April 25
Reading: Proverbs 22
1 A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold.
2 The rich and the poor meet together; the LORD is the Maker of them all.
3 The prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple go on and suffer for it.
4 The reward for humility and fear of the LORD is riches and honor and life.
5 Thorns and snares are in the way of the crooked; whoever guards his soul will keep far from them.
6 Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.
7 The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender.
8 Whoever sows injustice will reap calamity, and the rod of his fury will fail.
9 Whoever has a bountiful eye will be blessed, for he shares his bread with the poor.
10 Drive out a scoffer, and strife will go out, and quarreling and abuse will cease.
11 He who loves purity of heart, and whose speech is gracious, will have the king as his friend.
12 The eyes of the LORD keep watch over knowledge, but he overthrows the words of the traitor.
13 The sluggard says, “There is a lion outside! I shall be killed in the streets!”
14 The mouth of forbidden women is a deep pit; he with whom the LORD is angry will fall into it.
15 Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline drives it far from him.
16 Whoever oppresses the poor to increase his own wealth, or gives to the rich, will only come to poverty.
17 Incline your ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply your heart to my knowledge, 18 for it will be pleasant if you keep them within you, if all of them are ready on your lips.
19 That your trust may be in the LORD, I have made them known to you today, even to you.
20 Have I not written for you thirty sayings of counsel and knowledge, 21 to make you know what is right and true, that you may give a true answer to those who sent you?
22 Do not rob the poor, because he is poor, or crush the afflicted at the gate, 23 for the LORD will plead their cause and rob of life those who rob them.
24 Make no friendship with a man given to anger, nor go with a wrathful man, 25 lest you learn his ways and entangle yourself in a snare.
26 Be not one of those who give pledges, who put up security for debts.
27 If you have nothing with which to pay, why should your bed be taken from under you?
28 Do not move the ancient landmark that your fathers have set.
29 Do you see a man skillful in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men.
Proverbs 22:1-16 finishes out this collection of Solomon’s wisdom.
vs. 1 Reputation is more important than money.
vss. 3-5 I remember 35 years ago at my Campus Crusade for Christ training, our teacher, Dennis Rainey, laid out in the room an assortment of set bear traps. He then blindfolded one of us and led him through the maze. Both stepped carefully. Life is like this, and the Lord and His wisdom leads us through.
vs. 6 This verse is often taken out of context and used as a promise. It is a proverb. It tells a parent to train a child because, usually, it will do the young person good. Most of the time it will set the course of their life. But people make their own choices.
vs. 10 Do not allow a scoffing, rude, mocking person to ruin a church or a business or a family. Let them know they are not welcome until they can be constructive. This is harder than we might like.
vs. 13 The lazy person is full of excuses.
vs. 15 Children need discipline. It gives them boundaries, marks the way, and shows them love.
Proverbs 22:17 begins a new section of Proverbs. After an introduction by the wise men who put together this collection (vss. 17-21) we are going to read thirty sayings over the next two and a half chapters (to chapter 24:22). No longer will we be reading mostly one verse proverbs consisting of two parallel, contrasting, or complimentary lines. What is coming are sayings often running two or more verses. We will be receiving wisdom with explanations and implications. Five of them finish out this chapter.
vss. 22-23 God has a special place in his heart for the poor. Remember Lazarus? (Luke 16)
vss. 24-25 Anger spreads like a bad disease. Just look at the society in which we live. Do not listen to or spend much time with angry people. Usually, anger is the opposite of joy.