Transcription
[Music] We're making our way verse by verse through the book of Proverbs. And today we come to Proverbs chapter 19, which if I could give any general title, and it's only a general title because the Proverbs in this chapter deal with many different issues. But let's call this chapter fools and family life.
You see, Proverbs chapter 19 is part of a larger section in the book of Proverbs, approximately Proverbs chapter 10 through 22. And in this larger section, it presents to us a collection of one verse, two-line sayings of wisdom that should guide our lives in a real although general sense and that these proverbs should be understood and applied in their appropriate conditions. So let's take a look at Proverbs chapter 19 verse by verse beginning with verse one.
Proverbs 19:1, "Better is the poor who walks in his integrity than one who is perverse in his lips and is a fool." We've seen in some previous proverbs that they've been critical of the poor. But here, Solomon recognizes that not all poverty is caused by moral failure or weakness. There are definitely poor people who walk in their integrity. That's why he says, "Better is the poor who walks in his integrity than one who is perverse in his lips and is a fool." The book of Proverbs is honest about the disadvantages of poverty. Yet, it also recognizes that being poor is in no way the worst thing a person can be. It's far worse to be a fool who speaks twisted, perverse things than it is to be a poor person.
Proverbs 19:2. Also, it is not good for a soul to be without knowledge, and he sins who hastens with his feet. When a person here referred to in verse two as a soul has no wisdom there expressed by the phrase without knowledge, it's never good. It may be common. It may be typical, but it's not good. It is not good for a soul to be without knowledge. And the second line here, he sins who hastens with his feet. Solomon listed here a second thing that was not good. The first thing was to not have wisdom. The second one was to be someone who rushes towards sin. That is hastens with his feet. On this side of eternity, we will also and always struggle with sin. But we don't have to run towards it. We should be those who battle against sin, not those who run towards it. Think about that with your life. How are there ways that you are running towards sin? Friends, you're putting yourself in a lot of trouble that way. You're not living according to God's wisdom.
Proverbs chapter 19:3. The foolishness of a man twists his way and his heart frets against the Lord. It is true that a fool is foolish because they are twisted or you could say crooked. Yet it is also true that the foolish man finds his way more and more twisted. Foolishness leads to more twistedness. So it's a very true principle here in Proverbs 19:3. The foolishness of a man twists his way and his heart frets against the Lord. God intended us to be at peace with him. But because of rebellion, and I would include both inherited rebellion and chosen rebellion, we are in many ways against the Lord. Now, the foolish man or woman has no peace in God. Therefore, their heart frets against the Lord. They're angry. Perhaps they're bitter against God for their own twisted way. It's kind of like the criminal blaming the judge for their fair, righteous sentence. The commentator Alan Ross put it like this. Fools will try to blame God when they ruin their lives. The fool is not willing to accept failure as his own. Of course, to blame God is also folly. Friends, don't put yourself in that situation. If you're a fool, you're going to twist your way and your heart will be in antagonism against God.
Proverbs chapter 19:4. Wealth makes many friends, but the poor is separated from his friend. When a person is wealthy, it draws many people to them in friendship. It's surprising how many friends wealthy people can find themselves having. Yet those friendships may not be sincere. They may not be meaningful at all. The second line of verse four tells us that the poor is separated from his friend. You see, the wealthy man has his own advantages and he draws many friends. But the poor man does not have these same advantages. Their would-be friends find it easy to separate from them. I don't think Solomon is presenting this as something that's good, something that's to be pursued. As if you should say, well, uh, I want to find some wealthy people and make them my friends, and I want to think about my friends who are poor and distance myself from them. No, no, no, not at all. Solomon is just telling us about how life is, and we need to learn from it.
Proverbs chapter 19:5, "A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who speaks lies will not escape." The first idea in this proverb is probably coming from the court of law. And in the court, it's essential that the false witness be punished. After all, justice depends on it. And this principle extends beyond the court of law into our daily life. God loves the truth and he wants us to speak the truth. Yes, a false witness will not go unpunished. Now the second line, and he who speaks lies will not escape among men. Sometimes the false witness, sometimes the liar escaped the discovery and the penalty of their sin. But with God, he who speaks lies will not escape. Jesus said that our every word would be held to account. He said that in Matthew 12:36. So friends, tell the truth. That's the whole point of this proverb.
Proverbs 19:6, Many entreat the favor of the nobility, and every man is a friend to one who gives gifts. Here is another proverb that sort of explains some of the benefits of having a lot of money of being wealthy. He says here in verse 6, many entreat the favor of the nobility. When someone is of high status and importance here described as being of the nobility, many people want their favor because there are advantages in having the favor of influential people. Now the second line here of verse 6 says, "Every man is a friend to the one who gives gifts." Many people who offer friendship do so out of selfish motives. They want the benefit of the favor of the nobility and of the gifts that others may offer. Listen, if you have some advantages in life, uh, maybe in some sense and especially more in the western world, we don't think of this as being technically true, but by analogy, you would be one of those of the nobility. You have certain advantages in life. Be careful about the people who want to be your friends. It may not come from good motives.
Proverbs chapter 19:7, "All the brothers of the poor hate him. How much more do his friends go far from him? He may pursue them with words, yet they abandon him." Here in this broader section of Proverbs from chapter 10 to chapter 22, we have one of the rare three-line proverbs here in verse 7. And this proverb carries on a theme that we've seen in the previous couple of proverbs. Basically speaking to us about the advantages of having wealth and the disadvantages of being poor. That's why in verse 7 he says all the brothers of the poor hate him. To be poor is often to be rejected by men even by brothers and friends. What a powerful contrast is Jesus Christ because he himself became poor in order to draw us near to him in the midst of our own poverty and need. The idea that Jesus himself became poor is found in 2 Corinthians 8:9. So it's true all the brothers of the poor hate him. But it continues on in this proverb. He may pursue them with words yet they abandon him. By nature people will run from the poor person even when he tries to persuade them and to pursue them with words. In contrast, God pursues the poor and needy. Friends, this is a reminder that the essential truth of Proverbs chapter 19:7 isn't something that we are to pursue ourselves, but we're to recognize it as reality of the human condition and try to rise above it with the love and the grace and the power of God. Jesus was a friend to the poor person. Jesus was the one who would never abandon somebody even in their poverty. We need to be like Jesus and not like the world in this matter.
Proverbs chapter 19:8, "He who gets wisdom loves his own soul. He who keeps understanding will find good." The possession and the pursuit of wisdom is so good and is so helpful to us that we can and should get wisdom simply out of self-interest. And when we do this, we're going to love our own soul. We're gonna love our own life. Now, later on in Proverbs, specifically in Proverbs chapter 29, verse 24, it will speak of the sinning, foolish people who hate their own life. Friends, disobedience and folly are acts of self-hatred. If you want to do good for yourself, then pursue wisdom. Get wisdom. And now the second line of verse eight, he who keeps understanding will find good. Friends, notice this. Wisdom isn't just something to get. It's also something to keep. We find good when we keep understanding. Not just gain it once and then leave it alone.
Proverbs chapter 19:9, "A false witness will not go unpunished." and he who speaks lies shall perish. The words and the sense of this proverb were previously presented in verse 5 of this very same chapter. The repetition here reminds us that this is an important principle in the law court and in daily life. God wants us to be people of the truth. And so he promised that a false witness will not go unpunished. And now the second line, he who speaks lies shall perish. This speaks of the certainty of God's justice towards those who lie. Revelation 21:8 warns that liars are among those who will have their part in the lake of fire which burns with fire and brimstone which is the second death. Friends, if you're a Christian, if you're a child of the living God, if you've been adopted into his family, if you're born again by God's spirit, you should be a person of the truth. You should be interested in the truth. And that is one very significant reason for you to read your Bible, to know your Bible, to love your Bible, so that you can be a person of the truth that is befitting for a person who's born again by God's spirit.
Proverbs chapter 19:10, "Luxury is not fitting for a fool, much less for a servant to rule over princes." The sense is that there are some wisdom rejecting fools who still enjoy luxury. But that doesn't seem right. It isn't fitting for a fool to live in luxury, much less in the second part of this verse, it says, much less for a servant to rule over princes. Solomon spoke here according to the wisdom of the natural man. The natural man places great trust in nobility and family lineage. This is one of the proverbs that the gospel and the new covenant sort of turn on its head where those who would be great should be as servants and not as princes. Jesus said so in Matthew 20:26 and Matthew 23:11. I like what the commentator Charles Bridges had to say about this. He said, quote, "The slave has the same rational power as his sovereign, but lesser habits of mind make him unfit to rule." There are, however, exceptions to this, as in the case of Joseph. And isn't it true? Joseph was a servant, a slave who ended up ruling over many people. And it was to God's glory and the advancement of his purpose.
Proverbs chapter 19:11, "The discretion of a man makes him slow to anger, and his glory is to overlook a transgression." It isn't necessarily weakness or lack of courage that may make a man slow to anger. Think about that next time you see somebody who doesn't respond as quickly and as angrily as you think they should. It may be because of wisdom here that's described as discretion. The discretion of a man makes him slow to anger and his glory is to overlook a transgression. A wise man or woman knows that they have been forgiven much and this shapes how they deal with others. You see, they don't act as if they must hold everyone accountable for every transgression, but they know when to overlook a transgression. John Trap, that old Puritan commentator, put it like this. I like this phrase. He says, he says, quote, "The manlier any man is, the milder and readier to pass by an offense. This shows that he has much of God in him if he does it from a right principle who bears with our evil manners and forgives our trespasses, beseeching or begging us to be reconciled. No, this is the nature of God, is it not? God is slow to anger and God overlooks so many of our own transgressions.
Proverbs chapter 19:12, "The king's wrath is like the roaring of a lion, but his favor is like dew on the grass." The roar of a lion is terrifying in itself, even without the understanding that destruction will swiftly follow. The same is true for the wrath of a king or any other influential person. It is much more true regarding the wrath of God or the wrath of the lion of the tribe of Judah as Revelation 5:5 describes Jesus. The king's wrath is like the roaring of a lion. And there will come a day when Jesus Christ, the lion of Judah, roars in judgment, and his wrath against a Christ-rejecting world will be manifest. But in contrast, look at the second line here of verse 12. But his favor is like dew on the grass. This means that the king's favor is refreshing and life-giving. It also means that it is fleeting as the dew on the grass. You know, you think about it. Dew on the grass lasts just a few hours in the morning. It disappears fairly quickly. And so is the favor of many of the rulers among men. You see, the favor of God is also certainly refreshing and life-giving, but it is not fleeting. It is not as if God was an impossible to please tyrant. Friends, dew was an essential thing in the Middle East of that day. They needed it for their agriculture as a way to keep their plants from drying out. Well, the same favor of God is essential to the believer. We need his dew to water our heart, his favor and goodness towards us.
Proverbs chapter 19:13, "A foolish son is the ruin of his father, and the contentions of a wife are a continual dripping." It is grieving for any parent to have a foolish son or daughter. This may run from grief to ruin as the grief might destroy the parents' health and life or as the father ruins himself to rescue the foolish son or daughter. So that's one principle of family here in verse 13. A foolish son is the ruin of his father. But look at the second line here. And the contentions of a wife are a continual dripping. This proverb of sympathy for a man's problems as a father, that's the first line, now looks at a man's potential problems as a husband. A wife who often contends with her husband, uh, fights with him, argues with him, that is like a continual dripping. And we can say this is true in at least three ways. Like a continual dripping, a contentious wife is an always present annoyance and trouble. Number two, like a continual dripping, a contentious wife wastes and destroys. She erodes good and valuable things. And then number three, a contentious wife is like a continual dripping in that this points to some underlying more basic problem. Friends, if you've got a faucet that's dripping at home, the real problem isn't the drip. The real problem is somewhere in the mechanism of the faucet, probably a valve that needs to be adjusted or replaced. There's a more basic problem at work. Friends, we need to think about this. And every woman who's a wife needs to take care that she does not fulfill this role of being a contentious wife of being a continual annoyance to her husband. Adam Clark put it like this. He said, quote, "The man who has got such a wife is like a tenant who has got a cottage with a bad roof, though every part of which the rain either drops or pours. He can neither sit, stand, work nor sleep without being exposed to these droppings. God help the man who is in such a case with house or with wife." So husbands, if your wife is contentious in a way she shouldn't be, ask God for the grace to endure it. But wives, take it seriously. Do not fulfill that role of being the contentious wife.
Proverbs chapter 19:14, "Houses and riches are an inheritance from fathers, but a prudent wife is from the Lord." There are good things that a man may receive as an inheritance, including material things such as houses and riches. A man is blessed to have such things. But a gift beyond the inheritance that someone may receive from fathers is this gift from God. A prudent wife is from the Lord. As the second line of verse 14 says, a prudent wife, a wife of wisdom, self-control, and appropriate living is a greater gift than houses and riches. A wife who is not prudent may waste whatever wealth a man has. Every man with a prudent, wise wife should give thanks to the Lord as I do right now. I would like to testify before whoever is listening to me right now. I praise the Lord for my wise and prudent wife who is a gift from the Lord. Again, I like what John Trap said here. I'll quote him. He said, "Nature makes a woman. Election a wife, but to be prudent, wise, and virtuous is of the Lord." A good wife was one of the first real and royal gifts bestowed upon Adam. So, brothers, if you have such a prudent wife, don't praise yourself. Don't think that you're such a great person because you have such a great wife. No, you should give thanks to the Lord and praise him for it.
Proverbs chapter 19:15. Laziness casts one into a deep sleep and an idle person will suffer hunger. You know, there are many problems with laziness. And one of those problems is that it will lead to even more laziness, sending the lazy man into a deep sleep. You're not getting any work done from a deep sleep. Think of how this proverb characterizes the lazy or idle person. It says that he's lazy. He says that he's unaware or unconscious. That's the idea behind he's in a deep sleep. And as the second line says, it will bring him ruin just as it does to drunkards and gluttons. It says here in the second line here, an idle person will suffer hunger. There's a great price to be paid from laziness. And one of those prices is hunger. That is the hunger that one suffers as one's needs are not met through hard work. The lazy man or woman puts themselves in a trap of sleep and hunger. It's very interesting later on in Proverbs chapter 23:21 it says that drunkards and gluttons suffer this ruin of hunger. Well, the lazy person can find their life just as destroyed as either the drunkard or the glutton. Friends, avoid laziness at all costs.
Proverbs chapter 19:16, "He who keeps the commandment keeps his soul, but he who is careless of his ways will die." Obedience to the word and commandment of God is of real practical benefit. Obedience guards and keeps the life, the soul of the wise man or woman who lives according to God's word. No, it's true. He who keeps the commandment keeps his soul. But look at the wisdom in the second line of verse 16. But he who is careless of his ways will die. To abandon God's wisdom and to live careless in our ways, that's to invite death. And I want you to notice the phrasing of that second line of verse 16. He who is careless of his ways. That doesn't denote somebody who intentionally goes out to do something destructive or or something wrong. It means someone who just isn't careful about their life, careful about the pursuit of wisdom. No, God gave his commandment to us to give us life and to keep us from death. No, it is true. He who is careless of his ways will die.
Proverbs chapter 19:17. He who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord and he will pay back what he is given. When we give to the poor that is expressing our love and our pity towards them, we aren't wasting our money. It's like lending money to the Lord himself. And if there's anybody good to lend money to, it's the Lord. And God assures us, this is in the second line of verse 17, he will pay back what he has given. God will never be in debt to any man. God will never be in a position where he owes anything as a matter of debt. Therefore, to lend to the Lord is to ensure blessing in return. God will certainly pay back what we give in compassion to the poor. God promises that we will never be the loser for generous and compassionate giving. I like what Adam Clark said about this idea of lending to the Lord. He said, "Oh, what a word is this. God makes himself debtor for everything that is given to the poor. Who would not advance much upon such credit. God will pay it again. And in no case has he ever forfeited his word." No, there are many blessings that God pays back to the generous person. Some of these blessings you could say are material in nature. God may prosper a generous person. But many times those blessings are spiritual in nature. Oh, they are real. They are valuable. They are invaluable. They can't be purchased at any cost. And they are some of the ways that God pays back those who lend to the Lord through their generosity to the poor.
Proverbs chapter 19 verse 18. Chasten your son while there is hope and do not set your heart on his destruction. There is not an endless window of opportunity to chasten and to wisely discipline our children. Age and circumstances limit the opportunity for effective training. So this must be done while there is hope. There may come the time when you wish you had done more to chasten your son or daughter. Friends, parents, remember this line in verse 18. Chasten your son while there is hope. The time isn't endless. You need to take the advantage, especially when they are young, to train them diligently. And as the second line of verse 18 says, do not set your heart on his destruction. You see, to fail to chasten your son in the opportune season is to actually work for his destruction. Many parents bring much destruction to their children through their neglect and oftentimes their neglect of proper discipline, not by outright abuse, but through very harmful neglect.
Proverbs chapter 19:19, "A man of great wrath will suffer punishment, for if you rescue him, you will have to do it again." Out of control anger brings many problems and costs. It's true that among the fruit of the spirit is self-control according to Galatians 5:23. And wisdom does not lead a person to be of great wrath. Friends, a man of great wrath will suffer punishment. I like what the commentator Charles Bridges had to say about this. He said, "He punishes himself. Wounded pride and resentment leave the wretched criminal brooding in his room. He suffers an intolerable burden of self-inflicted punishment." Oh, there's many people like that in the world today suffering the punishment that comes from their own great wrath. Now, the second line of verse 19 is also helpful. It says, "For if you rescue him, you'll have to do it again." The person who can't control their anger will run into trouble again and again. To rescue them once isn't enough because the problem is more in them than it is in the circumstances that they blame for their anger. It's better for them to face the consequences of their action and hope that they learn something from it.
Proverbs chapter 19:20, "Listen to counsel and receive instruction that you may be wise in your latter days." One of the first marks of wisdom is the readiness to receive more wisdom. A teachable person, one who will listen to counsel, one who will receive instruction, has already made a lot of progress on the path of wisdom. That's why we should listen to counsel and receive instruction. And look at the benefit here in the second line of verse 20. That you may be wise in your latter days. The bad effects of the foolish rejection of wisdom. Those bad effects may not be seen for many years. Yet in the latter days of a man or a woman's life, it will be clear whether or not they learned wisdom's lessons, whether or not they did listen to counsel. Friends, if you want to be wise later in life, start now. Don't delay. I want to speak to anybody right now who kind of thinks that wisdom is something for people who are older. I'm young. I'm carefree. I don't have to worry about that stuff. Listen, you're on a dangerous path. If you want to be wise in your latter days, then you need to start right now.
Proverbs chapter 19:21, There are many plans in a man's heart. Nevertheless, the Lord's counsel that will stand. It is in the nature of men and women to plan and to prepare for the future. It's true there are many plans in a man's heart. And some of the plans that we make might be wise. Some of them might be foolish. But there sure a lot of them within our hearts. Now look at the second line of verse 21. Nevertheless, the Lord's counsel that will stand. Man makes his plans and he should make such plans. Yet every plan should be made with an appreciation of God's overall wisdom. With God's overall work and with God's overall will in his letter in the New Testament. Of course, James would later explain this principle this way. I'm reading from James chapter 4 starting at verse 13. Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such city, spend a year there, buy and sell and make a profit, whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we should live and do this or that." Friends, that section from James really expresses the heart behind Proverbs chapter 19 verse 21. There are many plans in a man's heart. Nevertheless, the Lord's counsel that will stand.
Proverbs chapter 19:22, "What is desired in a man is kindness, and a poor man is better than a liar." This proverb does not teach us that kindness is the highest or only virtue for the people of God. Yet in many ways it is the most desired by others. This is especially true in the modern world. What is desired in a man is kindness. But notice what the second line says. And a poor man is better than a liar. You see, this proverb shows us that kindness, though it's valuable, it is not the only virtue. To be a man or woman of truth, to not be a liar is also of great value. This proverb reminds us that though we should pursue and value kindness, we should not treat it as the only valued virtue among God's people. No, you need to be a person of the truth as well.
Proverbs chapter 19:23. Here's another one of those rare three-line proverbs here in this section. Proverbs chapter 19:23. The fear of the Lord leads to life. And he who has it will abide in satisfaction. He will not be visited with evil. You see, since the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, it wonderfully leads to life. If we want life, we should begin with this honoring, reverent awe and submission to God. Because the fear of the Lord leads to life. And here's the second line of this verse. He who has it will abide in satisfaction. When we have and when we walk in the fear of the Lord, it leads to a life of satisfaction. The world, the flesh, and the devil want to convince us that a life founded on the fear of the Lord leads to misery. But the opposite is true. It brings satisfaction and it keeps us from a future of evil.
Proverbs chapter 19:24, "A lazy man buries his hand in the bowl and will not so much as bring it to his mouth again." I love proverbs like this, the ones that use a very humorous illustration. Here's a lazy man at the table eating food and he buries his hand in the bowl and he's so lazy that he can't be bothered to bring his hand out and feed himself. What a picture. Solomon presents a lazy man sitting at his food with his hand buried in his bowl of food. By the way, the way that the same terminology is specifically used to refer to a bowl of food in 2 Kings 21:13 shows us that this is really the idea of somebody being at a table eating a meal. Alan Ross says of this, this humorous portrayal is certainly an exaggeration. It's probably meant more widely for anyone who starts a project but lacks the energy to complete it. But it is an interesting and humorous sort of exaggerated picture. The lazy man has so little energy and so little initiative that he won't even bring his hand from the bowl to his mouth. This exaggerated picture establishes a principle that's made elsewhere in the proverbs. The lazy man will go hungry. I mean, after all, if you can't take the food from the bowl to your mouth, you're going to go hungry.
Proverbs 19:25, Strike a scoffer, and the simple will become wary. Rebuke one who has understanding, and he will discern knowledge. When someone who is a determined fool and opponent of wisdom, that is a scoffer, when that person is punished, other people will learn. The more innocent fool here described as the simple in verse 25, they might just learn from this. That's why it says, "Strike a scoffer and the simple will become wary. Rebuke one who has understanding and he will discern knowledge." The rebuke of the scoffer seems to do the scoffer no good, though it may benefit the simple. Yet someone who values wisdom, the one who has understanding, as described in the second line of verse 25, when that person is corrected, then he learns. He grows in his ability to discern knowledge. You could say that there are three different types of people described here in verse 25. There's the uh scoffer who sort of has a closed mind. Then there's the simple. He kind of has an empty mind. But then you have the understanding. That's the one with an open mind who accepts even painful truths.
Proverbs chapter 19:26. He who mistreats his father and chases away his mother is a son who causes shame and brings reproach. The Bible commands, "Honor your father and your mother." And this proverb considers the person who fails to do that. The person who does the opposite of Exodus 20:12. You see, he who mistreats his father and chases away his mother, here's the result. They're a son who causes shame and brings reproach. You can't disobey God. And please notice that if you mistreat your father and chase away your mother, you are dishonoring God. You're disobeying him because he's the one who commands us to honor your father and mother. You can't disobey God and the standards of human society without paying a price. And one price to be paid from this mistreatment of the parents is to bring shame and reproach upon one's self.
Proverbs chapter 19:27. Cease listening to instruction, my son, and you will stay away from the words of knowledge. Cease listening to instruction. You see, Solomon continued to give wisdom to his children. And here he warned them of the danger of ceasing to listen to instruction to wisdom. If you stop listening to wisdom, then you will, as the second line of verse 27 says, you will stray from the words of knowledge. Friends, this proverb, Proverbs chapter 19:27 gives us a very important principle. It shows us that attention and effort must be given to remain on the path of wisdom. If someone does cease from listening to instruction, then they will stray from the words of knowledge. Someone must set themselves on the path of wisdom and with God's help determine that they will stay upon that path.
Proverbs chapter 19:28, A disreputable witness scorns justice and the mouth of the wicked devours iniquity. Here the idea is of a witness who is not committed to truth. That disreputable witness. They don't care about the workings of justice. And great harm comes upon society and its legal system when there is not care and promotion of the truth. When the disreputable witness is not punished. So the disreputable witness scorns justice. That's very bad. And the mouth of the wicked devours iniquity. You see the words of the wicked, that's what comes from the mouth. Those words love iniquity so much that they devour it as a hungry man devours food. This is the kind of person who scorns justice and tears down society.
Proverbs chapter 19 verse 29, the last proverb in this chapter. Judgments are prepared for scoffers and beatings for the backs of fools. Those who reject wisdom and do it with hostility, that's the scoffers mentioned in verse 29. They will not escape penalty, judgments are prepared for them. And if they don't face those judgments in this life, they will face them in the next. So judgments are prepared for scoffers. Look at the second line of verse 29. Beatings for the backs of fools. Those who disregard wisdom, who are bound in their folly, they will also have their penalty. Correction will come to them in its own appointed way. And sadly, that correction will do little good for them. Friends, don't be a scoffer. That's someone who rejects wisdom with hostility. Don't be a fool. You will endure much needless trouble and suffering in life. If you take the path of the scoffer, if you take the path of the fool.
Before we leave Proverbs chapter 19, let's just consider one way that this chapter points to Jesus. And I'm going to take it up with the very last verse here. Proverbs chapter 19:29. Let me read that verse to you again. Judgments are prepared for scoffers and beatings for the backs of fools. All right, plain, simple, we get it. However, I want you to think I want you to think of how out of love for his people, how Jesus Christ put himself in the place of the scoffers. Think of how Jesus Christ received the judgments of God. Think of how Jesus put himself in the place of fools and he received the beatings on his back. Friends, we don't normally think of Jesus when we read Proverbs 19:21. Judgments are prepared for scoffers and beatings for the backs of fools. But when we think of how Jesus was beaten on his back, when we think of the judgments that he accepted, this is what we realize that Jesus Christ put himself in the place of scoffers. That Jesus Christ put himself in the place of fools. Do you realize that Jesus was the last thing from being a scoffer? He was the furthest thing from being a fool. Yet out of love for his people, he allowed himself to be treated as both a scoffer and a fool. That's how much God loves you, my dear brother or sister in Jesus Christ. Meaning we should receive the wisdom of such a loving God and we should live in the wisdom of such a loving God as he gives us the strength to do so. Father in heaven, this is our prayer that we would both uh embrace this wisdom and that we would live in this wisdom because it comes to us from the hand of a God who is not only infinitely wise and filled with knowledge in his own right, but it comes to us from a God who loves us so much. We receive your love. Thank you, Jesus, for even though you were not a scoffer, you put yourself in the place of scoffers. Even though you were not a fool, you put yourself in the place of fools. We thank you, Lord, for your great love. And we praise you in Jesus matchless name. Amen. [Music]