The Book of Proverbs

If you could sit down with the wisest man in the world, what would he tell you about having a successful life? Would he tell you how to play the stockmarket, how to get a certain educational degree, or how to do your finances? Could you get the wisdom that he has to offer you from a college course about life? Not unless the course you take is the lesson we are currently studying entitled: The Book of Proverbs.

Solomon was the wisest man that walked the face of the earth. He was the son of David who found favor in the eyes of the Lord; such favor that God actually asked Solomon in I Kings 3:5 what he wanted God to give to him. Solomon asked for an understanding heart to judge God’s people with. God was pleased that Solomon’s request was not for his own personal gain, and He gave Solomon a wise and understanding heart so that there would be none like him, before or after.

Proverbs is a book of the wise counsel that God gave to Solomon. It teaches us how to have good success in our lives. The word proverbs itself literally means, "a sense of superiority in mental action; a wise saying."

In this teaching series, we will learn how to deal with every circumstance of life that comes our way.

God granted Solomon wisdom, which is imparted to us in the book of Proverbs. Wisdom is the correct application of knowledge. Knowledge is information that is imparted to you, facts and figures. Wisdom is knowing how to use the information you have been given to produce the desired result. It helps you to make the right choices because it is taking the principles, commands, and character of God, and applying them in every area of your life so as to bring to you good success in every situation. By gaining wisdom about how to use the information that you have obtained, you will gain understanding and be able to assimilate the knowledge imparted to you.

The basic definition of these three is easily understood like this: consider knowledge as the letters of the alphabet; if you know the letters, you have knowledge. Understanding is being able to arrange those letters into words that make sense. Wisdom is knowing how to take the words you formulate and tell a story with them.

All knowledge, wisdom, and understanding comes from God. In fact, they are embodied within the Holy Spirit. God may decide to impart one of these three to someone at any given time through various manifestations of the Holy Spirit. We, as people, however, have varying degrees of these or even none of them.

The word of God tells us to seek wisdom, knowledge, and understanding and to make them our closest friends. Therefore, let us begin by studying The Proverbs of Solomon:

1:1    Solomon was given a choice to ask anything from God. He asked for wisdom with which to judge the people of Israel rather than temporal and material possessions for himself. This book imparts the wisdom to us that God gave to Solomon.
1:2-3 The reason we are studying proverbs is to know wisdom and instruction, to execute justice, judgment, and equity. 1:4 Proverbs will give wisdom to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the young men.
1:5    If you are wise, you will hear these proverbs and increase in learning. If you are a man of understanding, you will acquire this wise counsel.
1:6 This book will help you to understand a proverb, the words of the wise, and their riddles.
1:7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge (The knowledge we are talking about is what helps us successfully negotiate through life. School knowledge is irrelevant to this). To fear the Lord means to reverence the Lord. Therefore, it is not possible to acquire knowledge unless you have the fear of the Lord. A fool is devoid of knowledge; he despises wisdom and instruction. The fool says in his heart that there is no God. An individual cannot get knowledge from someone that he doesn’t believe exists; therefore, the fool never gets out of the realm of folly. This is why the rod is made for the back of the fool; they never learn. How can we, as Christians, be like those fools who don’t acknowledge God? By despising wisdom and instruction. We must accept correction, rather than try to defend ourselves, being prideful. One cannot receive instruction if he is trying to defend himself. We are despising correction when we do not make the appropriate changes in our lives after issues have been addressed to us. Hebrews 12:5 reads, "My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord." Chastening is painful, but it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Pride also includes not asking for help when you need it.
1:8 Children, obey your parents. Hear the instruction of your father, and do not forsake the law of your mother. There are so many forces at work to destroy your lives before you can live them. Parents know the pitfalls that are out there, and they don’t want their children to suffer. Children, your parents have much to share with you. They tell you what is right and wrong, and if you don’t heed what you are told, there are consequences. Being Christian, and filled with the Holy Spirit, does not remove you from the consequences of sin and rebellion. If you steal, you will pay a price. Don’t engage in activities that lead to consequences. Listen to your parents. Your fathers and mothers are the ones who love you the most, and they want to see you succeed in life.
1:9    These instructions of your parents will be chains about your neck. You will be spiritually enchained to righteousness or you may be physically enchained in the penitentiary. You choose what chains to wear, children.
1:10    If sinners entice you to do acts that are wrong, do not agree to them. Do not take part in their evil deeds. There are some things that you would never do on your own that others would entice you to do. Don’t go along with them; be willing to stand alone. As a parent, if you let the world raise your children from infants, they won’t want to listen to what you have to tell to them. In order to raise godly children, they should only learn the truth of God first. If you let the weeds of the world grow in them first, it will choke out the Word of God. However, if you raise them in the Word of God first, the world will have no place in your children.
1:17    The evil that sinners do will not profit them. Wisdom dictates that if you are going to lay a net out to catch a bird, don’t do it in front of the bird.
1:19     Those people who are greedy for gain, who are willing to do anything for it, will have their lives taken away by it.
1:20     Wisdom is not hiding from anyone. How long, naive ones, will you love naiveté? When one is naïve, he is a blank slate. It is the parents’ job to write on the life slate of their children. When they do their job effectively, it will prevent others from coming along and writing their life agenda on them.
1:22    Fools hate knowledge; they like their folly.
1:23     Go where wisdom tells you to go. Turn at rebuke. Don’t reject correction; accept it. If you do not heed correction, calamity will come upon you.
1:28    When this occurs, you will have to deal with the consequences of your foolishness alone. Wisdom cannot help you once you have refused to listen to it.
1:31    You shall eat of the consequences of your sins.
1:33    Whoever listens to wisdom will dwell safely and will be secure, without fear of evil. Wisdom reveals the principles and character to possess in order to have good success in one’s life.
2:5    When an individual finds wisdom, he will find the knowledge of God.
2:6    The Lord gives wisdom. From His mouth comes knowledge and understanding. He is a shield to those who walk uprightly. If an individual wants to gain understanding, he should seek the Lord and walk in Him. One who does this will be strong and solid.
2:10-11 When wisdom enters your heart, and knowledge is pleasant to you, discretion will preserve you. You will know what to say and when to say it. Understanding will keep you.
2:16    Wisdom, knowledge, and understanding will keep a man from the immoral woman, the seductress.
2:17    The seductress is a woman who divorces her husband and breaks her covenant with God. This woman’s heart is set on using men, and she entices them with her body.
2:18    God will forgive you if you lie with a harlot, but you will have opened such a doorway for the devil to attack you through which will result in your life being seriously jacked-up. When you lie with a harlot, you face very serious consequences: catching a disease, losing your wife, ruining your marriage, and this is only the beginning.
2:19    Your life will never go back the way that it was before you engaged in this particular sin because of the consequences of this sin.
2:20    Stay away from the seductress so that you may walk in the way of goodness and keep to the paths of righteousness. I Cor. 6:15-16 states not to join oneself to a harlot because you become one with her. Christ Jesus in you should not be joined with the devil.
3:1    If you do not forget God’s law, but let your heart keep His commands, they will give to you length of days, long life, and peace. The promises of God are always conditional. They are based upon our obedience to His Word. God’s will for us, as Christians, is His word.
3:3    Exercise mercy and truth, and you will be esteemed in the sight of man and God. When one is merciful, he forgives and gives to those who do not deserve it.
3:5    Trust in the Lord with all of your heart, and do not lean upon your own understanding. Exercise faith, and do not lean on what your mind tells you. Be obedient to the Lord even though you may not understand. When Peter took his eyes off of the Lord after Jesus called him to walk out onto the water, he began to sink (Matt. 14:30). His mind told him that it wasn’t logical for him to be walking on the water and that he was going to sink. When things don’t make sense to us, we often don’t obey what the Lord tells us to do. This scripture tells us to trust in the Lord even when it doesn’t make sense to our natural mind.
3:6    In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. As long as you submit yourself to the Lord’s leading, He will let you know if it’s not His will for you regarding a specific area of your life. If you don’t hear from Him, He does not object to your plans. As long as you acknowledge Him in all your ways, He will direct your paths. The steps of a righteous man are ordered by the Lord.
3:7    Do not be wise in your own eyes. Let the wisdom that you have be from God. Godly wisdom cannot be contended against. Fear the Lord, and depart from evil.
3:8    If you do this, it will be health to your flesh and strength to your bones.
3:9    Honor the Lord with your possessions, with the first fruits of all your increase. Bring all the tithe into the storehouse. On this earth, there is no higher honor one can bestow upon God than to honor Him with his possessions. Everything else one can give to Him is free. For example, it doesn’t cost anything to praise and worship Him. When you tithe, you should tithe on the gross pay you receive, not the net. Otherwise, you are giving the government the first fruits. Other ways that you can honor God with your possessions are by picking up people for church in your car or offering your house to people.
3:10    Give to the Lord what is due to Him so that your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine. Read Malachi 3:10 to learn more.
3:11    chaste means to be pure. Chastening is purifying. Do not despise the Lord’s attempt to purify you and separate you from those things that hinder you. Chastening is not the painful part, the pride that resists the chastening is the painful part. Don’t detest when the Lord brings correction to you to change you for the better.
3:12    Whom the Lord loves, He corrects. If a father does not correct his children, they will grow up to be reprobates. In the same way, if the Lord does not correct us, we will grow up to be spiritual reprobates.

How does the Lord correct us? By His Word. God uses His Word to correct us, and the Holy Spirit convicts us of our sin and rebellion. Correction also comes from out of the mouth of the prophets. There are, also, those put in the five-fold ministry who have been charged to correct us as well. The correction is not pleasant, but if we receive it, we will be blessed by it.

Is judgment different from correction? There is a road that leads from correction to judgment. If you don’t yield to the correction, you will get judged. Pride despises the correction. Don’t do that. God will be happy if we simply agree that the sin that we don’t want to do, we do. This means that we are siding in with the Lord. Half of the process in submitting to the correction is admitting that we are wrong. In addition, when the Lord is trying to minister to you about letting bitterness, anger, and unforgiveness go, you must do it.

3:13    Happy is the man who finds wisdom. Not every man finds it because not every man seeks it. If you are lacking wisdom, ask God to give it to you (James 1:5). He gives it to all liberally and without reproach when you ask in faith (it won’t bring all your failings back in your face nor dredge up your past, but it will secure your future). Wisdom is what gets you out of trouble, and it keeps you from getting into trouble. It tells you to stay away from sin. You are happy when you stay out of trouble. Wisdom gives you the way to handle any situation. Once you have wisdom, you must listen to her counsel.
3:16    Length of days is in wisdom’s right hand, riches and honor are in her left hand.
3:17    Wisdom’s ways are pleasant and her paths are peace.
3:19    The Lord founded the earth by wisdom, and He established the heavens by understanding. Scientists are attempting to understand creation by studying the facts of the universe and their bodies. They fail to comprehend it because it is explained in this scripture. Einstein and Isaac Newton both believed in God. Only the fool says in his heart that there is no God.
3:27    Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due. We have an obligation to people, so we should not withhold from them when it is in our power to give. When someone is in need legitimately (and not because of pride and rebellion), we should help them as best that we can. If we owe money to someone, we should pay him. I Timothy 5:17 says to render honor to whom honor is due.
3:28    Do not say to your neighbor, "Go and come back and tomorrow I will give it," when you have it today.
3:29    Do not devise evil against your neighbor, for he dwells with you for safety’s sake.
3:30    Do not strive with a man without cause, if he has done you no harm. Why would you want to stir up trouble for trouble’s sake?
3:31    Do not envy the oppressor, and choose none of his ways. When you see others that are oppressors over people, and who have gain because of it, don’t envy them. Their profit is from other people. Don’t be like them. Pity them.
3:32    For the perverse person is an abomination to the Lord. They are wicked, twisted, gay, sinning willfully, and contrary to the Word of God. God’s secret counsel is with the upright; God fellowships and ministers to such a one.
3:33    The curse of the Lord is on the house of the wicked. God blesses the home of the just. Those who are just are born-again. You decide if your household is blessed or cursed.
3:34    He scorns the scornful (those who openly reject that which is known to be righteous and just. Not only do they reject the truth, but they also try to keep others from receiving it). He gives grace to the humble. Grace is your way out of trouble. Be humble; don’t think of yourself more highly than you ought to. Pride tries to take the truth of the Word of God and twist it and make it perverse.
3:35    The wise shall inherit glory, but shame shall be the legacy of fools (that which you leave behind that bears witness to the life that you lived).
4:1    Children, hear the instruction of a father. Give attention to know understanding.
4:2    For I give you good doctrine.
4:7    Wisdom is the pivotal thing, the foundation. Get wisdom, and in getting it, get understanding.
4:8    Exalt wisdom and she will promote you. Wisdom is the best friend you can have on this earth.
4:10    Receive wisdom and the years of your life will be many.
4:13    Take firm hold of instruction.
4:14    Do not go down the evil path. Those on the evil path are wicked and do wicked things. In order to avoid evil, avoid evildoers.
4:18    The path of the just is like the shining sun.
4:19    The way of the wicked is like darkness; they do not know what makes them stubble. The way of the wicked is dark and blinding.
4:20    Listen to what God is saying.
4:22    The commands of God are life to those who find them and health to their flesh. Being obedient is the key to unlocking these things in your life.
4:23    Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it springs the issues of life. Put away from you a deceitful mouth, and put perverse lips far from you. Mathew 12:34-37 states that out of the abundance of your heart your mouth speaks. Matthew 15:17-20 also explains that what comes out of your mouth will defile you. All the evil things in your life are conceived within your heart.
4:25     Let your eyes look straight ahead. Keep your feet on the path.
4:26    Consider what path you are on.
5:1-2    Pay attention to wisdom.
5:3    The lips of an immoral woman drip honey; she is a smooth talker. She is any woman who becomes a party to inappropriate sexual contact with a man. If you are a party to this, you are also responsible for the sin committed. It is any sexual activity outside the bonds of a marriage, husband and wife.
5:8         Remove your way far from the immoral woman.
5:9-11    If you give-in to the immoral woman, you will give your honor (vigor) to others and your years to the cruel one. The price is too high for you to give yourself to the harlot.
5:12    If you go her way, you will say how you have hated instruction and despised reproof. You will take stock of yourself and realize what a horrible decision you made. Although this is written to the married man to flee the immoral woman, it applies to any man who will fall sway to a woman.

Side Journey: Luke 14:26 states that if you are going to come to Jesus, you need to count the cost. For, "it is better not to start, than to start and not finish." If you don’t forsake all that you have, you cannot be a disciple of Jesus. Ask yourself, man, "Can I hate my wife, my mother, my father, my own children, and even my own life for the Lord?" If you cannot, don’t come to Him. Anything that will distract you from picking up your cross and following the Lord will disqualify you from serving the Lord. Whoever distracts you from the Lord is an enemy. You cannot serve two masters because you will love the one and hate the other. The one that you love, you’re loyal to, obedient to, and you honor. The one that you are not doing these things to is the one that you are hating. This is why Jesus commands us to love Him above all. If Jesus isn’t on the love side, He is on the hate side.

5:14    You can succumb to evil even in the midst of the congregation.
5:15    Drink water from your own cistern. Enjoy your own wife, not the immoral woman. Be faithful to your own wife. Engage physically with her and not some other woman.
5:16    Let your sex be with the one to whom it is due. Let your marriage bed be blessed this way.
5:18    Rejoice with the wife of your youth. There is only one woman who fills this position, and you usually marry her when you are young. This is part of the secret of marriage. If you allow that woman (the wife of your youth whom you correctly married in the Lord) to get away, you are setting yourself up for some rough times in life. She is the only woman in the world who will never age in your sight; you’ll never see it. Every other woman will age in your sight. You will still see her through the eyes of love, through the eyes of remembrance. This is what will give you the strength to resist the urge to put her away. When a man discards that woman, he releases her to the spiritual wolves and destroys both of their lives. When you trade the wife of your youth for the young, tight-bodied woman, you will the one being used by a voluptuous gold digger. It will be a marriage made in hell. She will use you, destroy your life, and take you for all that you have. The phenomenon that a man goes through that can cause them to put away the wife of his youth is called midlife crisis. No man escapes the opportunity to be a victim of this. You remain a sexual creature, and as you get older, your wives change physically. Time takes its toll. As you get older, you tend to put on a little weight and your skin gets looser. Your hair starts to fall out. The temptation will always be there to engage with some young lady with a slamming body. Hollywood puts out as the normal woman one who really has breast implants. So men become dissatisfied with the natural wife that they have, and women are set up to fail because they can never naturally measure up to those ladies.
5:19    Let your wife’s breasts satisfy you at all times, not anyone else’s breasts. Men are admonished by God to have at those breasts and to be satisfied with them. It does not say to be merely content with them. Being content says that it is okay for now. However, when you are satisfied, you don’t want any more. If you just have to have a larger breasted woman, marry one with larger breasts. Women are not initially loved for their minds; they are initially loved for their physical appearance. You need to be satisfied with your wife. Women will have plastic surgery done because they are insecure, and their husbands do not make them feel secure that they will be loved and cared for despite their age. Men are making their wives feel insecure because they are looking toward the young women, and threatening to leave them. Always be intoxicated with your wife’s love.
5:22    Men will be entrapped by their sin.
5:23    Men will die for lack of instruction.
6:1-2    Do not become a co-signer for someone because you will be snared by the words of your mouth. Don’t vauge for a stranger. Your word will validate someone. If that someone is not credible, it will reflect upon you. There is no safe person that you could ever co-sign for. Don’t co-sign unless you are willing to pay for the debt. When you co-sign, you are giving your word that you will pay the debt if the other person renigs, and the system will hold you to it. You are unwise to become collateral for a stranger, friend, or family member. God never encourages His children to borrow money to help someone else. He would not have us burdened that someone else be eased.
6:6    You should be diligent to put your hands to something so that you can make a living and have something to do with yourself. Consider the ant. It is small, but it goes about gathering food or supplies without being directed by a leader or captain. They will protect their hive, and their queen, and gather food in the summer to hold them over in wintertime. Ants will even attack humans, who are gigantic in size compared to them, if they get in their way.
6:9 Be like the ant rather than the sluggard. A slug looks like a giant maggot, but it moves very slowly. It is not in any particular hurry; in fact, it is too lazy to get out of the open before the sun rises and shrivels it up. A sluggard is one who moves very slowly. He likes to do as little as possible to get by.
6:11    If you are a sluggard, you will have poverty because you don’t exercise diligence. When you don’t exercise diligence, you will have lack.
6:12    Calamity shall come upon a worthless, good-for-nothing person who speaks and yet there is no good fruit in his life.
6:16    Six things the Lord hates; seven are an abomination to Him:
6:17    A proud look is one that reflects a proud heart. A proud person has no confidence in himself, but he doesn’t want you to know that he has no confidence. You know that he is proud because he keeps stumbling. A proud person falls a lot since pride comes before the fall. This type of individual is in a dangerous position to exhibit much folly because pride will cause one to discount all the thruth of God that one knows. The pride in them says, "I can’t be wrong. Even though I know that I’m wrong, I can’t admit to it." Their pride can even cause them to deny God, being turned over to a debased mind. This pride is the same pride that Lucifer exhibits. It is so subtle and dangerous because it just builds and builds until you’re facing the Lord and saying, "Hath you really said that, Lord?" Pride blinds and twists you so that you don’t care anymore.

Do you want to know if you are in pride? Here is a good meter to determine that: "How well do you receive correction?" Correction will bring out pride in you.

One who is confident in the Lord is different from a proud person. That individual has confidence that God will move on their behalf and be there for them. They are confident because of their faith. When you put your confidence in God, and not your own abilities, He’ll never fail you. One who is confident in the Lord sees himself the way that God sees him. He wants to please God rather than man, and he knows that he is somebody whether others see it or not (if you are waiting for man’s approval, you are going to be on a roller coaster for the rest of your life). You have to love yourself.

If you don’t love yourself, you will bring others down to compensate for your low self-esteem.

6:17    A lying tongue is a characteristic of the one who tells lies from the heart; they practice lying. This is not referring to one who lies under duress, which shouldn’t be done either.

Hands that shed innocent blood are also an abomination to the Lord. The shedding of innocent blood is done when one is killed without just cause. This action is abominable to the Lord because it reminds Him of His Son’s shed innocent blood. There is killing with just cause, and, in fact, the Lord has shed more guilty blood on the earth than anyone else. There is some blood that just needs to be shed. God is even guilty of shedding innocent blood, His own son’s blood, because of His love for us.

You can judge whether or not someone else’s god is your God, although called by a different name, by judging what is being said, not by what they call him.

6:17     Hands that shed innocent blood.

What is innocent blood? It is blood that is unlawful to shed. We call that murder. In every society on earth you are held accountable for it. There are times when it is appropriate to shed blood, but when you shed innocent blood, then that blood will be required from you. Blood has to be requited. Shedding innocent blood is done with malice of forethought; it is not an accident. If someone comes to get you, they are not innocent. You can shed their blood. There were cities of refuge in Numbers 35:9-11 where people who killed someone by accident went for refuge from the avenger of blood, the near kinsman of the one murdered. The manslayer must stay in the city of refuge until the death of the high priest. There are different classifications of murder: Number 35:22- 25 describes manslaughter and 35:16-21 describes murder one. Numbers 35:30 states that one witness is not sufficient to put someone to death. It must be more than one witness for the death penalty. 35:31 You cannot pay money for your sin. Your blood is required of you. Nor can you leave the city of refuge by paying off the family.  35:33 You shall not pollute the land where you are by not requiting innocent blood. For innocent blood that is shed defiles your land. The land cannot be atoned for except by the shed blood of the guilty one.

If you are old enough to murder, you are old enough to be held accountable.

There are no "good" people. No one human has innocent blood. Mankind is born evil and full of sin. It is in our nature. It is not natural for us to be good. We are all descendants of Adam, and we are born with the Adamic nature.

Only innocent blood can substitute for guilty blood, but you cannot lawfully shed innocent blood. The only one who had innocent blood was Jesus. When God called Him to be savior of the world, Jesus didn’t have any blood yet, because He was in a celestial body. His life was not in His blood, but in the Father. Jesus told God to prepare Him a body. He had to be born of a virgin, apart from the bloodline of Adam since God reckons the bloodline through the fathers. Therefore, Jesus was conceived of the Holy Spirit. That is what makes Jesus’ blood so awesome. It is innocent blood.

Even the devil could not lawfully shed innocent blood. God tricked Satan into believing that He had shed guilty blood. Satan thought that Jesus’ blood was guilty just like all the other Adamites. Since the shedding of blood remits sin, God made it so that Jesus’ innocent blood remits all guilty blood shed, if they receive it. Satan couldn’t contest this action since he wrongfully shed Jesus’ innocent blood. Remission of sins is there for everyone. In the end, we were still alive and the scales were balanced.

6:18    A heart that devises wicked plans. It is much worse for you to premeditate sin than to just be weak and stumble into sin. Don’t have feet that are swift to run to evil.
6:19    A false witness who speaks lies is an abomination to the Lord because guilt can be laid upon the testimony of two or three witnesses. People can be sentenced to death due to a false witness. They can corrupt the system so that innocent blood will be shed.

One who sows discord among brethren is seeking to cause division in the church. In order to function properly, the church must be in one accord. One who sows discord goes to one member of a church and telling lies about another member, or they stand in disagreement with the Pastor. As if this weren’t bad enough, they also encourage others not to stand in agreement with him either.

6:20    The Lord is admonishing the children to keep the commands of their father and mother.
6:23     The commandment is a lamp to lead and guide us in the way that we should go.
6:24    The reproofs of instruction are to keep you from the evil seductress.
6:25    The seductress will not be ugly; she will be a fox.
6:26    For by the means of a harlot, a man is reduced to a crust of bread. The only way that God allows sex is in the confines of the husband and his wife relationship. The consequences of adultery are passed onto the family and the children by way of broken marriages, illegitimate children, sexually transmitted diseases, and the list goes on.
6:27    Can you play with fire and not get burned? No. Neither can you engage in activity with the seductress and not suffer the consequences.
6:29    If you go into your neighbor’s wife, you will suffer the consequences.
6:30    Don’t despise a thief if he steals because he is starving. Just make him repay sevenfold.
6:32    Whoever commits adultery lacks understanding; by doing this, you destroy your own soul.
6:35    A man’s wife is off limits. If you violate her, you will not be able to weasel your way out of the consequences.
7:1        How profitable it is to walk in wisdom, knowledge, and understanding.
7:7     I saw a man without understanding going into the harlot.
7:11    The immoral woman had the attire of a harlot, and she was loud and rebellious. She wouldn’t stay at home.
7:14    Peace offerings are used to atone for sin committed. This woman is ready to sin and then go and offer peace offerings. She has premeditated her sin.
7:16    She has covered her bed with fine linen and spices and perfume. She makes it look very alluring.
7:19    "Let us take our fill of love until morning, let us delight ourselves with love," she entices. She uses the absence of her husband as an opportunity to commit adultery.
7:21    With her enticing speech she causes him to yield.
7:23    It costs him his life.
7:24-27 If you turn into her paths, you will be slain by her.
8:11    Wisdom is better than rubies, and all the things one may desire cannot be compared with her.
8:13    The fear of the Lord is to hate evil, pride, arrogance, and the evil way.
8:14    Counsel and sound wisdom is from God.
8:17    Wisdom loves those who love it. Those who seek wisdom diligently will find it.
8:18    When you find wisdom, you will find riches and honor, enduring riches and righteousness.
8:19    The fruit of wisdom is better than fine gold, and it will profit you more than choice silver.
8:22    Wisdom has been here since before the earth was ever even created.
8:35    Whoever finds wisdom finds life and obtains favor from the Lord.
9:1-6    Wisdom has prepared a feast and invites those who lack understanding to come and partake of it.
9:7    He who corrects a scoffer gets shame for himself. When you reprove someone, you are attempting to correct them. A scoffer does not receive the Word of God, and they will not receive correction. It is a waste of time. If you correct a wicked man, you will only harm yourself.
9:8    A scoffer will hate you if you rebuke him. A wise man will love you for correcting him.
9:9    Teach a wise man and he will be wiser still.
9:10    Fearing the Lord opens the door to wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
9:11    For by wisdom your days will be multiplied.
9:12    If you scoff, you will bear the consequences of your scoffing alone.
9:13    A foolish woman is clamorous. She is simple and knows nothing. She talks for talking sake, and she says things that she shouldn’t.
9:18    She doesn’t tell you that all those who follow her bad advice are dead and in Hell.
10:1    A wise son makes a glad father. But a foolish son is the grief of his mother. Foolishness is bound up in the heart of all children. Boys especially do a lot of stupid things.
10:4    He who has a slack hand becomes poor. The hand of the diligent makes one rich.
10:5    A wise son gathers in summer, a time of plenty, when it is not necessarily the season to gather. He who sleeps when it is time for them to be gathering the harvest causes shame.
10:8    The wise in heart will receive commands, but the much talking fool will fall.
10:10    Don’t wink.
10:13    He who has understanding speaks wisdom. A rod is made for the back of the fool. 10:14 Wise people store up knowledge; they receive instruction. You do this by practicing what you learn.
10:15    Being poor is okay, but being wealthy is better. For a poor person, their being poor is their destruction.
10:18    Whoever hides hatred has lying lips. When you hate someone, and act like you don’t hate him, you are lying. Whoever spreads lies about someone is a fool.
10:19    In the multitude of words, sin is not lacking. He who restrains his lips is wise. It is one thing for people to perceive you as a fool, it is another to open your mouth and confirm that you are.
10:22    The blessing of the Lord makes one rich, and He adds no sorrow to it. On the contrary, the devil’s blessings have strings attached to them. You will never be able to enjoy your riches from the devil.

Did the Father Murder Jesus?

Murder involves taking one’s life without just cause. We know that not all killing is murder, such as in war or in the execution of justice. Was the murder of Jesus justified? No, Jesus was not murdered for just cause. Only if you can legitimately ascribe guilt to one, can there be just cause for taking His life. God used the unlikely occasion of spilling Jesus’ innocent blood to satisfy the demands of justice. The only way you can ever spill innocent blood is by murder. There was no just cause to taking Jesus’ life. It was unlawful. God "put the contract out on Jesus" as it were. He ordained Jesus for that unlawful death. The Father conspired with Satan to kill Jesus. Satan didn’t realize that God was using him to thwart his own plans. The Father permitted the gods of this age to kill Jesus. The only way that God could win the war against Satan was to colloid with him (and present as His defense something that would leave no doubt of His supremacy). Satan’s viewpoint was, "Who is God that I should be under Him?" Satan’s playground was the flesh, the natural. God’s playground was the Spirit. God arranged for His Son to take upon human flesh, and then to later allow Him to be given up for sacrifice. Jesus went to Jerusalem knowing that He was going to die. The Father murdered Jesus. Satan was a fool to think that he could outwit God.

If the Father was a Murderer, How Did He Escape Judgment?

You cannot convict a murderer whose victim is living. You cannot convict a murderer without a dead body. Jesus rose from Hell back to his old body and was translated from his terrestrial body into His celestial body. God had promised Jesus that He would not allow His body to undergo corruption. That required three days and three nights. There was no body to convict the murderer with, and the shed blood of Jesus was used to convict the devil. This adjudicated the Father and the Son.

The tri-une nature of God is like a yo-yo going around in a circle. The yo-yo looks like an endless circle. When stopped, you can observe which personality it is.

10:23    To a fool, doing evil is like playing a sport. A man of understanding has wisdom.
10:24    The fear of the wicked will come upon the wicked. The desire of the righteous, those born-again, will be granted. 10:25    When the whirlwind (affairs of life; ill winds of life) passes by, the wicked is no more, but the righteous have an everlasting foundation. A house is built upon a foundation of cement so that it will not be shaken when the whirlwind comes. In like manner, the good foundation in the kingdom of God is obtained when a person hears and does the Word.
10:26    Vinegar is an acid, and it will destroy teeth. Smoke irritates the eyes. If you have a sluggard working for you, he will have these same effects on you.
10:27    The fear of the Lord prolongs days. Reverence and honor the Lord.
10:32    The lips of the righteous have wisdom, and they know what is acceptable.
11:1    Dishonest scales are an abomination to the Lord. This means that you are dealing in business with others ruthlessly and unjustly; you cheat and deceive others in order to make a profit.
11:2    When pride comes, then comes shame. Pride says that I cannot be less, and it will not defer. When you allow pride to consume you, then comes the fall. Pride, at a certain level, may even be backed by a demonic force. Pride most often comes out of people when they are being corrected.
11:4    In Luke 16:9, we are told to use mammon as a servant, not be enslaved to it. Make money your servant. How do you know if you are the servant or if money serves you? You are the servant of money if you’ll do anything to gain it. If you would be willing to violate the Word of God for money, then it has become your master. The purpose in having money is to exchange it for something else. We want the items that money can buy. There is a day of wrath coming upon this world that the wealthy unrighteous will not be spared from.
11:8     God will repay those who do evil to you.
11:9    The hypocrite with his mouth destroys his neighbor, but, through knowledge, the righteous will be delivered. Your neighbor is anyone who is not your enemy, and even your enemy can be your neighbor when he is not actively trying to harm you.
11:10    If you want your city to be prosperous, you need to pursue the path of righteousness.
11:12    He who doesn’t have any wisdom despises his neighbor. A man of understanding holds his peace. You should not be envious or jealous of your neighbor. Jealousy is being overly attached to something that you have. When you are envious, your neighbor has something that you want, and you don’t want them to have it.
11:13    A talebarer reveals secrets; they are a gossip. They know something, and they cannot go to sleep unless they tell someone. He who is of a faithful spirit conceals a matter. This requires using wisdom.
11:14    Where there is no counsel, the people fall. Counsel is the voice of wisdom. Wisdom speaks. Until it speaks, you cannot benefit from what it says. Not everyone who speaks to give counsel is tapping into wisdom. Someone may be a "counselor" titlewise but may not speak words of wisdom. A true counselor is only one who speaks with the voice of wisdom.

For example, in Genesis 3:1-5 The serpent gave "counsel" to Eve, but the information that he gave to her was not wise. You can tell if the counsel that is being given is wise by determining if it lines up with the Word of God. Wise counsel can help you only if you act upon it. If it is true counsel, it will bring you to where God wants you to be. Pride will keep you from following wisdom and counsel , whereas, faith will cause you to follow the words of counsel even though you may not understand or agree with it..

In the multitude of counselors there is safety. Only God has all counsel. Therefore, in the presence of many counselors, you may get greater insight than from just one counselor. The more counselors you have, the bigger piece of the whole you can understand. Wise counsel is from the Holy Spirit, so the vessel through which it comes is irrelevant.

11:15    If you are a co-signer for a stranger you will suffer for it. The only reason that one needs a guarantee is if his word is no good. If you have been a man of honor, you word is good enough as a guarantee. The only reason one needs a co-signer is if he has been unfaithful. Proverbs 6:1 states that you should not become surety for either a friend or a stranger.
11:16    A gracious woman retains honor, but ruthless men retain riches. To be gracious means that you are being gentle and respectful. A gracious woman will not be found on the trashy talk shows.
11:17    If you are merciful, you do good to your own soul. If you are cruel, you will trouble your own soul. What goes around comes around. You will reap what you sow.
11:18    The wicked man’s work is deceptive.
11:19    If you sow righteousness to your life, you’ll reap life. If you pursue evil, you will reap death in your life.
11:20    What is a perverse heart? It is one that practices evil. People who are like this are an abomination to the Lord.
11:22    As a ring of gold in a swine’s snout, so is a lovely women without discretion. A woman must be discreet.
11:24    There is one who scatters yet increases more. There is one who withholds more than is right and it leads to poverty. Wisdom says, "If you are down to your last dollar, go and give it to the man of God." You have to use wisdom in scattering. You have to scatter on good ground. Being stingy leads to poverty.
11:25    The generous soul will be made rich.
11:26    Refer to II Cor. 9:6 –9 and II Cor. 8:13-15 God does not expect you to be burdened while another is eased. He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly.
11:27    If you seek good, you will find favor.
11:28    If you trust in your riches, you will fall. Your money will not enable you to overcome. Riches will let you down every single time. Riches are only to provide material possessions. It is the non-tangible relationship with God that brings the true peace. This does not say that he who has riches will fall; but it does say that he who trusts in riches, will fall.
11:29    He who troubles his own house will inherit the wind.
11:30    The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life.
11:31    You will be rewarded based upon your deeds. The righteous will be recompensed on the earth. According to Mark 10:29-30, if you have left things for Jesus and the gospel, you will receive everything back 100 fold in this life and, in the age to come, eternal life.
12:1    Whoever loves instruction, loves knowledge. If you hate reproof, (correction) you are stupid. If you hate it, don’t receive it, accept it, or follow it, you’re stupid.
12:2    A good man finds favor from the Lord.
12:3    If you want a lasting life, you need to walk the path of righteousness. Rebuke comes from continuing to resist reproof (gentle guidance by your shepherd). If you hate rebuke, you are something much worse than stupid.
12:4    An excellent wife is the crown of her husband (Crowns denote nobility and high standing). An excellent wife proves the husband’s steadfastness. However, a wife that causes shame is like rottenness to his bones. She can betray a husband’s lack of diligence.
12:6    The words of the wicked are intended to do you harm. The mouth of the upright will deliver them.
12:9    It is better to be someone of stature, and have a servant, than to consider yourself to be someone great, but to not even have a servant.
12:10    A righteous man regards the life of his animal.
12:11    He who tills his land will have bread.
12:14    A man will be satisfied with good by the fruit of his lips. You will reap what you sow.
12:15    The fool thinks that what he is doing is fine, but he who heeds counsel is wise.
12:21    No great trouble shall overtake the righteous.
12:22    Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord.
12:24    The hand of the diligent will rule.
12:25    Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression. If you are anxious, you are being rebellious cause Jesus said not to be anxious. Fear is a big part of anxiety.

WEEK 14 AND 15 ARE TEMPORARILY OMITTED.

14:10    The heart knows its own bitterness, and a stranger does not share its joy. We know what bitterness is in our hearts. 14:13     Even in laughter, the heart may sorrow. You can’t tell what’s going on with someone just by looking at the outward appearance. They may be laughing on the outside, but they are crying on the inside.
14:15    The simple believes every word that they are told.
14:20    The poor man is hated even by his own neighbor.
14:21    He who despises his neighbor sins because Jesus commanded us to love our neighbor. Treat your neighbor the way that you want to be treated.
14:22    There is a pathway leading to life. If you do evil, you stray from that pathway.
14:23    In all labor there is profit.
14:24    The crown of the wise is their riches. If you are wise, the thing that identifies you as being wise is being abundantly supplied. If you are foolish, your lack of material possessions will evidence your foolishness. The fool may try to give the illusion of riches, but what they have, they don’t own. It is foolish to drive around in an expensive, leased car because you don’t actually own it. It doesn’t attribute to your riches at all, and you are living a lie, trying to appear to others to have riches. It is like living in a prestigous part of town for reputation sake but to be barely making ends meet.
14:26    In the fear of the Lord there is strong confidence, and His children will have a place of refuge. This is why the world sometimes considers you as arrogant. You are confident of your life and the promises of God. You are bold to declare the Word.
14:27    The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life. It turns one away from the snares of death.
14:28    A king’s honor is in a multitude of people, but the lack of people is the downfall of a prince.
14:29    He who is slow to wrath has great understanding. You really have to control anger because it can get you into some life-changing trouble. Be angry, and do not sin.
14:30    A sound heart is a content, joyful, peaceful heart, and it is life to the body. You are always killed from the inside out. Jesus provided life for our spirit and healing for our body. We should be walking around well. When a believer is ignorant, rebellious or unbelieving, he may die prematurely or be afflicted.
14:31    He who oppresses the poor reproaches His maker, but he who honors God has mercy on the needy. How should a person address the needy? Down the "middle of the road." The nature of "the needy" are different today than in Jesus’ time. In the U.S., an educated guess is that 95% of today’s "needy" are like that due to a lack of diligence. The bible tells us that if a man won’t work, neither should he eat. If you find out that people are needy just because they don’t want to go out and get a job, you should not contribute to them. You must exercise judgment when considering whether to give people money or not. In other countries, people truly have need or lack, and they live in poverty by no choice of theirs. If you really want to help people, give them the gospel.
14:32    If you are wicked, you are going to be in Hell when you die, but the righteous will be in Heaven when their souls separate from their physical body and spirit.
14:33    The wise person holds his tongue.
14:34    If your nation is righteous, it will be esteemed. The people of the nation determine if the nation is held in high esteem or reproached. When the people in a society start to call what is evil good and good evil, the nation is spiraling toward its destruction.
15:1    A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up wrath. A soft answer is soft in demeanor and intent. It is awful hard to stay angry at someone who answers like that. A soft answer will throw water on the hot embers of anger.
15:2    When someone is wise, they use knowledge rightly.
15:3    The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch … God is always watching.
15:4    If you speak words of life, your life will be blessed. Speaking contrary to the truth and way of God breaks the spirit.
15:5    A fool despises his father’s instruction. He who receives correction is prudent. Receive instruction.
15:7    The lips of the wise disperse knowledge.
15:8    The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord.
15:9    The way of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord.
15:10    Harsh discipline is for him who forsakes the way. There is a difference between mild correction and harsh correction. The individual needing the correction determines the type of correction that needs to be administered. You bring harsh correction upon yourself when you forsake the Way. Be obedient to the Word of God, and you won’t need harsh correction. If you don’t forsake the Way, you will only need mild correction.  He who hates correction will die.
15:11    Hell and destruction are before the Lord, so how much more the hearts of the sons of men. There are spiritual beings destined for Hell and destruction. What makes us humans think that we can get away with sin?
15:12    A scoffer does not love one who reproves him. A scoffer doesn’t want to leave his attitude behind. He wants to stay away from those who will give him wise counsel.
15:13    A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance, but, by sorrow of the heart, the spirit is broken. Your face usually reflects what is going on inside of you.
15:15    All the days of the afflicted are evil. If you are afflicted, every day is a bad day for you. He who is of a merry heart has a continual feast.
15:16    Better is a little with the fear of the Lord than great treasure with trouble.
15:17    Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a fatted calf with hatred.
15:18    A wrathful man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger allays contention. He will set anger aside.
15:19    The way of the lazy man is like a hedge of thorns, but the way of the upright is a highway.
15:20    A wise son makes his father glad, but a foolish man despises his mother.
15:21    Folly is joy to him who is destitute of understanding or discernment.
15:22    Without counsel, plans go awry, but, in the multitude of counselors, they are established. People make plans that they know are not in their best interests, and they don’t seek counsel because they know this in their heart.
15:27    He who is greedy for gain troubles his own house, but he who hates bribes will live. A bribe is money or favors given with the expectation of getting something in return that you would not otherwise be entitled to. Pastors even bribe their congregates by telling them only the things that they want to hear so that they will get paid. Blackmail is the mirror image of bribery.
15:28    The heart of the righteous studies how to answer. Your answer will be seasoned with salt.
15:29    The Lord is far from the Wicked. Don’t even bother praying to God if you are wicked (unless it is to receive salvation). However, God hears the prayer of the righteous.
15:30    The light of the eye rejoices the heart, and a good report makes the bones healthy. How do we perceive things? It is this perception that determines if we receive things as good or evil.
15:33    Wisdom will tell you to fear the Lord, and before honor is humility. Humility is not thinking of oneself more highly, or lowly, than he ought. We should think of ourselves where God thinks of us. God sees us seated with Christ Jesus at the right-hand of power.

Side Journey: James 2:1-2 tells us, "Don’t minister the things of God with partiality." It is the existence of poor people throughout all generations that has kept the gospel alive. Had it been left up to the rich, the gospel would have died out with the apostles.

16:1    The preparations of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord. The plans for our lives are up to us. God doesn’t decide what we should do. God will tell us if our plans do not match up with His will for our lives. He gave us a mind, a soul, and a spirit, and His principles to guide us in making our decisions. In addition, God doesn’t have a mate picked out for you. He merely gives you a boundary to decide from. God’s plan is for a man to go after a wife, not vice versa.

The answer of the tongue is from the Lord. When you speak, you speak as the oracle of God. When your spirit is one with the Holy Spirit, the Father’s thoughts are your thoughts, and the Father’s deeds are your deeds.

16:2    All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the spirits. If you are not saved, you don’t think that you are doing anything wrong. You are not trustworthy to use our own judgments to discern right from wrong because your spirit is the fountain from which your behavior flows. If you are not born-again, you don’t have a frame of reference for what is right.
16:3    Commit your works to the Lord and your thoughts will be established. If you have committed your life to the Lord, you cannot separate yourself from Him. He permeates every fiber of your being.
16:4    The Lord has made all things for Himself, even the wicked for the Day of Doom. God does not create things wicked, but the things He has created sometimes turn wicked. There is a day of doom waiting for the wicked.
16:5    Everyone proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord; though they join forces, none will go unpunished.
16:6    In mercy and truth atonement is provided for iniquity. By the fear of the Lord one departs from evil.
16:7    When a man’s ways please the Lord, He even makes his enemies to be at peace with him.
16:8    Better is a little with righteousness, than vast revenues without justice.
16:9    You don’t have to wonder and worry if you are in the will of God. If your plans are not His will, your heart will have that inward witness that your plans are not right. Sometimes you may have a funny feeling about some plans because you don’t understand them. If this happens, stop and ponder why you feel that way. If you continue to have a negative witness, don’t go down that path.
16:10    Even though divination is on the lips of the king, his mouth must not transgress in judgment. Divination is seeking answers or direction from unlawful mechanisms. It is tapping into the supernatural powers contrary to how God has ordained. Using God’s mechanisms and unlawful mechanisms to get results may both "work"; therefore you can’t judge by that. In the devil’s kingdom, one spirit of infirmity will displace another. So if you practice some mechanism other than the Word of God to help you with an infirmity in your life, your cancer may get "healed", but it will be replaced with an ulcer or something else.
16:12    It is an abomination for kings to commit wickedness because all the people in his land suffer because of it. In contrast, when just one man commits wickedness, it affects only himself and/or his immediate family. God establishes the offices of leadership; therefore, we respect and honor them. Leaders should also be an example to the people.
16:14    As messengers of death is the king’s wrath, but a wise man will appease it. It is not good to make the king mad. In times past, it was very dangerous to get on the king’s bad side because your head would be removed.
16:18    Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.
16:19    It is better to be of a humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud. It is best to be of a humble spirit and divide the spoil.
16:20    He who heeds the Word wisely will find good, and whoever trusts in the Lord is happy. Some Christians aren’t happy because they are not trusting God.
16:22    Understanding is a wellspring of life.
16:24    Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the bones. It is very important for husbands to understand this concept in speaking to their wives.
16:26    A person who labors, labors for himself. No one likes to labor, but it is necessary. The hungry mouths of our children and ourselves drive us to labor.
16:28    A perverse man sows strife, and a whisperer separates the best of friends. If you are whispering about someone or something, you are up to no good.
16:31    The silver haired head is a crown of glory if it is found in the way of righteousness. Silver hair is a good badge if you are old because you have lived a righteous life.
16:32    He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit is better than he who takes a city.
16:33    Under the Old Covenant, when believers didn’t have the Holy Spirit to lead them, the people cast lots to find out God’s will regarding a matter. Under the New Covenant, the Lord dwells within us, and casting lots is now divination.
17:5    He who mocks the poor reproaches His Maker, and he who is glad at calamity will not go unpunished.

There are two types of poor people: the legitimate poor and the illegitimate poor. When God references the poor, he is speaking regarding the legitimate poor. This type of poor person doesn’t have basic necessities of life and has no way of getting them. God has His eye on the legitimately poor. Through all efforts on their part, they are being held down by powers beyond their control. Being illegitimately poor is having the opportunity and ability to have the basic necessities of life but choosing not to have them. Some people are poor because they choose not to labor and sow. They are slothful.

17:6    Children’s children (grandchildren) are the crown of old men.  The glory of children is their father. Children do not have a glory of their own. They get their glory from their father and what he has sown into them. It is the father, not the mother, who gives this glory to the children. Children reflect the job that the father has done in raising them.