PROVERBS LESSON 30

    We will begin this lesson in Proverbs 19:16 "He that keepeth the
commandment keepeth his own soul; [but] he that despiseth his ways
shall die."

    We have said this before, but it is worth saying again.
Throughout the Bible, God's blessings are on those who keep His
commandments, and His curse is upon those of disobedience.  Even if
self-preservation were the reason you were obeying, you would not be
disappointed.  God cannot, and will not, lie.  If He promises
blessings, you can depend upon them.

    Proverbs 19:17 "He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the
LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again."

    One of the best Scriptures to verify this is found in I Timothy
6:17-19.  I Timothy 6:17 "Charge them that are rich in this world,
that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the
living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;" I Timothy 6:18
"That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to
distribute, willing to communicate;" I Timothy 6:19 "Laying up in
store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that
they may lay hold on eternal life." When you do good for anyone
(especially the poor), you are doing that good deed to God.  He will
not forget, He will bless you for giving.

    Proverbs 19:18 "Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not
thy soul spare for his crying."

    We see here that we are to whip (not abuse) our children.  We are
to teach them at a very early age, before they get too big to spank.
We have pity on our own children and grandchildren; but if we want
them to become responsible adults, we must teach them when they are
very young to respect authority and obey.  Even if they scream and
cry, we must spank them hard enough that they will think twice before
they commit that sin again.  Sometimes God has to spank us hard to
teach us a lesson.  Even if we scream and cry for help, He lets us
have the problem long enough to learn a lesson.

    Proverbs 19:19 "A man of great wrath shall suffer punishment: for
if thou deliver [him], yet thou must do it again."

     Probably, temper is the hardest thing for even a Christian to
keep under control. When we are lacking in self-control (let the flesh
control us), we act before we think and have to pay the consequences
for our angry action. Temper is something God has to deliver a person
from.  An onlooker can try to help, but may just make the angry
situation worse. Pray that God will help you to stop being angry.
Pray that your spirit will control your body. The spirit walk is a
walk of peace and quietness, living peaceably with your neighbor.
Forgive them, even if they do not deserve it.  You will be the better
for it.

    Proverbs 19:20 "Hear counsel, and receive instruction, that thou
mayest be wise in thy latter end."

    Christianity is a daily walk.  The song "One Day at a Time"
describes it perfectly.  We are on a journey to our promised land.  We
should be getting closer each day to being more like Jesus.  The word
"Christian" means Christ like.  In the light of that, we would have to
say that there are very few Christians.  This Scripture above is
saying each day receive instruction and grow in the Lord.  When you
are old, you will be wise unto salvation; because you have continually
learned more and more about God.  That is why daily Bible reading is
so important.  The more you read, the more you know of God's Word.

    Proverbs 19:21 "[There are] many devices in a man's heart;
nevertheless the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand."

    Man cannot always trust his own heart, but you can always trust
the counsel of the Lord.  Man must have a brand new heart engraved
with the laws of God before his heart is trustworthy.  The counsel of
God is found in the Bible.

    Proverbs 19:22 "The desire of a man [is] his kindness: and a poor
man [is] better than a liar."

    Here, again, it must mean a poor, honest man is better than a rich
liar.  God says He loves a cheerful giver.  If a man desires to do
good, he will be kind.

    Proverbs 19:23 "The fear of the LORD [tendeth] to life: and [he
that hath it] shall abide satisfied; he shall not be visited with
evil."

    If a person fears the Lord, he is conscious that there is a Lord.
For us to be saved, we must first believe that there is a Lord.  We
must believe that He died for us, and we must believe that He rose
again.  If we believe all of the above, then we want to rise from
death to life, also.  The fear that is wise, is a fear that we might
not make the resurrection; that we might not rise to new life in Him.
If we are assured in our heart that we will live again with the Lord,
we should be completely satisfied.  As Paul said, we should be
satisfied in whatever situation we find ourselves in on this earth,
knowing there is a wonderful eternity with the Lord awaiting us.  If
we keep our minds on this, we will not even be tempted with evil.  We
will have overcome evil with good.

    Proverbs 19:24 "A slothful [man] hideth his hand in [his] bosom,
and will not so much as bring it to his mouth again."

    I see, here, a man who is too lazy to feed himself.  This man
depends on others to make a living for him, even though he is able-
bodied and in good enough health to work himself.

    Proverbs 19:25 "Smite a scorner, and the simple will beware: and
reprove one that hath understanding, [and] he will understand
knowledge."

    This scorner seems to be beyond talking to and trying to help.
Perhaps, he doesn't even want help.  The smiting of the scorner here
seems to be more in punishment of an act already done than an act to
teach the scorner.  The only one, it appears, will learn from this
punishment is the onlooker (simple one).  This might even be said that
this punishment is to teach the others what will happen to them if
they act this way.  The reproof here is probably verbal, but that is
all it takes for an understanding person.  The understanding one will
learn and grow in knowledge for the reproof.

    Proverbs 19:26 "He that wasteth [his] father, [and] chaseth away
[his] mother, [is] a son that causeth shame, and bringeth reproach."

    Perhaps, this Scripture here about the father indicates that he
not only wastes what he gets himself, but talks his dad out of what he
has, and wastes his dad's savings, also.  However, a son can waste his
father in more ways than money.  A son that will not take advice from
his father, has wasted all the stored up knowledge his father could
share with him.  For this son to chase away his mother has to be
something very terrible.  Mothers do not give up their sons easily.
Whether this literally means chases him out of the home or whether it
means his evil deeds have driven her affection away, is very bad.  A
mother's love is next to God's love.  This son would certainly be a
dishonor to his parents.  Shame and reproach would certainly be the
after effects of this life.

    Proverbs 19:27 "Cease, my son, to hear the instruction [that
causeth] to err from the words of knowledge."

    You are taking instruction from the wrong people.  Don't let the
blind lead you is what I see in this.

    Proverbs 19:28 "An ungodly witness scorneth judgment: and the
mouth of the wicked devoureth iniquity."

     This ungodly witness laughs at true judgement.  He is not
 interested in justice.  He laughs at the court and perjures himself
 to make whatever point he wants.  He forgets that there is a
 righteous Judge (Jesus Christ) that he will have to stand before and
 account for this lie.  The wicked swallows wickedness.  This wicked
 one just gets worse and worse.

    Proverbs 19:29 "Judgments are prepared for scorners, and stripes
for the back of fools."

    This Scripture is closely related to verse 28. This, to me, is
speaking of those who scorn judgement here will face the Judge of all
the world. The word "prepared" here, to me, indicates that this will
happen in the future. Fools many times, break laws and are punished
for their law breaking. I believe fools will face the eternal Judge
and pay for their evil deeds.  The only way to avoid that punishment
would be for the fool to become wise and accept Jesus as his Savior.
                         Proverbs 30 Questions

1.  Who receives blessings from God?
2.  Who lendeth to the Lord?
3.  Who will repay you for your good deeds?
4.  What are the rich of this world charged to do in I Timothy 6:17-
    19?
5.  When should you chasten your children?
6.  If we want our children to become responsible citizens, what must
    we do?
7.  What will happen to a man of great wrath?
8.  What is one of the hardest things for a Christian to overcome in
    his own life?
9.  We must let our -------control us not our -------.
10. In verse 20, we are told to hear counsel and receive instruction
    and when will we be wise?
11. Where are the Christians journeying to?
12. What does the word "Christian" mean?
13. Who can we trust?
14. Where can you find the counsel of God?
15. When does man's heart become trustworthy?
16. In verse 22, what 2 types of people are intended?
17. What is a man conscious of, if he fears the Lord?
18. What should we fear?
19. With what can we overcome evil?
20. Who is a slothful man?
21. What is meant by him not bringing his hand to his mouth?
22. For whose learning was the scorner smote in verse 25?
23. What does reprove mean in verse 25?
24. What is meant by wasteth his father?
25. In verse 26, this son did what to his mother?
26. Why is the son in verse 27 to cease to hear this instruction?
27. What kind of witness scorneth judgement?
28. What is meant by the wicked devouring iniquity?
29. Judgements that are prepared for scorners are probably speaking of
    what ?
30. Who are stripes saved for?