PROFITING FROM PROVERBS

“He that hateth dissembleth with his lips, and layeth up deceit within him; When he speaketh fair, believe him not: for there are seven abominations in his heart. Whose hatred is covered by deceit, his wickedness shall be shewed before the whole congregation” (Proverbs 26:24-26).

“He that hateth,” he’s got hatred, it is just bottled up in his heart. “He that hateth dissembleth with his lips and layeth up deceit within him.” He is a hypocrite. “He layeth up deceit within him,” he deceives people. He acts religious, he acts pious, acts righteous, acts like he is spiritual when he really isn't. Deep down inside he’s got a hatred for people, has a hatred for preaching, he has a hatred for what's right. He dissembleth. He hides his motives with his lips. That’s a word for a hypocrite, the way a hypocrite talks. He dissembleth.

The dictionary says that dissembling means to hide the true motives, or real feelings, and he's deceitful. Something else that dissembler does, he breaks up the assembly. Yeah, he'll take apart the assembly, he will disassemble people.

“For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision. And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation” (Galatians 2:12-13).

In this passage, the things that Peter was doing brought about a division amongst the brethren.

Peter was running around and saying, “Well, Paul and Silas and those fellas there are going to go to the Gentiles, and the Gentiles going to get in on it, and then when he got around a bunch of other Jews he kind of held off from the Gentiles; in other words, he wouldn't eat with them. He would assemble with the Jews, and as a result some of the other Jews started doing that too, and they wouldn't accept the Gentiles as well as other Jews. And by that dissembling it says that Paul rebuke Peter for that. Galatians 2:14 goes on to say: “But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?”

Paul said, “I withstood him [Peter] to the face because he was to be blamed” (verse 11).

In other words, before the Jews came, old Peter was sitting down and eating with the Gentiles, you know, like they were part of the family of God; but when his fellow Jews came, he would run off and separate himself, because he was afraid of what the Jews might think. Then the other Jews did the same thing as Peter was doing, insomuch that even Barnabas did the same thing.

A respecter people, you know, will produce that. That's a hypocritical thing. “He that hateth dissembleth with his lips, and layeth up deceit within him.”

“When he speaketh fair, believe him not: for there are seven abominations in his heart” (Proverbs 26:25).

Verse 25 goes along with verse 24. “When he speaketh fair,” or like Romans 16:18 says, “fair speeches and fair words,” “believe him not: for there are seven abominations in his heart.” and you'll find every one of them in Matthew 15:19, “for out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.”

“Whose hatred,” hatred is mentioned back in verse 24. “Whose hatred is covered by deceit,” he doesn’t let anyone know it, he’s real pious. He’s kind of like the scribes and Pharisees. They were so pious around Jesus; “Good master, what good thing . . .,” or “Would you answer this question?” But deep down inside they held a hatred for Him. They would kill Him if they got the opportunity. If not for the people, they would have killed Him.

“Whose hatred is covered by deceit, his wickedness shall be shewed before the whole congregation,” verse 10, God will reward him either in this life, or in death in hell.

“Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear” (I Timothy 5:20).

God tells the preacher, “them that sin rebuke before all,” in other words, a man that is wrong or is wicked, he is to be rebuked in the assembly and then later on God will rebuke him.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.