Proverbs 10:17 He is in the way of life that keepeth instruction: but he that refuseth reproof erreth.
18 He that hideth hatred with lying lips, and he that uttereth a slander, is a fool.
19 In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise.
20 The tongue of the just is as choice silver: the heart of the wicked is little worth.
21 The lips of the righteous feed many: but fools die for want of wisdom.
God never teaches that we are saved by works. He does teach that if we are saved we will follow our Master. True Christians do not make their own rules. True Christians have ONE Master.
I Corinthians 6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
There are so many pseudo Christians today. The New Evangelical crowd is full of them as is the ecumenical movement. Lost people cannot keep God’s instructions. They know that so they change the rules. They twist the instructions to suit their particular flavour. Revelation 20:11 tells us there will be many who will be shocked one day. Be sure you are not one of them.
God warns that the person who refuses reproof errs. Life is too short to fumble through it and miss out on the blessings of God. In today’s educational system, seldom does a child see a red X next to their material. Our system is dumbing down the children that are subjected to that evil system. When a person is wrong, it is loving to tell them so. That way they can make the right change. God loves man. He shows every person the right way and also warns against the wrong way.
The first part of verse 18 deals with the person who pretends to be your friend, but is not. Absalom pretended to be a friend of his brother Amnon. His plan was to kill him. Joab acted as if he was a friend of Amasa but he drew him near to kill him. Judas acted as if he was a friend of Jesus and went and kissed Him. He did that to identify Him as Jesus so the chief priests Roman soldiers could arrest Him.
The second part of verse 18 deals with slander. A true friend does not slander another person. In fact, it is never right to slander anyone. Politicians are trained to slander their foes. They spread lies. They twist the facts to make themselves look good and they try to destroy the opponent. The Jews slandered Jesus in order to get Pilate to sign His death warrant. None of their slander stuck to Jesus, but Pilate was a politician and his conscience was seared, so he signed that death warrant.
It is not wrong to expose liars and cheats. It is wrong to twist the facts to try to make someone else look bad.
Verse 19 warns of the person who talks too much. Some people like to gossip. They think they have to have something to say, but they would be better off keeping their mouth shut. It is wise to know when to speak and when to remain silent. Jesus demonstrated that as He dealt with people. At His trial He was mostly silent. He did not need to say anything. The chief priests and other Jews had a lot to say. They condemned themselves in trying to condemn Jesus. Jesus went to the cross for those people and all people. Some of them may have sought forgiveness for their sin. We know Judas did not. He went out and hung himself. He is in torment today and will be for all eternity.
In verse 20 we see the value of the just person. The just person speaks truth. He desires to help others to know the peace of God. His words are as choice silver.
By contrast, the heart of the wicked is little worth. He has nothing good to say and he does not care to help others. The wicked person does not have the love of God in his heart and he does not care about others. He only cares about himself. Sadly, that is the nature of those who are demanding to be our leaders.
Verse 21 tells us that the lips of the righteous feed many. There is food that we need that does not go into our stomachs. Jesus fed the five thousand, but before He fed them physical food, He fed them spiritual food. He gave them the most important food first.
Fools die for want of wisdom. Goliath was one of the many in that category. He boasted of his might. He blasphemed God and the nation of Israel. He taunted the Jews to send a man to fight against him. He did not realize that
he was helpless against God. David met him and Goliath thought he would feed him to the dogs. However, Goliath is the one who came crashing down. His blood was spilt on the ground. He too is in torment today and will be for all eternity.
God recorded these words of wisdom for all of humanity. The wise person reads the Word of God and takes heed to what God says.
Pastor Bartel