Proverbs 13
1 A wise son heeds
his father's instruction,
but a mocker does not listen to rebuke.
Two types of
sons:
a) One who learns
to listen to his father
b) Another who does not learn and becomes the
mocker.
A person must learn to be corrected.
This is learned first in the home and is taught by
the father.
Exodus 20:12
Deuteronomy 5:16 and 6:1,2
2 From the fruit of
his lips a man enjoys good things,
but the unfaithful have a craving for
violence.
A person with good words produces good things
An unfaithful person can only say things that are
not sincere, not honest or not faithful.
These words produce a reaction in people that is described as
violence.
3 He who
guards his lips guards his life,
but he who speaks rashly will come to
ruin.
Guarding your lips does not mean you are
deceitful.
Proverbs 29:11 in the KJ says, “A fool uttereth all his mind.”
In order to protect your life, your well being,
your job, your social life, your family, etc. you need to learn how to guard or control your mouth.
The one who speaks uncontrollably will ruin their
life.
Proverbs 29:11 says in the second half, “A wise
man keeps himself under control.”
4 The sluggard
craves and gets nothing,
but the desires of the diligent are fully
satisfied.
Wanting something and getting it are two different
things.
The sluggard and the diligent have this in common: They both want something
They are different though because one is going to
do something in response to their desires and the other will not.
The result: The sluggard gets nothing, but the
diligent is satisfied completely. The
diligent does not stop until they have
totally received what they wanted.
Comparing the Sluggard
and the Diligent
Sluggard Diligent
Original Thought Desires
Something (Craves) Desires Something
(Desires)
Plan of Action Does nothing That’s Action (Diligent)
Result Gets
nothing Fully Satisfied
5 The
righteous hate what is false,
but the wicked bring shame and disgrace.
The godly hate to speak falsely about someone
else.
The wicked speak shame and disgrace about others
even if it is not true.
6
Righteousness guards the man of integrity,
but wickedness overthrows the sinner.
Righteous
Man acts with Integrity and
that integrity Guards him
Wicked Man
acts in Sin and that sin Overthrows
him
7 One man
pretends to be rich, yet has nothing;
another pretends to be poor, yet has great
wealth.
This is talking about both the appearance of
wealth and actual wealth.
A) a person can pretend to be something they are not and you
can not see. They may hide the truth
B) a person may appear to be rich or poor by human standards,
but in eternal value be the opposite as in:
Proverbs 11:24, “One man gives freely, yet gains
even more. . .”
8 A man's riches may ransom his life,
but a poor man hears no threat.
The rich man may spend his life (time, thoughts and money) meeting
obligations, taking care of his enormous wealth,
protecting what he has so he does not lose it from bad investments, thieves,
over sights, etc.
The poor man. . . Feels no
threats on his life from big business or robbers. Basically he is not worried about what he can not loose. The poor man may be poor in wealth, but rich
in living and experiencing his life.
9 The light of
the righteous shines brightly,
but the lamp of the wicked is snuffed out.
Ps. 18:28, “You, O Lord, keep my lamp burning; my
God turns my darkness into light.”
Job 18:5, “The lamp of the wicked is snuffed out;
the flame of his fire stops burning. .
The vigor of his step is weakened;
his own schemes throw him down. . . “
10 Pride only
breeds quarrels,
but wisdom is found in those who take
advice.
Pride is an ingredient in every argument.
This is not saying that every time there is a difference in opinion
pride is involved. There may be two
humble, teachable people truly
seeking wisdom that have a difference in opinion. How can you tell?
This second disagreement between two humble people
will characterized by both people listening and taking advice from each other.
If one of them is full of pride their disagreement
will never result in discovering wisdom concerning the issure.
11 Dishonest money dwindles away,
but he who gathers money little by little
makes it grow.
After considering both halves of this proverb we
have this parallel:
Money Gained Dishonestly-
- - - - - - -gained all at once, no work, easy gain- - - - - this money
dwindles away
Money Gained Honestly- - - - - - - - - - gained
little by little, working, saving- - - - - this money grows to more
12 Hope
deferred makes the heart sick,
but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.
Deferred is referring to waiting a long, long time
for something that was promised. It
affects the life and health. “Heart
Sick” is the combination of Hebrew words which mean “”to loosen, to make loose”
and a word that means, “to be slack, feeble, sick.”
So waiting unreasonably long for something releases hopelessness and feebleness into a life
“A longing fulfilled” is literally “desire come” also affects a persons attitude (heart) which
is the source (tree) of health and life for a person. A hope fulfilled renews and extends the life
of a person.
This is not talking about waiting for the Lord or
waiting for his eternal promises. James
5:7, “Be patient, the, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to
yield its valuable crop. . .You too, be patient and stand firm. . .”
13 He who
scorns instruction will pay for it,
but he who respects a command is rewarded.
The NIV fails to capture the meaning as does the
KJ and the NAS.
KJ: Whoso despiseth the word shall be destroyed; but he that feareth the commandment shall be rewarded.”
NAS: “The
one who despises the word will be in debt to it, but the one who fears
the commandment will be rewarded.
Because of the Hebrew for “word” and “command” we know this
is talking about the revealed law of God or the Word of God.
Someone who scorns the instruction of the Word of
God is still in debt to it even if they ignore it.
All men are bound to the word of God and live in a
world where everything is framed on the foundation of the wisdom of God. To despise this word is to live carelessly
and on the path of destruction.
14 The teaching of the wise is a
fountain of life,
turning a man from the snares of death.
The experience of the wise communicated through
their advice is pumping life into you just like a fountain.
15 Good
understanding wins favor, but the way of the unfaithful is hard.
16 Every
prudent man acts out of knowledge, but a fool exposes his folly.
17 A wicked
messenger falls into trouble,
but a trustworthy envoy brings healing.
18 He who
ignores discipline comes to poverty and shame,
but whoever heeds correction is honored.
19 A longing
fulfilled is sweet to the soul, but fools detest turning from evil.
20 He who
walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm.
21 Misfortune
pursues the sinner,
but prosperity is the reward of the righteous.
22 A good man leaves an inheritance for his children's
children,
but a sinner's wealth is stored up for the
righteous.
23 A poor man's field may produce abundant food, but injustice
sweeps it away.
24 He who
spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline
him.
Ephesians 6:4 warns the fathers of the dangers of
exasperating your children.
The word “exasperate” refers to “excessively
severe discipline, unreasonably harsh demands, abuse of authority, arbitrariness, unfairness,
constantly nagging and condemnation, subjecting a child to humiliation, and all
forms of gross insensitivity
to a child’s needs and sensibilities.” (Linguistic Key)
The lack of any discipline or guidance will also
exasperate a child. A father must both provide the child with discipline
(motivation to do right) and teaching (instruction)
“Bring them up in the training and instruction of
the Lord.
“Rod” is both representation of that training or
discipline and also a means of providing it.
See Proverbs 19:18; 22:15;
23:13; 29:15, 17
“Careful to discipline” means “diligently
disciplines them early”. This refers to
when they are young and trainable.
25 The righteous eat to their hearts' content,
but the stomach of the wicked goes hungry.