Proverbs 12:5 The thoughts of the righteous are right: but the counsels of the wicked are deceit.
6 The words of the wicked are to lie in wait for blood: but the mouth of the upright shall deliver them.
7 The wicked are overthrown, and are not: but the house of the righteous shall stand.
8 A man shall be commended according to his wisdom: but he that is of a perverse heart shall be despised.
9 He that is despised, and hath a servant, is better than he that honoureth himself, and lacketh bread.
10 A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast: but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.
Righteous people have right thoughts because they are saved and seek to demonstrate their love for God. Right thoughts are the fruit of true salvation. The Bible is so clear that saved people are different because they have been changed when they were saved. Saved people hate sin. They do not want to keep sinning. Saved people do not invent their own definition of sin. They understand sin according to the Word of God. Saved people sin, but they cannot live in sin. When they sin, the indwelling Holy Spirit helps them to deal properly with their sin. If they harbour sin for a time, God will chasten them.
The counsels of the wicked are deceptive. The wicked person has an ulterior motive in what he is saying and doing. The wicked person is always scheming and thus his counsel is not trustworthy, or is it good.
Verse 6 continues to reveal this. The words of the wicked are to lie in wait for blood. That is the nature of the wicked. The difference between the saved person and the lost person is that the saved person has the Holy Spirit inside. He is led by the Holy Spirit to do right. The lost person needs to keep control and he will use intimidation to try to keep control of things. Violence is a mark of the lost.
The mouth of the upright shall deliver him because he does not need to lie. He has nothing to hide. He can and will speak the truth. His words will be helpful rather than destructive.
The wicked person cannot stand. The wicked person fails to realize that there is a God Who knows all and Who will judge. The wicked person may be doing well, but all of a sudden his life is over. It does not need to be through sickness. The Bible declares that all will die one day. When the wicked person dies, his influence, and his actions are done. He is now in hell awaiting that final trial at the end of the Millennium. There is no “cooling off” period. His doom is sealed and his torment in hell is just a foretaste of what is awaiting him in the lake of fire.
The house of the righteous shall stand. By the grace of God the righteous are able to influence others close to them. Thus their testimony will continue on through others who also get saved. Not only that, but the righteous person will spend eternity in Heaven. He has eternal life.
In verse 8 we see further that the man of wisdom will be commended. He will be praised. His actions are commendable. By contrast, the perverse heart will be despised. Wicked people get away with their lies and deception for a time. Sometimes they are exposed during this life. Sometimes they die with their secrets. The wicked have a powerful machine. However, that machine falls completely apart at death. At the great white throne every person will stand alone. There will be thousands at that judgment, but no one will care to try to defend anyone else. They will not even have any argument about their own judgment. They will be known for who they really are, and their doom is due to their own rebellion and rejection of the truth.
The word translated as “despised” in verse 9 is a different word than that of verse 8. In verse 9 the despised person is one who has done right and is despised for that. Jesus was despised and rejected of men. He was hated by the Jews because He was holy and without sin. They did not like that.
The person who is saved and has a servant is better than the person who honours himself and is starving.
It is never wise to have an inflated view of oneself. It is never wise to ignore the facts and manufacture a picture that is not real. Living an imaginary life is foolish. Our P.M. is trying to present himself as a wise man who is much wiser than the president of the U.S. In reality they are both fools, and our P.M. is playing around with the finances of the citizens of Canada. He is trying to shelter his investments and make sure they continue to grow. He does not care if Canada goes broke, as long as he can continue to grow his portfolio. What he is not considering, is that God is the Judge, not the Canadian people and not the president of the U.S. He is not prepared for his appointed meeting with God.
In verse 10 we see that the righteous person regards the life of his beast. He cares about what he has. He does not abuse his beast. He depends on that beast.
In the Old Testament we read of a false prophet named Balaam. He had a donkey that had been very helpful for him. The donkey proved to be wiser than Balaam and the result was that Balaam wanted to kill the donkey. God caused the donkey to speak to Balaam. When that happened, Balaam should have stopped and reconsidered his course. He was so full of himself and so filled with rage toward the donkey that he could not think rationally.
The tender mercies of the wicked are cruel. The wicked do not know what real tender mercies are. Their motives are not right. They have an ulterior motive and they do not mind cursing anyone or anything that gets in their way. They have a distorted view of life and their motives are always to gain the upper hand. They are cruel in their actions because their terms of reference are of this world, not of God.
It is important to know the Lord and be governed by Him. His ways are always right and true. Those who submit to Him and know Him will always find blessings. Those who choose their own way will suffer and not know the peace of God in their hearts.
Pastor Bartel