Proverbs 10 Series

Wisdom | Proverbs 10

The Proverbs of Solomon:

- This begins a new section of the book. The 1st (9) chapters of the book served as an introduction.

10:1 - A son makes his father proud / a foolish son is the grief of his mother.

- What is the one thing I want for my kids? (Salvation!)

- Wisdom / lack of wisdom affects our relationships.

- PJ / Gun incident (we do things that are stupid).

10:2 - Treasures of wickedness profit nothing but righteousness delivers from death:

- Jesus told the parable of the rich fool (Luke 12:16-21) and while the man gathered great wealth, he died that night.

- Right standing with God is a benefit that money can’t buy.

10:3 - The Lord will not allow the righteous to go hungry, but he casts away the desire of the wicked:

- This principle of not going hungry is directed towards the soul and means that no matter what is going on in our lives, we can flourish.

- Haggai 2:7 “And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of Hosts.”

o God is going to shake the nations and the desire of all nations (does not mean the nations have to desire him).

o This is speaking of our desire for Christ – even if we ignore that desire.

o Followers of Jesus will have their desire fulfilled; the wicked will never be satisfied.

10:4 - He who has a slack hand becomes poor, but the hand of the diligent makes rich:

- A lazy person who does not put forth the effort to work.

- Just showing up isn’t always enough – taking pride in your work shows.

- God called Adam to be a steward of the earth (prior to the fall). Work was thus designed to be a way of life for us; work being hard / mundane / difficult is a byproduct of the fall.

10:7 - The memory of the righteous is blessed, but the name of the wicked will rot:

- The heroes of faith (Hebrews 11) are held in high esteem as well as the apostles.

- When the wicked are remembered, it is a “stinking, rotten remembrance.”

10:8 - The wise in heart will receive commands, but a prating fool will fall:

- Wisdom gives the humility to be instructed and learn.

- A prating fool (often called a fool of lips in Hebrew language) ** Our mouths get us into trouble **

10:9 - He who walks with integrity walks securely, but he who perverts his ways will become known:

- Integrity: Living with nothing to hide.

- Jesus said, “There is nothing covered that will not be revealed and hidden that will not be known.” (Matt. 10:26)

10:11 - The mouth of the righteous is a well of life but violence covers the mouth of the wicked:

- The righteous speak life and encouragement to themselves and others.

- The women at the well: She was there to get water because it was a source of life for her and her community. The same is true for those who are righteous when they speak; their words bring life to the community around them.

- The wicked speak and bring harm. When I speak negatively about / to myself or my kids or my wife. Those words steal life!

10:12 - Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all sins:

- Love is about healing and restoration. Hatred about trouble, controversy, strife.

10:13 - Wisdom is found on the lips of him who has understanding but a rod is for the back of him who is devoid of understanding:

- When someone has wisdom, it is found in/what they say.

- Matthew 12:34 “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.”

- The one who lacks wisdom needs to be corrected. (Here the rod is represented as correction by pain and is used to strike those who misbehave.

10:14 - Wise people store up knowledge but the mouth of the foolish is near destruction:

- Those who are wise take knowledge and make it accessible for the future (memorization, note taking, etc.)

- The foolish rejects knowledge which places him near destruction.

10:15 - The rich man’s wealth is his strong city; the destruction of the poor is their poverty:

- Wealth gives a measure of protection and provision to rich man.

- Poverty puts the poor at risk (sometimes leading to their destruction).

- How has Christianity responded to this? (Hospitals, Universities, Mental Health Institutions).

- James says this is true religion – to care for widows and orphans in their distress.

10:16 - The labor of the righteous leads to life, the wages of the wicked lead to sin.