good religious books that educate
and inspire. Seek out those who are wise, and
get their counsel for important decisions.
13:15 Good understanding
produces favor, but the way of the treacherous
is hard.
The Creator has designed
laws, principles and rules into the universe.
There are physical laws like gravity, and spiritual
and moral laws, like, “You shall love the Lord
your God with all your heart, soul and might.”
“You shall worship Him and serve Him alone.” “Yeshua
is God’s Anointed Leader who makes atonement possible
for those who come to know Him and follow Him.”
The more we know about these moral and spiritual
laws, principles, and commands, and the more we
line up our lives with them, the more we will
experience chen - favor. The more the Lord will
be able to bless us. Seh-chel - good sense that
is based on the Bible, make us appreciated and
acceptable to God and to other good men and women.
The way of the treacherous
- those that are not loyal to these moral and
spiritual laws, principles, and commands that
the Creator designed into the universe, is rough
and uneasy, because they are opposing reality,
defying truth and goodness, and rebelling against
the Lord. Don’t go in the way of the treacherous!
Go the way of good understanding!
Someone observed that the
wages of sin is death, and the road to Hell is
covered with thorns and thistles that are the
products of the curse. Most sinners have more
pain and difficulty getting their souls damned,
than the righteous have, with all their cross-bearing,
getting into the kingdom of Heaven!
13:16 Every prudent man
acts with knowledge, but a fool displays folly.
Before he does gets into
a difficult or complicated situation, the wise
individual acts with knowledge. He learns about
the situation. He studies the facts. He finds
out the circumstances. He thinks about the potential
problems, difficulties and dangers. He makes his
decisions based on knowledge and prudence.
The wise individual is cautious.
He acts with deliberation. He is careful not to
get involved in situations that he is not knowledgeable
about. He will not start a business which he has
not thoroughly familiarized himself with. He is
careful to invest only in situations that he has
done due diligence. He is careful not to get involved
with people who he is not familiar with - having
determined if they are trustworthy and may be
confided in.
The foolish individual is
rash. He doesn’t sufficiently consider the situation.
He ignores the red flags and the warning signs.
He is confident about things that he really doesn’t
understand. He launches into foolish ventures
and winds up looking ridiculous.
13:17 A wicked messenger
falls into adversity, but a faithful envoy brings
healing.
If you are in a position
of responsibility, and you need to delegate authority,
you make sure that you delegate authority to a
trustworthy individual. A person of integrity
and faithfulness brings healing and good results.
The faithfulness of your representative determines
the success or the failure of the responsibilities
that you are entrusting him with.
If you don’t choose a faithful
representative, you will cause yourself trouble.
If you trust an irresponsible person with an important
task, you can expect trouble. If you hire a person
with bad values, and give him much responsibility,
he will do a lot of damage. Barings Bank was one
of the oldest and most respected banks in England,
built up over 200 years by generations of careful
businessmen and investors. It took only one young
man, Nick Leeson, who was put into a position
of responsibility, by lying and fraud, to destroyed
this venerable bank.
13:18 Poverty and shame
will come to him who neglects discipline, but
he who regards reproof will be honored.
It goes against fallen and
proud human nature to graciously receive correction.
We don’t like to be corrected. We don’t like to
admit we are wrong. We don’t like to humble ourselves
before others and admit our mistakes. But, we
need others to discipline us. We are born with
so much foolishness and arrogance in us. We need
those who are wiser and more experienced to correct
our faults.
The person who thinks he
is too good, too important, to be corrected will
be brought down a few notches. He will continue
making mistakes and suffer loss as a result. But
the one who lowers himself and receive discipline
and correction will be raised up. He will learn
from his mistakes. He won’t repeat them. He will
advance in his career, in his work, with his relationships.
Submit to discipline and correction when they
come to you.
13:19 Desire realized
is sweet to the soul, but it is an abomination
to fools to depart from evil.
Human beings want things.
When we want good things, and we get those things,
we feel happy. I want to grow beautiful flowers
and plants. For 11 years at my house in West Bloomfield
I’ve worked hard learning about various plants,
and then trying to plant and cultivate the right
plants in the right places. It has taken me time
and money and study and hard work. When my fruit
trees bear fruit, and my plants grow, and my thousands
of flowers bloom, it makes me very happy. It gives
me a great sense of satisfaction. My life is enriched.
I thank God for His goodness to me.
Desire realized is sweet
to the soul - provided those desires are good.
Make sure what you want is what is good. We need
to limit our desires to those things that are
good; those things that are right, those things
that are reasonable for us to have; those things
that the Lord approves of, those things that the
Lord is willing for us to have.
Fools - those who ignore
God and His ways, also want to be happy, and get
things and have things that they think will make
them happy, but they are seeking happiness in
the wrong way. They want the wrong things. And,
they do the wrong things to get the wrong things.
For example, they won't stop being sexually promiscuous.
They won't break off their affairs, their drug
habits; their alcoholism; they won’t stop lying
cheating or stealing. They come to love their
sinful pleasures, and hate stopping them. They
won’t depart from evil. But, because the things
they want to do are wrong and harmful, and go
against the Lord and His principles, they can
never be truly happy.
Are there things in your
life that you want, are there things that you
are doing, that you know are wrong? Ask the Lord
for the desire and the strength to give those
things up. Ask Him for His help to substitute
good desires for those harmful desires. It is
generally not easy to change bad desires bad habits,
but if you do, you will eventually be a much happier
person.
13:20 He who walks with
wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools
will suffer harm.
Choose your friends wisely.
Those we associate with have an influence on us.
That influence will be good or bad. It will either
help us or harm us. Wise friends will contribute
to your well-being and success. Friends of good
character who love the Lord and are wise in the
ways of God will help you have a truly successful
life. Spend time with those who know the Lord
and are committed this His wise principles, and
it will make you a better and more successful
person.
Millions and millions of
men and women have been ruined by hanging out
with the wrong crowd. Since the friend of fools
will suffer harm, don’t hang out with those who
ignore God and His ways, who are dishonest, immoral
and materialistic.
Wise people want to associate
with wise people, so that they will be wiser and
better. One way of living with the wise is by
reading and studying the Holy Scriptures. As we
read, study, contemplate the lives of wise men
and women like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Joshua,
David, Solomon, Samuel and the prophets, we associate
with the wisest of men and women and learn from
them and become like them.
Another way to "walk
with the wise" is to read biographies of
some of the great men and women of God who have
lived after the Bible was written. We may not
have the privilege of personally knowing personally
men like Patrick of Ireland, J. Hudson Taylor,
Augustine, D.L. Moody, or Dietrich Bonhoffer,
but by reading their biographies, we can benefit
from their walk with the Lord.
Remember, the Son of God
is the wisest of the wise, and also our Brother
and Friend. He is alive, and real, and able to
communicate to us and influence us. Spend time
thinking about Him, and contemplating His teachings,
and listening for His still small voice and talking
to Him. If you do, you will become wise and successful,
and more like Him. In the first century it was
obvious to everybody that His disciples were followers
of Yeshua, since they spent so much time in the
presence of Messiah, and they became more like
Him.
Who are your friends? Who
have you chose to spend your time with? Who is
influencing you?
13:21 Adversity pursues
sinners, but the righteous will be rewarded with
prosperity.
The good and wise Creator
has designed the universe with laws, principle
and commands. The one who discovers what those
laws, principles and commands are, and then lines
up his life values according to them, will prosper.
He will be successful.
The individual who goes
against those laws, principles and commands may
prosper for a while. He may seem successful and
secure, but eventually, either in this life, or
on the Day of Judgment, his sins will catch up
with him.
Adversity versus genuine,
lasting prosperity - it all depends on your morals,
your character, and your submission to the laws
of God.
13:22 A good man leaves
an inheritance to his children's children, and
the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the
righteous.
It pays to be good. A good
man works hard. A good man takes care of his family.
A good man honors the Lord with his money. A good
man invests wisely. A good man earn his income
honestly. A good man does not spend everything
on himself, but tries to gives his children an
inheritance. A good man who does these things
has a successful life, and has more than enough
for his own needs, and is able to leave an inheritance
to his children and grandchildren.
Someone wrote: A good man
stores up many prayers in Heaven for his family,
and his good example and advice are remembered
and quoted from generation to generation. Even
if he is not able to leave them much of this worlds
goods, his prayers, his instructions, his good
example, will be the best gift to them.
It does not pay to be bad.
Those who ignore the Lord and his wise principles
may become wealthy and prosperous for a time,
but eventually they will lose it. They may lose
it in this life by mismanagement, by war, taxation,
depression, business failures, investments going
bad, or maybe by some other sinner taking away
their wealth. If they manage to maintain some
wealth, they will lose it when they die.
Someone wrote: God often
brings into the hands of the righteous that which
wicked people had laid up for themselves. The
Jewish people left Egypt with much of the wealth
of the Egyptians (Exodus 12:36) and one day in
the future we will enjoy the wealth of the Gentiles
who have ignored God. We will wind up with their
wealth, and in their riches we will boast - Isaiah
61:6.
13:23 Abundant food is
in the fallow ground of the poor, but it is swept
away by injustice.
There are many opportunities
in the world around us. There is enough food in
the world around us. Those who don’t have a lot,
but are willing to work hard, will generally have
enough to meet their needs and the needs of their
family. There is no need for poverty in this world.
The Lord has designed things in such a way that
the Earth will yield enough if justice and decency
prevail among human beings. It is man's injustice
and bad government and war that impoverishes.
Stalin’s purposeful starvation of seven to 11
millions people in the 1930s is an example of
this kind of injustice.
13:24 He who spares his
rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines
him diligently.
Disciplining of children
is the duty of good parents. And, it is necessary
for parents to correct their children because
children are naturally foolish and rebellious.
If not corrected regularly, firmly and lovingly,
they will generally end up being spoiled, selfish
and bad citizens. If children are not disciplined
when they are young and need it, and are left
to themselves, they don’t learn proper boundaries
and what the consequences of obedience and disobedience
are.
Many modern educators and
psychologists and social engineers revolt against
this biblical teaching about discipline. They
tell us that spare the rod is child abuse
that cripples the child for life. But, nowhere
does the Bible teach that we should be brutal
when it comes to disciplining children. If a word
will suffice, then we are to speak a word of correction.
If they need to be sent to their room for half
an hour, then they should be sent to their room
for half an hour. But if they need a patch on
the tuchus, then they should get a patch on the
tuchus. I read that an old Egyptian proverb says
that boys have their ears on their tushees, because
they listen when they are smacked there!
If you want to produce successful
children and enjoy your children throughout your
life, lovingly discipline them early. Better that
your child is corrected by a loving but firm parent
than by a law enforcement official in a correctional
institution.
13:25 The righteous has
enough to satisfy his appetite, but the stomach
of the wicked is in want.
The individual who is right
with God, and is doing the right things, will
have enough to satisfy his appetite. He works,
and works hard and has enough.
The righteous limit their
worldly desires. They are not greedy. They resist
materialism. They try to be content with what
they have, and give thanks to God if they have
their basic needs met.
Someone wrote: A contented
soul has a continual feast. Enough for them is
better than a feast for others. Godliness and
food on the table and a roof over their heads
is enough to give them contentment. Those that
feed on the bread of life, that feast on the promises
of God, meet with abundant satisfaction of soul.
They eat, and are filled.
The wicked, who ignore the
Lord and His principles and commands, may act
foolishly. They may become alcoholics or drug
addicts, and lose their jobs and not have enough
money. They may cheat or steal from their company,
and get fired. They may commit crimes and lose
everything.
Someone wrote: The wicked
are constantly dissatisfied with their portion.
They want three things: more, more and more. There
is never enough. Those who are slaves to the physical
are insatiable. What does a person who has 10
million dollars want? 20 million!
Because they want more and
more things, they will max out their credit cards
on toys and entertainments, and cars and vacations
and eating out. During a housing bubble with lower
lending standards, they might foolishly take out
all the supposed equity from their homes, and
spend it, and then wind up with nothing.
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