PROVERBS LESSON 24


    We will begin this lesson in Proverbs 16:1 "The preparations of
the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, [is] from the LORD."

    We see here a godly man.  One whose heart is stayed upon the Lord.
Jesus taught us in His own words in Luke 12:11-12 that the Holy Spirit
would put in our mouth what we need to say.  Luke 12:11 "And when they
bring you unto the synagogues, and [unto] magistrates, and powers,
take ye no thought how or what thing ye shall answer, or what ye shall
say:" Luke 12:12 "For the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour
what ye ought to say." God does not want us for our worldly abilities.
He wants us because we are willing to be molded into His image.

    Proverbs 16:2 "All the ways of a man [are] clean in his own eyes;
but the LORD weigheth the spirits."

    We see here, again, that man's deeds are not always what the man
really is.  God looks into our heart and sees what our intents are.
He judges the heart and not the deeds.  The spirit of man is what we
really are.  This body is just a house we live in for a short time.
Secular humanism teaches that we are the center of everything and that
we should follow our own desires, but God says that leads to
destruction.  The flesh desires are what is right in our own sight.
The spirit wants to please God and is truly the thing to do.

    Proverbs 16:3 "Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts
shall be established."

    Every job we do should be done as unto the Lord.  Jobs we do on
our own are doomed to failure, but jobs done for Him are established
forever.  The thoughts that are established are the things the Holy
Spirit of God has given you.

    Proverbs 16:4 "The LORD hath made all [things] for himself: yea,
even the wicked for the day of evil."

    God made everything good. God did not make evil. Man has a free
will and some choose to be evil, but God did not predestinate them
being evil. It is God's wish that all would come to the knowledge of
God and be saved in Jesus Christ, but some will not accept salvation
in Jesus and they will go bad. God's foreknowledge allowed Him to know
who they would be. Revelation 4:11 "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to
receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things,
and for thy pleasure they are and were created."

    Proverbs 16:5 "Every one [that is] proud in heart [is] an
abomination to the LORD: [though] hand [join] in hand, he shall not be
unpunished."

    God does not want us to be arrogant. Those who are proud of self,
God turns away from. Pride is what caused Lucifer to lose out in
heaven.  He thought too highly of himself. He elevated himself in his
own opinion up to the level of God the Father.  This is the same
mistake many Christians are making today. Some would have you believe
that you will eventually be equal to God. This will never be. God will
always be God, and we will be His servants. We will even be His
adopted children, but we will never be God. Pride cometh before a
fall. Even if a great number band together hand in hand and believe
that they will be God, it will never work.  God will punish those who
try to elevate themselves too highly (one at a time or a large group).

    Proverbs 16:6 "By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the
fear of the LORD [men] depart from evil."

    We see in this purging a step that Christians must take.  We are
all saved by faith in Jesus Christ, but we must walk in that saved
condition. This purging is the doing away with the sins of the old
life. God's mercy and truth teach us a better way of life. It is our
obligation to walk in newness of life (the better way). We must
destroy (purge) the old habits. If we truly love the Lord, we will
have reverent fear of Him. We will be continually fearful of falling
back into evil.  This fear will not be because we are afraid of His
punishment, but because we love Him and want to please Him.

    Proverbs 16:7 "When a man's ways please the LORD, he maketh even
his enemies to be at peace with him."

    A man who is pleasing the Lord is living a peaceable life. He is
 doing unto others as he would have them do unto him.  He is loving
 his neighbor as himself.  This type of life leaves no room for
 argument.  It is hard to be at war with someone who loves you.  We
 see, also, that those who love the Lord are blessed of Him.

    Proverbs 16:8 "Better [is] a little with righteousness than great
revenues without right."

    I have seen so many people who have great wealth that they have
acquired at the cost of their neighbors.  These people are afraid to
go to sleep at night.  They have so many enemies that they have
stepped on, to get to the top, that they are in constant fear of
retaliation from some of them.  Thank you, but I do not want any part
of that kind of life.  When you live a righteous life, you can go to
bed at night and sleep in peace.  You have no enemies.  We read in
verse seven that if you had any enemies, they would be at peace with
you.

    Proverbs 16:9 "A man's heart deviseth his way: but the LORD
directeth his steps."

    We see, here, that man plans what he wants to do, but God decides
whether it will happen or not.  One of the best examples of this in
all the Bible is found in the 12th chapter of Luke where the rich fool
was so selfish and would not do God's will with the abundance he had.
He even tore his barns down and made greater barns to hold all his
goods, but we will see what happened in Luke 12:20 "But God said unto
him, [Thou] fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then
whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?"

    Proverbs 16:10 "A divine sentence [is] in the lips of the king:
his mouth transgresseth not in judgment."

    I believe we see here that the king was the final word in the
kingdom.  When the king said something, it was carried out as if it
were the law.  Kings were supposed to judge fairly and in many cases
did; but an evil king like Herod let the people worship him as if he
were a god, and this is wrong.

    Proverbs 16:11 "A just weight and balance [are] the LORD'S: all
the weights of the bag [are] his work."

    God will not permit false weights. In all of God's dealings, we
will see an exactness; and He expects that from us, as well.  God
established weights and measures for His people, and He does not like
for anyone to change them.  Much more is taught on this in Exodus.

    Proverbs 16:12 "[It is] an abomination to kings to commit
wickedness: for the throne is established by righteousness."

    We know that a king is king because God allowed him to be in that
position. There is a great responsibility to anyone in authority.
They must live lives of dedication and sacrifice if they are to be a
good king. They should set a good example for the rest of the people.
When they don't, God will remove them.  A king who follows after God's
ways, will be king a long time; but an evil king will be overthrown.

    Proverbs 16:13 "Righteous lips [are] the delight of kings; and
they love him that speaketh right."

    Everyone loves the truth. A king would especially love it.  We
learn in our Genesis study how Joseph was quickly elevated to the
second in command in the land when he told the king of Egypt the truth
about his dream.

    Proverbs 16:14 "The wrath of a king [is as] messengers of death:
but a wise man will pacify it."

    The king can speak death to someone he is ruling over if that
person gets out of line. The best thing to do if you are subject to
him is to please him if you can.

    Proverbs 16:15 "In the light of the king's countenance [is] life;
and his favour [is] as a cloud of the latter rain."

    When the king is smiling and light hearted, you know there is not
to be any executions. Life is in the king's smile. If you have pleased
him, you will flourish in his kingdom, as the crops are more abundant
when it rains at just the right time before harvest.

    Proverbs 16:16 "How much better [is it] to get wisdom than gold!
and to get understanding rather to be chosen than silver!"
    We discussed in a previous lesson how all the gold and silver in
the world cannot buy you eternal life.  We also talked about with
wisdom and knowledge, you could acquire gold and silver.



















































                         Proverbs 24 Questions

1.  The preparations of the heart in man and the answer of the tongue
    is from whom?
2.  In Luke 12:11-12, what did Jesus tell us to take no thought of?
3.  If God does not want us for our worldly abilities, what does He
    want us for?
4.  Man thinks he is alright in his own eyes, but God searches what?
5.  What teaches a false doctrine of man being the center of
    everything?
6.  What should we do if we want our thoughts to be established?
7.  Who did God make all things for?
8.  Even the wicked for the evil day means what?
9.  In Revelation 4:11, why was everything created?
10. Everyone that is proud in heart is what to God?
11. What caused Lucifer to fall?
12. Will we ever be God?  Explain.
13. What is iniquity purged by?
14. What causes men to depart from evil?
15. It is an obligation of Christians to do what?
16. If we truly love the Lord, we will have ---------fear of Him.
17. If a man please the Lord, who will be at peace with him?
18. Better is a ------ with righteousness than ------------without
    right.
19. In chapter twelve of Luke, who does God call a fool?
20. Who has the final word in an earthly kingdom?
21. Who actually causes someone to be king?
22. Who established true weights and measures?
23. What is it an abomination for a king to do?
24. Who did we study about in Genesis that a king made second in
    command?
25. The wrath of a king is a messenger of ---------.
26. A king's favour is as what?
27. What is better than gold?