Posted on 06/16/2017 6:34:36 AM PDT by OneVike
Proverb 16 (NKJV)
Wisdom Is Better Than Gold
01 The preparations of the heart belong to man,
00 But the answer of the tongue is from the LORD.
02 All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes,
00 But the LORD weighs the spirits.
03 Commit your works to the LORD,
00 And your thoughts will be established.
04 The LORD has made all for Himself,
00 Yes, even the wicked for the day of doom.
05 Everyone proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD;
00 Though they join forces, none will go unpunished.
06 In mercy and truth
00 Atonement is provided for iniquity;
00 And by the fear of the LORD one departs from evil.
07 When a man's ways please the LORD,
00 He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.
08 Better is a little with righteousness,
00 Than vast revenues without justice.
09 A man's heart plans his way,
00 But the LORD directs his steps.
10 Divination is on the lips of the king;
00 His mouth must not transgress in judgment.
11 Honest weights and scales are the LORD's;
00 All the weights in the bag are His work.
12 It is an abomination for kings to commit wickedness,
00 For a throne is established by righteousness.
13 Righteous lips are the delight of kings,
00 And they love him who speaks what is right.
14 As messengers of death is the king's wrath,
00 But a wise man will appease it.
15 In the light of the king's face is life,
00 And his favor is like a cloud of the latter rain.
16 How much better to get wisdom than gold!
00 And to get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver.
17 The highway of the upright is to depart from evil;
00 He who keeps his way preserves his soul.
18 Pride goes before destruction,
00 And a haughty spirit before a fall.
19 Better to be of a humble spirit with the lowly,
00 Than to divide the spoil with the proud.
20 He who heeds the word wisely will find good,
00 And whoever trusts in the LORD, happy is he.
21 The wise in heart will be called prudent,
00 And sweetness of the lips increases learning.
22 Understanding is a wellspring of life to him who has it.
00 But the correction of fools is folly.
23 The heart of the wise teaches his mouth,
00 And adds learning to his lips.
24 Pleasant words are like a honeycomb,
00 Sweetness to the soul and health to the bones.
25 There is a way that seems right to a man,
00 But its end is the way of death.
26 The person who labors, labors for himself,
00 For his hungry mouth drives him on.
27 An ungodly man digs up evil,
00 And it is on his lips like a burning fire.
28 A perverse man sows strife,
00 And a whisperer separates the best of friends.
29 A violent man entices his neighbor,
00 And leads him in a way that is not good.
30 He winks his eye to devise perverse things;
00 He purses his lips and brings about evil.
31 The silver-haired head is a crown of glory,
00 If it is found in the way of righteousness.
32 He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty,
00 And he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.
33 The lot is cast into the lap,
00 But its every decision is from the LORD.
The purpose of Writing the book of Proverbs was to reveal the mind of God in matters high and lofty and in common, ordinary, everyday situations. It appears that no topic escaped King Solomon's attention. Matters pertaining to personal conduct, sexual relations, business, wealth, charity, ambition, discipline, debt, child-rearing, character, alcohol, politics, revenge, and Godliness are among the many topics covered in this rich collection of wise sayings.
Without wisdom, knowledge is nothing more than an accumulation of raw facts, influenced by emotional feelings. Many highly educated people are in positions of power in the United States, but very few of those educated leaders have the wisdom needed to rule properly. .
One can say that they have been educated well beyond their intelligence. A cursory look at the court system will prove my point that knowledge without wisdom will only lead to an immoral society that eventually crumbles from within. Judges are supposed to be above the fray, and immovable to emotions. Instead, the vast majority of judges today are Godless individuals who are vacant of wisdom. So their rulings are totally based upon emotional feelings. .
We the people are to blame, because we ignored God's guidance in appointing our leaders. Instead of putting leaders full wisdom in power, we instead chose those who would scratch our itchy ears to lead us. .
Of the 31 Proverbs, only the first 24 were written by Solomon. King Hezekiah wrote 5, Proverbs 25 to 29, Agur wrote Proverb 30, and Lemuel wrote Proverb 31. Now many believe Lemuel was in fact King Solomon and Lemuel was just a nick name his Mother, Bathsheba gave him. We are told that Solomon write over 3000 Proverbs and composed 1000 songs, but the only Proverbs God decided to preserve for us are Proverbs 1-24. Like the New Testament epistle by James, it is impossible to get a chronological outline for a study since they all bounce from subject to subject..
Along with my daily routine of reading the Bible, I try to read through the book of Proverbs once a Month. It's an easy task when you consider there are 31 Proverbs. So all you need to know is what day of the Month it is. In the Months that have 30 days, or in the case of February, I just double up by reading more than one two proverb so I can begin the next month with Proverb 1 on the first again.
Just the Proverb today.
God bless each and every one of you and yours,
OV, (Chuck)
Thank you for posting these. It’s amazing how many have become familiar to us in our culture.
18 Pride goes before destruction,
00 And a haughty spirit before a fall.
19 Better to be of a humble spirit with the lowly,
00 Than to divide the spoil with the proud.
Amen
Pride is the worst enemy of our souls.
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