Proverbs 12:1 Whoso loveth instruction loveth knowledge: but he that hateth reproof is brutish.
2 A good man obtaineth favour of the LORD: but a man of wicked devices will he condemn.
3 A man shall not be established by wickedness: but the root of the righteous shall not be moved.
4 A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband: but she that maketh ashamed is as rottenness in his bones.
Without right instruction, knowledge is a foreign concept. Too often we run with our imagination, rather than right instruction. We know that God is not throwing instruction out to the wind. Our public schools instruct children five days a week. Some of the children love the instruction. The problem is they are being lied to all day long. They are told we come from a rock or some soupy slime and from the monkey. They are told that we cannot know for sure if we are a male or a female. They are told that our world is billions of years old. They are told that we are guilty of causing irreversible climate change unless we stop using fossil fuels and stop eating meat.
The instruction God is talking of is instruction that is founded in Truth. It is not natural to love Truth. In fact we are all born with a desire to avoid Truth. We are all born with a conscience that is given to us by God. With that conscience we know the basic difference between right and wrong. From birth we choose wrong more than right. It is necessary to come to the place of repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ in order to love instruction.
The Hebrew words for instruction and reproof are synonyms. They both refer to correction and chastisement. They both go against the false idea of protecting the ego. Man has too much pride already. He needs to see that he is really nothing without knowing Christ. The person that hates reproof is brutish. He is foolish. It is important to have good instructors. It is important to have godly instructors.
The true, local church is the place where you will find godly instructors. The godly pastor will teach and preach the Word of God. The godly Sunday school teacher will teach the Word of God. Godly church members will encourage one another to receive godly instruction.
Jesus Christ is the Head of a true, local church. Be sure you are not short changing yourself by avoiding the place God has designed to bless you.
In verse 2 we see that the good man obtains favour of the LORD. Jesus warned the man that came to Him, calling Him good Master, that there is none good but God. We need to be aligned with God in order to be good. The soul of man wants to obtain favour with God, but due to its fallen nature, it cannot find that favour on its own. Thus again we see the need for right instruction that will point us to the Truth. Then we need to be willing to receive the Truth.
The wicked person is condemned of the LORD. The New Evangelical crowd rejects this fact. What they are doing is lying to people. God tells us more than once that we are condemned by God from birth. The only way to get away from that is through the new birth.
No person will be established by wickedness. There are many men who have made their mark in the history books. However, they are not known to the Lord. John A. MacDonald was an early leader in Canada. He was known for his drunkenness. He made some good decisions regarding the direction of Canada from a secular perspective, but nothing worth noting as far as eternal blessings. Canada got off on the wrong foot due to corrupt leaders.
I am not of the “woke” crowd that wants to remove our history. We need to face up to it and we can do better, but only if we turn to the true God. That will not happen on the golf course, or in some New Evangelical social club that calls itself a church. That will only happen when a person humbles themselves and chooses a true, local church and is truly born again. Of course if a person is truly born again, the Holy Spirit will help the person to choose a true, local church. The soul of the saved person will hunger for Truth.
The righteous man is not moved by peer pressure. He does not put his finger to the wind and see which way it is blowing. The righteous man knows the true God and he chooses to follow Him regardless of what others may think. Peer pressure has a powerful pull. However, it is not the crowd that is going the right way. It is the few who truly know the Lord that are going the right way.
In verse 4 God again reminds us of the virtuous woman. A godly husband desires a virtuous woman. The world tells us that women need to be self-assertive. They need to be independent. They need to strive for higher positions. We are told we need more women in politics and as leaders in different companies. No, what we need is women who understand their place as the help that is meet for their husband. Women that push for higher roles miss out on the blessings God intended for them.
It is a pleasure to the virtuous woman to be that crown to her husband. She is fulfilled when he is fulfilled. It is important to be a godly husband who is worthy of this precious crown.
The woman that wants to put herself out there, makes a godly man ashamed. She is like rottenness in his bones. The worldly husband may appreciate a woman that struts her stuff. He does not think very smart. A godly husband wants a wife that will be by his side and will be that team player that God designed her to be. As mentioned, that is where she will find fulfilment. Be sure you take God’s Word as your authority, not society’s lies.
Be sure you attend a true, Bible-believing local church today! It will be good for your soul and your entire being will benefit from it if you will submit to God’s Word.
Pastor Bartel