Proverbs 15:3 The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.
4 A wholesome tongue is a tree of life: but perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit.
5 A fool despiseth his father’s instruction: but he that regardeth reproof is prudent.
6 In the house of the righteous is much treasure: but in the revenues of the wicked is trouble.
There is no place to hide from God. There have been thousands of crimes committed over the years that have gone unsolved. It is hard to go to any major centre and not find cameras set up to surveil the area. Private homes and businesses have cameras set up. Yet with all that surveillance, there are still many crimes that go unsolved. The police are quite busy at times, and sometimes they just don’t care about certain crimes.
Our government has set up a “justice” system where the criminal gets arrested one day and is out on bail soon after to go and commit another crime.
A wicked world does not know how to deal with the wicked. It is like Jesus said:
Mark 3:24 And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.
Even if people think they are getting away with sin, God sees it all. He is the Creator. He knows what is good and what is evil. He does not miss anything. He does not need cameras, or goons. He sees it all.
The wise person desires to know Him. It is wise to know Him and serve Him.
The wholesome tongue is the tongue that speaks truth. The tongue that curses is not wholesome. The wholesome tongue is a tree of life. Peter understood that. He wanted to distance himself from the Lord at one point. He started to curse in order to try to prove he did not know the Lord Jesus Christ. He was lying. He went out and wept bitterly. Jesus forgave Him. He learned it was foolish to deny his Master. He became a faithful servant of the Lord. His earlier perverseness was a breach in the spirit. It was contrary to his new nature.
In verse 5 we are warned again of the danger of disregarding sound instruction. The fool despises his father’s instruction. The context is of a wise father. A wise father tries to teach his son the importance of knowing the true God. The foolish son thinks he is wiser than his father. He thinks knowing God is not that important. There are thousands of people who are enablers of the foolish son. Some of them stand behind pulpits. Others come along side and befriend the fool because they too are fools.
The son that listens to reproof is prudent. We do not like to be scolded and corrected. However, when we do wrong, it is good to have someone come alongside and remind us we did wrong. God did that for king David when he sinned with Bathsheba. David thought he had it all figured out. However, his spirit was troubled the whole time. God sent Nathan the prophet to confront David. David was ready to confess his sin by then. He had had enough of the misery he had been living under.
Sadly there are too many who live for years in their misery. In fact too many die in their misery. They get upset with anyone who would dare to show them their sin and show them the importance of knowing the true God. That is why they are fools.
The righteous person has treasures in his house. They are treasures that thieves cannot steal. The righteous person knows the Lord and serves him. He does not depend on the police or locks or cameras to protect him. He trusts in the Lord who saved him. He attends a true church where he can continue to learn of God and can also fellowship with God’s people. He does not desire to be around cursing or drunkards. He wants to be uplifted by truth.
The revenues of the wicked is trouble. God directed Paul to remind us that the wages of sin is death. There is something to be gained from continuing to sin against God. It is called hell. It is described as the place where their worm dieth not. There is no relief in hell. The time to listen is now, in this life.
If you are fighting against the Lord, why not stop now and listen to Him. God loves you and wants you to know Him. You cannot know Him if you persist in sin. Humble yourself and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for your salvation. You can know His peace now and every day.
Pastor Bartel