Proverbs 13;22 A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children’s children: and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just.
23 Much food is in the tillage of the poor: but there is that is destroyed for want of judgment.
We see here the good man, a man who is not following in the ways of the wicked, he keeps his eyes stayed upon God. He is honest and works hard and teaches his children and grandchildren to live uprightly. A christian heritage is the greatest gift we can leave our children and grandchildren. The estates of a good man remain with their families while the the estate of the wicked do not and ultimately wind up belonging to the righteous.
The same is true even with poor because they know how to make something out of nothing and is reward for it. This allows him to be able to teach his family and leave them with an inheritance. On the other hand judgement comes to those because of their deeds of injustice and are brought to ruin.
15 Good understanding giveth favour: but the way of transgressors is hard. 16 Every prudent man dealeth with knowledge: but a fool layeth open his folly. 17 A wicked messenger falleth into mischief: but a faithful ambassador is health. 18 Poverty and shame shall be to him that refuseth instruction: but he that regardeth reproof shall be honoured.
19 The desire accomplished is sweet to the soul: but it is abomination to fools to depart from evil. 20 He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed. 21 Evil pursueth sinners: but to the righteous good shall be repayed.
We have here seven contrasted effects of behavior. We will look at the good first.
We have good understanding, prudent behavior, a faithful ambassador, a good listener, an obedient worker, one who uses wisdom in who he associates with, and our righteous will lead to rewards.
Then we have sinners who will have hard time in accomplishing goals, a fool who sets himself up to fail, a lair who cannot be believed, one who does not listen instruction,ones who just cannot remove themselves from evil, Those who ban together to cause trouble will be destroyed, and those who are evil are always finding themselves just getting in to more trouble.
These two groups of people are basically the difference between good and bad. We see both kinds in world today but with the way society is now we see more bad than we do good. The righteous today needs to live a daily life where when we are just walking down the street our presence lets the joy of salvation rub off on everybody we pass.
Proverbs 13:14 The law of the wise is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.
This verse tells us of the fountain of life. We know who the fountain of life is, it is Jesus Christ. Jesus told the Samaritan woman at the well He would give her a drink and she would never thirst again. The same is true with us today, if we will accept Christ as our savior and live of lives according to the word of God we will have life everlasting. When we grow in the wisdom of God we speak and obey the the laws of God with a healthy fear and understanding. If we decide to live like the world lives in partying and turning from the ways of God we are headed for destruction. I pray that all will come to know Christ as there savior and drink from fountain everlasting life.
Proverbs 13:12 Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life.
13 Whoso despiseth the word shall be destroyed: but he that feareth the commandment shall be rewarded.
We all have experienced a time we prayed for something and it seemed it would never come to pass. This has a tendency to make us heart sick because we feel it may never happen. Then when our prayers are answered we rejoice greatly. When the desire of the heart comes about, it seems as though it gives us a brand new life.
Th Word of God is the hope we have that teaches us the way to eternal life. Without the Word we have no hope and are only facing death. Jesus is the Word of God. If we follow the commandments with a healthy fear God we will be rewarded with the great hope we have to spend eternity with God in heaven. There is no question that God speaks to us in His Word. There is no question that there is Life in His Word. There is no question that without the Word leading and guiding our lives, there lies ahead only death. Lets never loose the hope that we in savior Jesus Christ.
Proverbs 13:9 The light of the righteous rejoiceth: but the lamp of the wicked shall be put out.
10 Only by pride cometh contention: but with the well advised is wisdom.
11 Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished: but he that gathereth by labour shall increase.
Here we see that the righteous like doing all things in the light and are not ashamed of the life they live. The wicked does not like anyone to see what are doing so like the darkness to hide in.This image of life, prosperity and joy is contrasted with adversity and then death.
Pride is one of things that stands in the way of lot people accomplishing the things God would have for them to do. Prideful people do not like taking advice from others and are not teachable. Wise people are eager to learn and become wiser for it. The proud spurn the advice given from others while the wise accept it.
For people who gain wealth quickly by doing things that are crooked or unlawful will loose it about as fast as they get it because God will not bless it. It is what we hear a lot “easy come, easy go”. The best gained wealth is the rewards you get from hard work. When you work for what you have you appreciate more and if you give of it to those that need it God will bless you even more.
If we will be determined to keep everything we do in the light for everyone to see and keep our pride out of the way and humble ourselves and do the work God allows us to do to gain what we need we will be blessed for above what we can imagine.
Proverbs 13:7 There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing: there is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches.
8 The ransom of a man’s life are his riches: but the poor heareth not rebuke.
It easy to see here that we someone who is rich but really has nothing and someone who seems to poor by has everything. We could say that one may say and pretend he has great riches trying to impress people for selfish gain and I am sure we all people like that. They really have nothing. We also know people who have great wealth and are only concerned about adding to it instead of using any of it for good. They also have nothing. Then you can look at the second man, that we all see sometimes, that pretends to be poor but is very rich. We commonly call him someone who “poor mouths”. From a spiritual standpoint we see this this second man as someone who gives almost all he has away to those less fortunate, he has treasures laid up in Heaven so he is very rich.
The first part of the second scripture shows us a man who has probably worked hard for the wealth he has in this world only ot be hated by jealous people. While a poor person is never spoken evil of because he has nothing for people be jealous of. We Can also see that a rich man could use his money to get himself out of trouble, but riches used in a godly way could be a blessing to you and those around you. Then there are the poor who would like to help a lot times but just do not have the money. I hope that people will always use the wisdom of God in handling their finances so that they will be blessed even above and beyond what they could imagine.
Proverbs 13;4 The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat.
5 A righteous man hateth lying: but a wicked man is loathsome, and cometh to shame.
6 Righteousness keepeth him that is upright in the way: but wickedness overthroweth the sinner.
Hers Again we see different classes of people.
We have the sluggard; or lazy person; the loathsome person, and just the plain ole sinner. The characteristics of these three kind of fit together in that the lazy person will do all he can to keep from working even to the point of lying and cheating which is characteristic of the loathsome person. They bring shame upon themselves for what they do just like the lazy person. Their actions are sinful making them a sinner. If they continue in their actions they will just get deeper into sin.
We also have the diligent, the righteous, and the upright. The characteristics of these three should be what everyone strives to be like .If we work at our jobs as if we are doing it for God we will prosper. We should always be truthful in all things we do even if sometimes it hurts. Then in all things we should do our best to light the Jesus shine in our righteousness and He will uphold us.
Please attend church somewhere today where God can be praised and you can gain more wisdom to be able to face the world we live in today.
Proverbs 13:2 A man shall eat good by the fruit of his mouth: but the soul of the transgressors shall eat violence.
3 He that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life: but he that openeth wide his lips shall have destruction.
Hers in these two verses we see one of the secrets to life.Again it contrast to different kinds of lives. We know that if we speak good things about whatever we dealing with it will say a lot about who we really are. We can see in these two verses that a man of good words prospers, but a man evil words sets himself up for destruction. A lot times it is best if do not say anything in some situations because we may say something we regret latter and we can not take it back and could regret it forever. Those who run there mouths all the time usually do not know when to stop because they are trying to cover up what they said to start with.If you know much about the book of James it lets you see how deadly the tongue can be.
Proverbs 13:1 A wise son heareth his father’s instruction: but a scorner heareth not rebuke.
A father always wants the best for his son so he tries to give him the instruction to help him lead a more successful life than he had. A wise son will take advantage of his fathers instruction knowing that his father gained this knowledge from experience. A scorner is the son who does not want to listen to instruction from anyone. Parents that love their children will rebuke their children when they do wrong but if the child does not learn from this are in for serious trouble . In the Old Testament, a rebellious son was to be taken to the edge of the city and stoned to death. This was a drastic measure, but I believe we are to see in that lesson that a person who will not be instructed is headed for destruction We will see later in this chapter how to help with the problem child.
Proverbs 12:28 In the way of righteousness is life; and in the pathway thereof there is no death.
This chapter winds up telling us that if we remain in good standing with God we will have a good life here on this earth. Also we we have even a better life when we leave this world in Heaven with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The second death has no power over us. Revelation 22:1-4 gives us a good picture of how it will be for righteous.
1 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.
2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
3 And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:
4 And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.
I hope all who read this will make plans to be here.
"For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one." I John 5:7
