The Strand Study Bible

PROVERBS

964 PROVERBS According to God, co-signing: (1) is not wise (Prov 17:18); (2) will eventually hurt you (Prov 11:15 & 22:26-27); and (3) brings a snare (Prov 6:1-3). According to God, a good leader: (1) does not play favorites (Prov 16:10 & 29:14 & 31:8-9); (2) deals justly (Prov 25:2); (3) refuses to be bribed (Prov 29:4); (4) is an example in righteousness (Prov 16:12 and I Pet 5:1-3); (5) enjoys the right crowd (Prov 16:13); (6) tells the truth (Prov 17:7 & 29:12); (7) brings out the best in people (Prov 28:28 & 29:2); (8) surrounds himself with the right people (Prov 25:5); (9) is merciful (Prov 20:28); (10) openly condemns wrong doings (Prov 14:19 & 20:8,26); (11) does not dictate; he offers leadership (Prov 28:15, Mt 4:19 and I Pet 5:1-3); and (12) controls his appetites (Prov 31:1-5 and I Tim 3:1-3 and Titus 1:5-7). According to God, the poor should be treated: (1) with respect, and not reproach (Prov 17:5 & 19:22 & 22:2 & 28:6,11); (2) with mercy, and not oppression (Prov 14:21,31 & 22:22-23); and (3) with pity; with provision (Prov 19:17 & 21:13 & 28:27 & 29:7 & 31:9). According to God, in order to properly love your enemy: (1) you must avoid getting even with them (Prov 20:22 & 24:29); (2) you must hurt when they hurt (Prov 17:5 & 24:17-18); and (3) you must meet their needs (Prov 25:21-22 and Mt 5:43-48). According to God, alcohol: (1) leads to foolishness (Prov 20:1); (2) leads to sorrow (Prov 23:29-32); (3) leads to immorality (Prov 23:33); (4) leads to addiction (Prov 23:34-35); (5) leads to disobedience to God (Prov 31:4-5); and (6) leads to oppression of the helpless (Prov 31:4-5). According to God, pride: (1) characterizes most people (Prov 20:6 & 21:2); (2) goes before destruction (Prov 15:25 & 16:5,18 & 17:19 & 18:12 & 29:23); (3) is sin, and an abomination to God (Prov 6:16-17 & 16:5 & 21:4); (4) is worse than the sin of foolishness (Prov 26:12); (5) leads to arrogance and strife (Prov 21:24 & 28:25); (6) clouds the vision of reality (Prov 12:9 & 25:14,27 & 27:1); and (7) eliminates the grace and honor of God from your life (Prov 3:34 & 15:33 & 22:4). According to God, becoming a respecter of people: (1) is wrong (Prov 18:5 & 28:21 and Jms 2:1-9); (2) is self- destructive (Prov 22:16 & 23:1-3 & 25:6-7 and Lk 14:7-14); and (3) leads to oppression (Prov 28:3). According to God, staying faithful to Him: (1) results in living longer (Prov 5:15-23 & 6:23-35 & 7:4-27); and (2) results in rewards (Prov 26:10 and II Cor 5:10). According to God, hard working people: (1) won’t go poor (Prov 6:4-11 & 10:4 & 13:4,11 & 14:23 & 18:9 & 20:4,13 & 21:5 & 23:20-21 & 24:30-34 & 27:23-27 & 28:19); (2) won’t go hungry (Prov 12:11,14 & 14:4 & 16:26 & 19:15 and II Thess 3:10); (3) won’t go off in some misdirected way (Prov 15:19 & 22:29); (4) won’t misspend an inheritance (Prov 13:11 & 20:21); (5) won’t be bound (Prov 12:24); (6) won’t shame their parents (Prov 10:5); (7) won’t be deceived by pride (Prov 26:16); (8) won’t be a source of irritation to others (Prov 10:26); (9) won’t lack ambition (Prov 12:27 & 19:24 & 22:13 & 26:13-15); and (10) won’t die a premature death (Prov 10:16 & 21:25). According to God, the love of money: (1) can lead to a false sense of prosperity (Prov 17:8 & 21:17 & 23:4-5 & 27:7 & 28:22); (2) can result in dishonest gain (Prov 10:2 & 17:23 & 28:20); (3) can lead to a false sense of security (Prov 10:15 & 11:4,28 & 13:8,22 & 14:20 & 18:16 & 19:4,6-7 & 21:14 & 22:7 & 28:8, Gen 19:12-25 and Lk 12:13 -21); (4) can lead to a false sense of worship (Prov 21:27 and I Sam 15:20-23); (5) can lead to the mistreatment of the poor (Prov 14:20 & 18:23 & 22:16 and Exo 22:21-27); (6) can lead to debt (Prov 22:7); (7) can lead to family ruin (Prov 15:27 and Gen 19:26,30-38); (8) can result in a premature death (Prov 21:16); and (9) can lead to murder (Prov 1:15-19 and Jms 4:2). According to God, people who show mercy: (1) doeth good to their own souls (Prov 11:17 & 29:21 and Mt 5:7 & 25:31-40). APPLICATION: Pillar #7 ( Wisdom’s Wealth ) deals with God’s value of things . God values the eternal, not the temporal (II Cor 4:15- 18); and He values what He says above what people say He is ( Psa 138:2 ). Question: If God values His Word above all else (and He does – I Sam 19: 18- 22 ), is there any value in “how” He says it? Find the best value in how God says things ( II Pet 1: 15- 19 -21) and it will hold up your Christianity. Fact: One of the seven pillars on which your Christianity stands is to realize God’s value of things . NOTE – Proverbs was written primarily for the sake of parents. It was penned so that parents could teach their children how to make biblical decisions for their everyday lives (Prov 1:1-4). The more Bible a child learns to obey the more wisdom God gives him. The more wisdom a child acquires from God the better his life will become and According to God, envy: (1) is worse than wrath and anger (Prov 27:4).

Lesson # 34. Note the value of “good leadership” ( Exo 17:9 )

Lesson # 35. Note the value of “treating the poor properly”

Lesson # 36. Note the value of “loving one’s enemies”

Lesson # 37. Note the value of “avoiding alcohol”

Lesson # 38. Note the value of “avoiding envy” Lesson # 39. Note the value of “avoiding pride”

Lesson # 40. Note the value of “treating everybody equally”

Lesson # 41. Note the value of “staying faithful to God”

Lesson # 42. Note the value of “hard work”

Lesson # 43. Note the value of “not loving money”

Lesson # 44. Note the value of “being merciful”