Proverbs 16:1-9

Plans

Teaching Proverbs 16:1-9 Title: Plans

Wisdom

Proverbs 970bc. 40 years, Salomon Begins and ends:

Fear of Lord

Title: Plans

Definition:

An orderly or step-by-step conception or proposal for accomplishing an objective.

Man proposes, God disposes

Man plans, God laughs. ie Israel tour

Verses 2–8 focus on the importance of the heart-action connection.

The first sub-unit consists mostly of synthetic parallels and is bound together by the catchword Lord (yhwh) in every verse except verse 8

16  1.The plans of the heart belong to man,

but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.

2  All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes,

but the Lord weighs the spirit.

3  Commit your work to the Lord,

and your plans will be established.

4  The Lord has made everything for its purpose,

even the wicked for the day of trouble.

5  Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the Lord;

be assured, he will not go unpunished.

6  By steadfast love and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for,

and by the fear of the Lord one turns away from evil.

7  When a man’s ways please the Lord,

he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.

8  Better is a little with righteousness

than great revenues with injustice.

9  The heart of man plans his way,

but the Lord establishes his steps.

God has plans for…

Judgment

Salvation

For Tabernacle & Temple

Are always fulfilled

Job 42:2. “I know that you can do all things,

and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.

For Wicked

For the Righteous

GOD HAS PLANS FOR YOU AND FOR ME……

God’s plans are revealed to his people….

Amos 3:7

“For the Lord God does nothing

without revealing his secret

to his servants the prophets

Ex 26:30.

Then you shall erect the tabernacle according to the plan for it that you were shown on the mountain.

James 4:13-15

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— 14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”

Leb HB-Lev= HEART, ones inner self 601x in 557 of OT.

VS 1,5,9…Heart

King Solomon found that all forms of worldly pleasure—levity, food and drink, power, sexual pleasure, and riches—do not lead to fulfillment. After all his pleasure seeking, Solomon concluded that true joy comes by fearing God and keeping his commandments

God has a heart:

5 The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.

Ge 6:5–6.

V1. The plans of the heart belong to man,

but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.

Heart, Plans and the Lord’ divine rule go together.

David, A MAN AFTER GOD’s HEART

Verse 1 pertains to human initiative in thought and divine initative in human speech. Its complementary versets underscore both the necessity and the limitations of human planning; human speech is subject to the divine rule.

We have the first word, God has the last word.

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V2

All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes,

but the Lord weighs the spirit.

Heart & Motives

The Lord evaluates (2b) the “plans” of the human heart (1a). Since people justify “all their actions” and the Lord evaluates according to truth, conflicts of assessment will arise. When a person becomes aware of his impurity, however, he should confess it and so obtain mercy.

> Graffiti Days

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V3. Commit your work to the Lord,

and your plans will be established.

God’s safe hands

Only through union with Christ can we bear fruit

JER 29:11

11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

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V4. The Lord has made everything for its purpose,

even the wicked for the day of trouble.

Some to honour, some to dishonour

there are ultimately no loose ends in God’s world: everything will be put to some use and matched with its proper fate. It does not mean that God is the author of evil.

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V5. Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the Lord;

be assured, he will not go unpunished.

The proud man is placed in the very worst company in Proverbs, heading the ‘seven abominations’ in 6:17….16  There are six things that the Lord hates,

seven that are an abomination to him:

17  haughty eyes, a lying tongue,

and hands that shed innocent blood,

18  a heart that devises wicked plans,

feet that make haste to run to evil,

19  a false witness who breathes out lies,

and one who sows discord among brothers

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V6. By steadfast love and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for,

and by the fear of the Lord one turns away from evil.

The Bible consistently presents moral effort as the right response to God’s grace.

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V7 When a man’s ways please the Lord,

he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.

This isn’t a flat staement of law but an encouragement to fearlessness to consult God’d wishes, not mans, he can handle the people you fear.

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V8. Better is a little with righteousness

than great revenues with injustice.

-Honesty at all costs

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V9  The heart of man plans his way,

but the Lord establishes his steps.

God has not merely the last word but the soundest

1914 The Spirit Led Differently

The story of missions in more modern times tells of missionaries whose plans have been changed by the Holy Spirit. Judson wanted to go to India, but his course was changed and he went to Burma instead. When David Livingstone was twelve years of age, he read an appeal for missionaries to go to China and he decided to go. His next decision was to be a medical missionary. With this in view he began to complete his medical studies. About the time he was ready to go, the Opium War broke out and Englishmen could not go to China.

Robert Moffat was in England at that time telling of the South African mission. Livingstone was interested in Moffat’s story and said: “What is the use of waiting for the end of this abominable Opium War? I will go at once to Africa.” Thus the Holy Spirit led Livingstone to Africa and the dreadful slave trade was laid bare to the world.

1927 The North Star

There is one star in our northern sky which never sets. For thousands of years it has been the brightest and most reliable guide for travelers, especially for sailors. It is called Polaris or the Pole Star. Better known is its name of North Star. It is located directly above the North Pole. You can find it rather readily by following with your eye an imaginary line through the pointers of the Great Dipper. Find it on some starlit night. That is what the Phoenicians and Vikings and sailors of the north did long ago when they started to sail the seven seas. By that bright light they made sure of their location and their direction.

—Tonne

JESUS IS OUR BRIGHT MORNING STAR!

Rev 22:16 I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”

9  The heart of man plans his way,

but the Lord establishes his steps.

1.Think of all your plans

2.Hold them tight into a fist

3.Open your hands and give them to the Lord

We all have something to give to the LORD this morning.