PROFITING FROM PROVERBS

“When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul; Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee” (Proverbs 2:12).

What will it do? There are three things that will happen from verse 12 to the end of the passage. The first two are negative—it’ll keep you away from two things that are negative, and it’ll give you something that is positive.

First thing, it will “deliver thee from the way of the evil man.” We see that in verses 12-15.

“To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things; Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness; Who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked; Whose ways are crooked, and they froward in their paths” (Proverbs 2:12-15 KJV).

In verse 16, he switches to the strange woman:

The first thing that wisdom will do for you, and what discretion will do for you is to “deliver thee from the way of the evil man.” You say, “I don’t have any problem staying away from the boogeyman!” True, we don’t have trouble from him, but we can have trouble from that individual that appears to be good and nice outwardly but isn’t. The man that has the smooth tongue and smooth talk. Paul warns, “Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple” (Romans 16:17-18 KJV).

There are people out there who are just as silver tongued as anybody you’ve ever met. Some men are just natural-born salesmen and can sell just about anything to anyone, including themselves to unsuspecting folks. And sometimes what you see isn’t what you get.

Peter talks about these evil men, in fact there are evil man and evil women—he calls them false prophets. They are all through chapter 2. They both wind up in the same place, and they are both classified as the same. The world is full of these false prophets—in advertising, in pulpits, in business, and politics. “But it is happened unto them [the wicked] according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his [false prophet] own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her [false prophetess] wallowing in the mire” (II Peter 2:22 KJV). In verse 17, they are “wells without water,” they have all kinds of promise, but there is never anything that they follow through with. That is the evil man—always promising something good, he’s always promising a benefit or a profit to you—but behind it is a hook.

And what we need is discretion to deliver us from that, “from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things,” those are perverse things. A perverse statement is very hard to catch. The truth is, though, the only people in the world that can be conned are crooked people. If you are looking for an easy buck, or a short cut, you are con material—or as some say—a soft touch, or a ready mark. A con man knows that. He can never con an honest person.

“Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight! Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink: Which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!” (Isaiah 5:20-23 KJV).

They pervert a thing, they twist it.

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