Proverbs 24:1-22

Proverbs 24 1-10

v.1 # 19 This saying teaches us not to desire the fellowship of evil men. We want the company of evil people when we envy what they have. It could be money, relationships, hobbies (golf, hunting, etc.). The reason we are not to desire fellowship with them is found in verse two. Their hearts and lips plan violent things. If we place ourselves in close relationships with evil people, we will soon find ourselves acting as they act.

 For instance, if a man loves to hunt and therefore goes on a hunting trip with an ungodly man he may find himself doing things he should not. The evil man may see nothing wrong with breaking hunting regulations. Now the righteous man must make a decision. It is difficult because he is far away from home and the ungodly man is his only fellowship. It will be far easier for that righteous man to yield to temptation and sin because of the company he is in. In fact, it will be expected of him, by the ungodly man, to either engage in sin or at least tolerate it.   

v.3-4 #20 The key to a prosperous home is obtaining the wisdom of God.

 We build our house by using God’s wisdom. The house should be understood metaphorically, I believe, as our life at home. This verse speaks of the relationships we have with our immediate family. If we begin this building process with the wisdom of God, we are well on our happy to a great life.

We establish our house by understanding. The word for “understanding” speaks of skillfulness. It describes a person who uses the wisdom of God to live a skillful life. “Establish” means “to stand firm.” We must continue to skillfully use the wisdom of God to make sure our house does not crumble down around us. The principles of God’s word must be taught and practiced in the everyday life of the people within our household.

We fill our house by knowledge. To have each room filled with precious (rare) and pleasant (beautiful) treasures would reveal that a person was very prosperous. “Knowledge” means “intelligence or insight”. We make our home prosperous by obtaining and using the intelligence and insight of God. It is this knowledge that gives us the ability to discern the will and word of God. As our household implements this knowledge we begin to prosper with the true spiritual riches of God. Our house is therefore filled with beautiful and rare treasures that cannot be bought with money.

v.5-6 #21 This saying teaches us that wisdom is better than strength. The context of these verses is a decision to go to war. When one is about engage enemies, he should not merely depend on his physical strength. He should consult wise counsel. Even if it appears that the enemy could be easily conquered, one should still not rush into battle. Throughout history many small armies have defeated much larger and stronger armies than they were.

It is therefore best to use God’s wisdom and not rely on our own strength. We should make it a habit to consult wise and godly people about important decisions in our life. We should not trust our own “strengths”. Our own ability, intellect, wisdom, etc. can lead us into trouble. Even when it seems we can prevail easily, we can find ourselves overcome.

v.7 #22 This saying teaches that fools should not be listened to when considering serious matters. He is the opposite of the wise counsel in verse 6. The gate was the place where important decisions were made for a city. It would especially involve political and social developments for a community. Therefore, it was a place for serious conversation. The wisdom of God was to be used in such places. The fact that wisdom is too high for a fool implies that he does not possess the wisdom of God. Therefore, he is to keep his mouth shut if he attends the meetings!

The church can get a good principle from this concerning its own planning and decision making. Unbelievers do not have the wisdom of God. Therefore, we should not allow them to determine the direction of our churches. They have no idea about the word and will of God. In fact, the word of God is foolish to them (1 Cor. 2:14)!

v.8-9 #23 This saying teaches us that the reputation of an evil man will be known to and disgust others. The phrases “plans to do evil” in v. 8 and the word “devising” in v.9 both describe plans of evil men. Their sin is thought out carefully and planned. It is not something they fall into. It is deliberate. These types of people are easily identified. The term “schemer” describes a worthless man who plans and connives to the hurt of others. The context suggests he is a despicable person. Therefore, he is an abomination to others. That is, he is morally disgusting to them. The foolishness of the world can cause us to turn into this type of person. Having this in mind we should flee foolishness and seek wisdom.

v.10 # 24 If we fall when tough times come it is because we are spiritually weak. The “day of adversity” is the time in our life when trials and temptations come. This happens throughout our entire lives. It is during these times that we are tempted to give into sin or to give up on God. Our reaction to trials reveals our spiritual maturity. God, through His grace, allows adversity to come into our life to reveal if we are spiritually strong or spiritually weak. During these days we should seek strength and wisdom in God. We should not give in to the temptation of sin. Nor should we become less committed in the things of God. To do either of these reveals that our spiritual life needs some reviving.

Thoughts to Consider

1. The company we keep heavily influences the decisions we make.

2. If your home is built with only wood and bricks it will not last long.

3. What appears to be easy for us to do is not always easy for us to do. Seek wisdom.

4. Let the fool talk, just don’t listen to him!

5. Don’t blame your spiritual state on your circumstances. 

Proverbs 24 11-22

v.11-12 # 25 The righteous are obligated to do what they can to keep people from perishing. Most likely, verse 11 describes people who have been wrongly charged with some type of crime. As a result, they are going to receive the death penalty. “Taken away” pictures the people being led toward their death. This is likely sometime of a military group leading them. “Slaughter” is a term that is used to describe killings by military in the Bible.

The righteous cannot plead ignorance for their actions. The text tells us that God knows our hearts. Whether we refused to help the innocent because we were apathetic toward them or we feared evil men really doesn’t matter. God expects the righteous to help those who are being slaughtered. In fact, God is the One that “keeps watch over our soul”. We have been the recipients of His grace and therefore we should extend that grace toward others. The text also reminds us that God will hold us accountable for our inaction.

There are a couple of practical applications we can use here. First, when we see groups of people oppressed by governments, we should do what we can to intervene and help them. Second, we should consider that the lost are being led to their eternal death even now. We should do what we can to give them the eternal life that God has given us.

v. 13-14 # 26 We should seek the wisdom of God because it is that wisdom which will bring us the greatest pleasure in life. The young man is told to eat honey because it is good. Honey was a highly desired food because of the sweet taste it offered. Most people probably did not think about the health benefits of honey. They ate it because it brought them pleasure.

In the same way, we are to seek God’s wisdom because it will bring us pleasure. The wisdom of God brings great fulfillment in life. The rewards of a godly life are experienced in the abundance of life God offers on this earth as well as the abundant life experienced in heaven. These rewards shall not be cut off. That is, they are eternal. We are to serve God because we enjoy Him. If we analyze our relationship with the Lord like a dietician analyzes their menu, we may miss the pleasure that God brings us. We serve first and foremost because He is sweet to our taste. The benefits are secondary.

v.15-16 #27 We should not engage in evil because the righteous will ultimately prevail. In this verse we see a man who is contemplating waiting for a righteous man to get home so he can rob him. The proverb warns the man not to do this. If the wicked man does succeed in his robbery he must face two problems.

The first problem is that the just man will get back up. He could then testify against the man or seek personal revenge against him. He will get up seven times! “Seven” should be taken symbolically. It is the number of fullness and simply means that he will continue to get back up. You can’t keep a good man down!

The second problem the wicked man faces is mischief that will come his way. Calamity will come his way. We should probably understand God as the Author of this calamity. He will bring judgment on the wicked man on this earth and in the next world if he does not repent. The wicked man, therefore, should recognize that evil will not prevail. The wise thing to do is not rob the righteous but join the righteous by embracing wisdom.

v.17-18 # 28 We should not rejoice at God’s judgment on other people. The “falling” and “stumbling” of the enemy is a result of God’s judgment. That is clear from verse 18. The reason that we are not to rejoice when God punishes our enemies seems a little odd at first. The reason given is that if we get happy when He punishes our enemies, He might stop punishing them!  

I think to understand this fully we would have to understand it in the context of war. If an enemy were oppressing our nation and God intervened by punishing them, His ceasing to punish them would then allow that enemy to resume their attack on us. Therefore, if He stopped punishing them, we would be in a lot of trouble.

These verses are a sobering reminder that the judgment of God is very real. We are never to take it lightly. Nor are we to desire that others endure it. At some point in time all of us were under threat of His eternal condemnation.

There is another application for us as well. We should not gloat when trials or failure come into the lives of our enemies. Perhaps it’s bankruptcy, divorce, rebellious children, etc. We should never have an “I told you so mentality”. We should be people of humility and grace.

v. 19-20 # 29 We should not get angry at evil men. The term “fret” here means “to glow with anger”. It describes a person who is infuriated. In these verses it is a warning to a righteous man not to be infuriated because of the evil things that sinners do. Sometimes this anger stems from a sense of injustice. One gets “envious” of the wicked because they are living a godless life, yet they are still prospering. If we are not careful, we will get in the flesh over this. The proverb reminds us that the evil man will have no reward in heaven. The fact that his “lamp” will be put out reveals that his life will be taken in judgment. He will therefore pay for all the wicked things he did. When we understand this there is no reason to be either envious or angry toward him.

v.21-22 # 30 We should fear both the Lord and the king. “Those who do otherwise”” would be rebellious people who seek to change what is right. Some will try and get us to rebel against the word of God. Others will try and get us to rebel against the government. We should beware of people who try to convince us to do these things. Both the Lord and the king can inflict calamity upon us. We never know what they may do to us for our rebellion. We do well to live in great fear of them both.

Thoughts to Consider

1. Evil prevails when good people do nothing.

2. We should obey the Word of God because it is good to us not simply because it is good for us.

3. We should thank God when He blesses our enemies.

4. It is God’s job to be angry at the unrighteous, not ours.