Proverbs 18-21 Notes: Guest Teacher, Daphne Taylor

Proverbs 18, “Power of Words” & “Living in Harmony”

These proverbs somewhat fell under two main categories for me and I found interesting comparisons to the book of James.

Power of our Words (18:4, 6-8, 13, 21) listed here in Proverbs echoes the power of the tongue mentioned in James 3:2-10:

·                   Note how “powerful” our tongue can be – it can be used to bless or curse; to encourage or discourage; to bring life or death to our hearers.  See also Proverbs 15:1.

Living in Harmony (various Proverbs)

·                   With God (18:12, 14, 15)

·                   With Family (18:22)

·                   With Fellow Man (18:5, 17-19)

·                   With Authority (18:9)

Other Categories:

·                   Family – 18:22

·                   Practical / Social – 18:17-19

·                   Financial –

·                   Marital – 18:22

·                   Moral – 18:5

·                   Vocation – 18:9

·                   Living Righteously – 18:12, 14, 15

·                   Encouraging Promises – 18:10, 14, 24

Proverbs 19, “Inward & Outward”

Various components within this chapter as it deals with our personal hearts and motives which then spill over in our relationships with those around us (family, friends, society, etc.).  Note that when we find ourselves “walking” with the Lord and obeying His word, when we chose to allow the fruits of the spirit to shine through, it is much easier to love others and to weather the storms of life.

Note the importance of the inward focus of God’s wisdom and righteousness:  19:1-3, 8, 16, 23, 30

How are we supposed to treat others … esp. the poor as noted here in Proverbs? See 19:4, 7, 17

Paul’s commands to “walk by the Spirit”

Jesus’ command to love God and then neighbor – Matthew 6:36-40

Other Categories:

·                   Family – 19:13-14, 18, 26-27

·                   Practical / Social – 19:25, 28-29

·                   Financial – 19:10, 19:19

·                   Marital – same as family

·                   Moral – 19:5, 9, 28-29

·                   Vocation – 19:15, 24

·                   Living Righteously – 19:11, 16, 23

Proverbs 20, “Divine Counsel”

Faithfulness, integrity, and righteousness resonate through this chapter:

·                   20:5, “counsel in heart of man deep water, but man of understanding will draw it out”

·                   20:6 “who can find a faithful man” when we’re so apt to toot our own horn?

·                   20:7, “righteous walks in integrity and his legacy continues”

·                   20:9, Gospel … Who is clean?  Who is holy?  NO ONE except thru the blood of Jesus Christ.  We cannot stand on our own righteousness – we stand only because of His work on the cross!

·                   20:24, “God orders our steps”

·                   20:27, “God knows our hearts” – our deepest joys, fears, worries, doubts, etc.

Other Categories:

·                   Family – 20:11, 20

·                   Practical / Social – 20:3

·                   Financial – 20:10, 23 (dishonest weights & scales)

·                   Moral – 20:22

·                   Vocation – 20:4, 13

·                   Living Righteously – verse above & 20:29

What about 20:21 – any thoughts?

What about 20:2, 8, 26, 28 about the King/Authority?

Proverbs 21, “Lessons Learned”

Highlight the following verses:

·                   Proverbs 21: 2, 3, 21 as it relates to our “acceptable sacrifices to the Lord”

·                   Read also Micah 6:6-8 & 1 Samuel 15:22

Note the difference in how the scoffer & wise receive their “lessons” in verse 11

Scoffer’s (one who mocks God) punishment actually reaches the simple by an example and provides a lesson of someone not to follow; however, when the wise is instructed, knowledge is received which provides profit and instruction. 

Other Categories:

·                   Social / Practical – 21:5, 13, 16

·                   Marital – 21:9, 19

·                   Moral – 21:6, 7, 8

·                   Vocation – 21:25

·                   Living Righteously – 21:2, 3, 21, 31

In closing, read 21:31. Where is our deliverance? Our victory is of the Lord.  Remember Israelites before Crossing the Red Sea?  We often mirror the Israelites at times – review /read Exodus 14:10-14 & also Romans 8:31-38.

Week 5 Recap (by Claudine Snyder, guest teacher on 7/25)

Greetings ladies! Here is the recap from Week 5. It's the handout that our guest teacher, Claudine Snyder, shared with the class. Read on and I pray it speaks to your heart and influences your life. Blessings, Stacy

Proverbs 14 – 17   has 129 pithy thoughts on how to live your life not only to please God but also to limit the amount of grief you bring on yourself.  Let’s face it……a lot of bad choices we make result in bad consequences.  This book speaks too much of the day-to-day circumstances we deal with IN ourselves as well as with others and the world we live in. 

WHY is Solomon repeatedly talking about some of these topics – and just in these 4 chapters he speaks to these topics A LOT!!!!!!!!!!

Proverbs related to the Tongue –  Gossip, lies, prideful/harsh/foolish speech.  Check your heart……with God!!!!!!!!

Proverbs 14: 3,5,25

Proverbs 15: 2,4,23,28 

Proverbs 16: 10,13,23,24,27,28,30                                                 

Proverbs 17:  4,7, 20, 27, 28

The tongue is following the heart.   What’s the heart following????

Proverbs related to Pride -  Talks about fools rejecting correction.  Wise are humble and therefore receive correction.  Pride rejects correction and can precipitate a fall/mistake/disaster.  “Ya ain’t all that……no one is – except Jesus.”

Proverbs 14: 3

Proverbs 15: 5, 10, 12, 25, 31,32,33  

Proverbs 16: 5,18,19           

Proverbs 17:10

Do we think a lot of ourselves because we are comparing ourselves to someone else?

What if we compared ourselves to God…..would we still be prideful.

Proverbs related to Emotions – Some anger is justified BUT you are still held accountable for your actions.  You should control them not vice versa

Proverbs 14:  16, 17,29

Proverbs 15:  1,13,17,18

Proverbs 16:  29,32

Proverbs 17:  1,14,27,28

*These proverbs always seem to center of 1 emotion – “anger”

**Anger is not always sin. There is a type of anger of which the Bible approves, often called “righteous indignation.” 

**Anger turns to sin when it is selfishly motivated

**Anger is to be controlled by us, not it controlling us.  When we give into anger we are probably focusing on “us”

Proverbs related to Planning Your Ways/Life/Day – Seek God’s plans for your life with Him and seasoned Christian men/women.  Check your motives for what you plan and dedicate you plans to Him.  Remember God’s ways are SOOOO different from what we would do.

***Please note -God will back you into a corner JUST to get glorified and show you how BIG He is. It’s that important to Him. Exodus 14 – Read it!!!!!!!!

Proverbs 14: 12,14,15

Proverbs 15: 22

Proverbs  16:1,2, 3, 9, 25                       

Mans ways seem right to him, but God’s ways are not man’s ways.  The Lord seems to have His own way of doing things that many times has a purpose of glorifying Him.  It may seem long, complicated, arduous, and even foolish but if God is glorified through it……mission accomplished. 

Read Exodus 14:10

God is not interested in our comfort or happiness……..He is most concerned with our character development and His glory through our lives.

                       

Proverbs related to Envy -  Breeds discontent.  Invades your heart like a virus in a host cell. 

Proverbs 14:30

Envy crawls into your spirit and births discontent or resentment very much like a virus invades it’s host and replicates itself.  What is going on in your heart??????

Proverbs related to Compare/Contrast Foolish and Wise/Prudent Person – “What Not to Do/Be” vs. “What To Do/Be”

Proverbs 14: 1,2,3,5,6,7,8,9,11,14,15.16,18,22,24,29.33

Proverbs 15: 2, 5,6,7,8,9,14.20,21, 28

Proverbs 16:17

Proverbs 17:24

Perhaps that’s why the proverbs compare and contrast each other so much - To instruct you NOT to blend in.  TO STAND IN CONTRAST TO THE WORLD!!!!!!!

Proverbs related to deceit  - talks of lies, bribes, dishonest gains or knowledge thereof.

Proverbs 15:3 states:  “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.”

Proverbs 14: 5,25

Proverbs 15: 27                                           

Proverbs 16: 8,11,19

Proverbs 17: 4,20,23

Just for the record……Proverbs 15:3 states:  “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.”

It’s not good enough that you don’t ACTUALLY lie, cheat or steal.  You can’t even be associated with it. 

Wisdom in Our Integrity (Week 3 recap)

This past Sunday we covered quite a few chapters as we had no class on July 4th. I hope everyone had a great holiday! Thank you Lord for the freedoms in our country and for having your hand on it's inception!

Since we had a break, here are a few "class reminders":  1) Remember to be in touch with your accountability group every week by email, phone or snail mail. 2) Remember to journal...this will be wonderful for getting your thoughts down on paper NOW as you are reading. Jot down any verses that speak to you (many will!) and also jot down your thoughts, prayers, petitions to God about those passages in your journal. When you go back and read them later, it will be interesting to see what you said then and what you think presently when you re-read Proverbs, which I hope you will do time and time again! 3) Remember to pick out a verse or passage that is particularly special to you and MEMORIZE IT. We will recite these to each other in accountability groups each week, so the verse(s) you memorize will change weekly and should come from the current reading for the week. This way you can have 9 passages memorized over the course of our class. 4) Remember to designate a section of your journal or create a new book to serve as your Scripture Resource. Determine the titles that are accurate to the various passages you're reading, then jot down passages that relate to that title on that page in your journal. For example, this week I highlighted that Prv. 6:1-5 speaks to NOT becoming a co-signer for anyone on a loan. This clearly speaks to "financial wisdom", so on your journal page titled "Financial Wisdom", list this passage and a brief synopsis or description: "don't co-sign on a loan". Continue to do this with as many passages as you can, especially with those passages that speak to you, and you will develop a great reference of Scripture when issues arise. For more detail see paragraph 5 of the blog "Class 1 Recap" posting.

Sunday night we reviewed Proverbs 5-9 and discussed "Wisdom in Sexual Integrity" and "Wisdom in Relational Integrity." Chapters 5-7 have Solomon discussing the dangers of adultery and the lure of the harlot. He pleads to the reader to "drink water from your own cistern...let your fountain be blessed and rejoice in the wife of your youth" in 5:15a, 18. In other words keep sex within your marriage and do not stray from it. Stay sexually pure before and during marriage so as to bring glory to God with how He designed marriage to be. We can all succumb to wandering eyes and impure thoughts. That's part of our sin-nature from birth. Work on keeping those eyes straight ahead (4:25) and guard your thoughts, what you see, what you say, what you do. Remember the little kids song "Be careful little eyes what you see"? Each verse of that song speaks about those body parts we mentioned last week that can bring sin into our hearts, minds, and lives. Yes we're all grown up now, but do not forsake the teachings of your youth. Those childhood lessons, songs, etc. still have application today for us as adults. We want to be sure to have integrity with our sexuality, whether married or single, and not end up like the harlot described in Chapter 7. Once we start sliding on the slippery slope of sex before marriage or entertain thoughts of another other than our own husband...we are in trouble! Pray, pray, then PRAY some more, seek counseling and accountability, and most importantly get into God's Word so as to flee from the temptation before you. If you have fallen into this sin of adultery or pre-martial sex, you can be redeemed! Amen, thank you Jesus! Repent, seek reconciliation, and move forward. A great book I highly recommended on Sunday, especially for married couples but also great for singles,  is "His Needs, Her Needs" by Williard F. Harley. Check it out! (FYI--Details on the sexual needs of men and women are given.)

Chapter 6:16-19 speaks of the 7 things the Lord hates and finds an abomination. These are strong words and should be taken as such! This key passage shows us what to avoid in order to have relational integrity.  Use the armor of God and the fruit of the Spirit (see Week 2 Recap) to prevent yourself from having 1) a proud/haughty look, 2) a lying tongue, 3) hands that shed innocent blood, 4) a heart that devises wicked plans, 5) feet swift in running to evil, 6) a false witness who speaks lies, and 7) a person who sow discord among brethren (i.e. fellow Christians male and female). Avoid these abominations by praying on the armor of God DAILY so as to protect yourself. In addition, remember the fruit of the Spirit? We all have each of the 9 descriptors of the "fruit" in us, if we are Christians, thanks to the Holy Spirit. We must practice the "fruit" in our lives and in the areas we are weak, we must work on them in order to have the self-control (#9) to remain pure and to maintain our integrity. We also should practice Godly holiness by watching our speech, attire, even our body language. Seek to be above reproach in your daily walk and life. In doing so, you won't be perfect every day but you will become more and more like Jesus and THAT is the goal of our Christian journey!

Chapters 8-9 focus again on wisdom with a comparison of wisdom vs. folly in Chapter 9. In 9:10 we see a correlation to our key verse in the book of Proverbs (1:7):  "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding." I don't know about you but this consistency is really driving home for me the importance of a personal relationship with Christ and how that is the bull's eye on the "wisdom target" sort of speak. Wisdom is critical in enabling us as Christian women to gain sexual and relational integrity.

Commands and Blessings (Recap of Week 2)

Well this post has been a long time coming! It's been a busy two weeks for me...how about you? I know it seems every time I sat down to do this something came up so now I have a quiet moment at home to get this done. Ahhh.

The last week of June the class read Proverbs 1-4 and we had discussion after the various sections found within these Proverbs. The main theme I noticed in these four chapters is that of commands and blessings (the use of "if" and "then" statements were frequent). As you hear the parent or teacher urging the child/student in these chapters to "do this, not that" and "reap a blessing when you follow this command", we can begin to see the pictures of God the Father as well as Jesus the Shepherd.

There is Wisdom (in the person of a woman, interestingly enough) who calls out to anyone and everyone to hear her voice and heed her words so that we may find knowledge and thus gain understanding. As God alone is the one who gives wisdom (He is the author of wisdom) the "fear of the Lord" becomes the beginning of wisdom, which then grants knowledge. This isn't just head knowledge about Scripture. In James we read that the demons know of God and tremble (2:19). No! Wisdom is the knowledge AND understanding as a result of the fear of the Lord with regard to a reverent personal relationship (see prior post). Wisdom provides protection of the upright through spiritual discernment that no one can gain without their heart in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and a spirit that is now indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Wisdom offers many blessings for those who listen; however, for those who refuse, they will remain in their foolishness and ignorance. In turn, the naive ones, scorners and fools will not find wisdom and will have consequences to endure for the evil they seek and/or fall into due to their rejection of Wisdom's pleas.

In addition to responding to Wisdom, we are to learn to rely on and trust God. We are to go to Him with big AND small concerns. I know as women, we tend to be self-reliant. We need to be God-reliant. That's something as Christians we must work on and learn. Some of my favorite verses from these four chapters are Proverbs 3:5-7. It speaks of learning that God-trust and not relying on your own strength. Apart from Christ, we can do nothing (John 15:5b). This passage also highlights the reward that comes from trusting the Lord and not leaning on our own understanding in v.8.

God desires to bless His children! He not only shows His love by blessing but also by disciplining. That's the uncomfortable part! We want the love and blessings but not the correction that's often needed to keep us on the right path and out of danger that we may not see. One of the examples I shared was that of the shepherd. In the New Testament, the Bible often uses the analogy of the Shepherd (Jesus) and the sheep (believers). Even in the Old Testament this is especially evident in Psalm 23. Think about sheep...they are not the brightest creature created. They tend to be a little dumb. They'll wander into rushing water not thinking twice about how they will lose their footing and how their wool will absorb that water, quickly take them under to be drowned. They don't think about moving around a hole or not stepping on a rock, thus hurting themselves. They're just a bit dense in the noggin. That's why the Shepherd is needed!

The Shepherd is the one who walks the path and fields BEFORE the sheep to ensure they is nothing they will stumble upon or fall into. That is called "making the path straight" and He in turn "directs the path" (Prv. 3:6b) of the sheep. He seeks to lead the sheep to and beside "still waters" (Ps. 23:2b) so they don't lose their footing or fall into rivers of rushing water. He uses his shepherd's staff for defense as well as offense. The crook being used to pull a sheep from a ravine or water, the rod being used to beat off wolves or bears. This is what the psalmist (known to be David, who was a shepherd) meant by "thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me" (Ps. 23: 4c). When necessary the rod was also used for correction on the sheep. If a young sheep were to wander too frequently, the shepherd would break the leg of the lamb, place the injured creature on his shoulders for the days/weeks it would take the leg to heal. This was done so that the lamb would learn to trust the shepherd by feeling/hearing his heartbeat and learning his scent while upon his shoulders. The sheep know their shepherd by sound and smell more than sight. They learn to trust based on the work the shepherd does. We too can see Jesus' work evidenced on Calvary and in turn should trust Him implicitly! Sometimes we must be disciplined to get there. In fact, most of us have probably experienced God's discipline multiple times. I know I have! We can be dense, like sheep, hence the analogy. God knows what He's doing...LET HIM!

Finally, we learned of the security we have in Wisdom. There are warnings of temptations in v.14-17 that we should heed. We are even given the instructions on HOW to resist/avoid temptations in v. 24-27. To me that clearly parallels Eph. 6:10-18. Since sin easily enters our heart and mind via our body (eyes, ears, hands, feet--what we say/do, where we go, etc.), we need to carefully guard those areas! When you reflect upon what the "armor of God" protects, it is exactly those same areas of our body! The helmet of salvation (mind and head, eyes, ears), the breastplate of righteousness (heart), the sword of the Spirit (God's Word--the only defensive weapon by the way), the shield of faith (hands), the belt of truth (loins/lust) and the shoes of the gospel of peace (feet). Of course, as v.18 says, we need to cover this all (ourselves) in prayer so that we can stand in our evil world. So remember to pray God's armor upon yourself daily! Stay in His Word, seek His will and seek Wisdom. It is the most important thing! (Prv. 4:7)

Introduction to Proverbs (Class 1 Recap)

I am so glad for such a great turn out our first night of class! We had 26 ladies (including myself). I am also excited about those who will be taking our class "online" via the blog. We can have interaction online by posting "comments" below (available at the end of each blog post). I'm thankful for this tool because friends, family and sisters in Christ from out of state and all over the world can join this class. For those who miss a class, this is a great way to stay in the loop and jump in with us at the next class meeting. So now...here's the recap:

First and most importantly we have to begin any study of Scripture with a baseline understanding: The Bible is GOD'S WORD. It is TRUE and WITHOUT ERROR. If we do not agree with those statements fully and completely then we can pick and choose what we believe the Bible says and what is true and/or applicable to our lives. This would be wrong and would lead us astray as Satan would love to see happen. NO...We MUST start HERE with faith and trust in the Bible being GOD'S WORD and that it is COMPLETE and ABSOLUTE TRUTH...and IS applicable to our lives everyday and in every way! (2 Tim. 3:16)

As we begin our study in the book of Proverbs, notice that this book is written in a different form than most of the other books of the Bible. These are a collection of "wise sayings" (primary written and collected by Solomon, but also has contributions from other "wise men": Prv.22:17, 24:23, including Agur: Prv. 30 and King Lemuel: Prv. 31; and additional compilation by Hezekiah's men: Prv. 25). These "wise sayings", known as Proverbs, are to be read individually, meaning in the sections or segments the publisher has broken the Scriptures out into visually, sometimes with headings. For example, my Bible has Chapter 1 separated like this: 'The beginning of knowledge' v. 1-7, 'Shun evil counsel' v. 8-19, then 'The call of Wisdom' v.20-33. Some Bibles do not have that type-facing, but most do. Try to use one that does and a translation that is easy for you to read and comprehend. I personally enjoy the New King James Version, New American Standard Bible and the New International Version. A study Bible is an excellent resource and/or one with cross-references of Scripture in the margins is great too. These tools will enhance your study but are not required.

As we move through our study of Proverbs, our goal is to read the proverb (be it one verse or a grouping of verses that are related), then to meditate upon that section (meditate = ponder, pray over, reflect on), then journal any thoughts, prayers, insights, or questions you have of this section of text. Then read the next proverb and follow the same steps. You may get through a whole chapter in one study time or it may take 2-3 study times to cover one chapter. Try to allot a minimum of 15 minutes at a time to allow for the reading, meditation and journaling of a proverb or two. You may have several times a day you can do this...GREAT! You may have a bigger block of time, an hour or more, that you can do this in...WONDERFUL! The goal is to take your time, take time with God during the course of this study and to do something daily. Remember the more YOU put into this study the more you will get out of it!

In addition to reading and journaling with this study, we are also focusing on Scripture memory and developing a Scripture resource for future reference. Scripture memory: Each person will recite their chosen proverb they memorized to their accountability group weekly. Each week this will change. Be sure to pick a proverb (one verse or a few verses) that has impacted you. Some helpful hints for memorizing Scripture is to use a dry erase marker and write it on your bathroom mirror so you see and recite it multiple times a day. Write it and post it on note cards, in your car, at your desk, wherever you will see it. Practice saying it out loud with your eyes closed, have your family or friends help you with memorizing your chosen proverb. Scripture reference resource: As you are journaling, consider categories of wisdom each proverb you read may fall under. In the back of your journal or in another notebook, write at the top of each page the category title (for example: Godly wisdom, Marital wisdom, Financial wisdom, Parenting wisdom, Practical or Social wisdom, etc. the possibilities can be whatever you want them to be). Then as you read a proverb that speaks to that category, jot that chapter and verse down, maybe your own thoughts on that category page. This way when you, or a friend, encounter a trial in one of these areas you can quickly find what God's Word says about that area. When we encounter hard times, sometimes Scripture recall is a challenge. My goal by incorporating Scripture memory and this Scripture resource, plus God's Word (of course), in this class is that you will be more empowered to defend yourself against the attacks of the devil and be encouraged by God's Holy Word!

This past Sunday in class we memorized, as a class, Proverbs 1:7: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. (NKJV) This verse encompasses the theme and purpose of the book of Proverbs. The author here, Solomon, feared God AND asked for wisdom (1 Kings 3:3-14). As fallen creation we cannot possibly know God, much less His wisdom, without His help. James 1:5a reminds us: "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God..." (read through v.6 for full effect!). We too need to ask God to open our eyes, ears, hearts and minds to the truths of His Word as we study. 'Fear of the Lord' is seen not only as 'reverence' but also as 'trust in' the Lord. HE will guide and direct us (Prv. 3:5-6) IF we trust in Him, and allow Him, to do so. We can have all the head smarts and even "know" what Scripture says, but without a personal relationship with Christ and the Holy Spirit's dwelling within us that guides and directs our study, it will be in vain. If you have more questions about having or developing your personal relationship with Jesus Christ, please see me, call me, email me and I will be glad to share more with you!

The next part of v.7 speaks of wisdom and instruction. These two attributes go hand in hand. One commentary mirrors wisdom to skill and instruction to discipline. Wisdom is the ability to live life skillfully and that skill is perfected with discipline (instruction). Wisdom and instruction impart moral discernment and develop mental perception. As we learn as grow in the fear of the Lord, and in turn in knowledge, wisdom and instruction will display themselves as 'practical righteousness' in all areas of our lives.

That's it for the recap. On Sunday we will delve into Chapers 1-4. I hope to see you then! Remember, if you haven't already, be sure to contact your accountability partners to see how their week is going and to hold each other accountable with your study and Scripture memory.