Okay so I did it again. Proverbs 22 is a conglomeration of much advice. No wonder Scofield entitles it (Warnings and instructions, continued.) It’s all great stuff. But I can’t cover it all. So I grouped them together into categories that made sense to me. And then I look it over and see if there’s anything that interests me. So I’d like to look for just a bit at a group of three verses that I had categorized under the heading Prudence:
(Proverbs 22:1) A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold.
(Proverbs 22:3) A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished.
(Proverbs 22:28) Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set.
Discernment
(Proverbs 22:1) A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold.
The key word in this verse is than. One thing should be valued more than the other. We have to put one in the left hand and one in the right hand and discern which one is better than the other. Which one has more value? Which path do I take? When is the best time? Who should I choose?
We make hundreds of decisions every day. Principles will determine our practice. If we believe that a good name is better than great riches and that loving favour is better than silver and gold, then we’ll choose a good name and loving favour.
Here are my thoughts on this. Having principles may be somewhat innate, or natural. But I think it’s good to define them. If you never take the time to question and define what you believe, your principles will be difficult to practice. That’s the beauty of the Bible. It defines good principles. Most times, people get their principles by experience, trial and error, the school of hard-knocks. And that is necessary. We do learn Biblical principles that way, and by God’s design.
But in the long run, why guess? What is a good name? What is loving favour? And why is it to be more desired? And how can I practice this? Defining principles and contemplating the meaning of these, I believe makes, good practice. And practice makes perfect – good practice that is. All this is discernment, and possibly the backbone of prudence – the here and now of decisions making.
Foresight
(Proverbs 22:3) A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished.
There’s discernment, the application of principle, and then there’s foresight. You learn this by playing Connect Four or Chess or Stratego. You imagine yourself making several moves in advance and then guess as to how the other guy is gonna move. You do this over and over and can almost predict what will happen if you do x, y, or z. Don’t move your knight there because three moves later there is a great possibility the enemy’s queen is gonna get him.
I know they tell us You can’t go by feelings. Sometimes our feelings are truly foresight. We survey the path ahead and weigh our moves against our antagonist’s and say as Luke and Han Solo, I’ve gotta bad feeling about this. But it’s not a feeling. It’s foresight. It’s prudence. You foresee the evil!
But I guess the real prudence is in the second part – in that he hideth himself. What is the good in seeing the future if you’re not going to do anything about it? I don’t think that the proverb is telling us to run and hide at any hint of evil. The push here is that we act upon our foreknowledge. Don’t just pass on. Act accordingly. Sometimes the evil is on a road that we just can’t get off, so we must prepare accordingly.
But can you see how practicing discernment will give us foresight? When we learn and experience from the practice of our principles, we can use that knowledge to help determine what lies on down the road.
Memory
(Proverbs 22:28) Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set.
There’s the here and now. There’s the future. And then there’s the past. And lately, I feel as God has been directing me and encouraging me on this matter of the family. I’d really appreciate you reading this article, Proverbs 20:20 His lamp shall be put out…
You know I’m troubled at the temptation that is upon young families these days to not be a family. From the age of 17 and up, children are pressured within and without to be your own man, be your own woman. Strike out on your own and define yourself. Be independent. It’s all bologna and nonsense. It’s all worldly wisdom and anti-family.
I’m convinced more and more that a child does not learn to submit his will to his authority until he’s got one of his own. And if you think some brat that doesn’t want to pick up his toys or eat his green beans is strong-willed, you may be in for a rude awakening. At these upper ages, all the world is telling you to stop being a parent, stop ruling, and relinquish your authority over your child. All the world is telling these children they don’t need to submit to their parents, they don’t need to obey their parents, they don’t need to consult their parents. It’s wicked.
Do not relinquish your God-given authority over your child until the day God joins him/her to their spouse. Until God’s man pronounces them man and wife, the parent rules and the children obey. God did not make some in-between state where they learn to be a man or a woman. The devil and the world has created this in-between state where men and woman are rather destroyed. This is where they learn to spurn authority, forsake family, and remove the ancient landmarks.
A child can become everything he/she needs to be. They can learn to think on their own. They can be a man. They can be a woman. They can be independent. They can mature. They can do all these things within the constructs and authority of the God-ordained institution of family. Don’t let anybody tell you that it can’t be done.
I know I’m kinda chasing a rabbit there. Prudence is not just looking at the present and making a good decision. It’s not just looking ahead and predicting certain outcomes. It’s also looking back at the lessons our fathers have taught; our earthly fathers as well as our church fathers.
Final Thoughts
I’ve got a lot more thoughts on this, but I’ve got to move on.
Below is how I divided up this Proverb if you are interested:
Rich and Poor
Pr 22:2 ¶ The rich and poor meet together: the LORD is the maker of them all.
Pr 22:7 ¶ The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.
Pr 22:9 ¶ He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed; for he giveth of his bread to the poor.
Pr 22:16 ¶ He that oppresseth the poor to increase his riches, and he that giveth to the rich, shall surely come to want.
Pr 22:22-23 ¶ Rob not the poor, because he is poor: neither oppress the afflicted in the gate: Pr 22:23 For the LORD will plead their cause, and spoil the soul of those that spoiled them.
Pr 22:26-27 ¶ Be not thou one of them that strike hands, or of them that are sureties for debts. 27 If thou hast nothing to pay, why should he take away thy bed from under thee?
Diligence and Laziness
Pr 22:13 ¶ The slothful man saith, There is a lion without, I shall be slain in the streets.
Pr 22:29 ¶ Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men.
Children
Pr 22:6 ¶ Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
Pr 22:15 ¶ Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.
Prudence
Pr 22:1 ¶ A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold.
Pr 22:3 ¶ A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished.
Pr 22:28 ¶ Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set.
Bad People
Pr 22:8 ¶ He that soweth iniquity shall reap vanity: and the rod of his anger shall fail.
Pr 22:10 ¶ Cast out the scorner, and contention shall go out; yea, strife and reproach shall cease.
Pr 22:14 ¶ The mouth of strange women is a deep pit: he that is abhorred of the LORD shall fall therein.
Pr 22:24-25 ¶ Make no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man thou shalt not go: Lest thou learn his ways, and get a snare to thy soul.
Dos
Pr 22:4 ¶ By humility and the fear of the LORD are riches, and honour, and life.
Pr 22:11 ¶ He that loveth pureness of heart, for the grace of his lips the king shall be his friend.
Pr 22:17-21 ¶ Bow down thine ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply thine heart unto my knowledge. 18 For it is a pleasant thing if thou keep them within thee; they shall withal be fitted in thy lips. 19 That thy trust may be in the LORD, I have made known to thee this day, even to thee. 20 Have not I written to thee excellent things in counsels and knowledge, 21 That I might make thee know the certainty of the words of truth; that thou mightest answer the words of truth to them that send unto thee?
Opposites Attract
Pr 22:5 ¶ Thorns and snares are in the way of the froward: he that doth keep his soul shall be far from them.
Pr 22:12 ¶ The eyes of the LORD preserve knowledge, and he overthroweth the words of the transgressor.
Leave a Reply