PROFITING FROM PROVERBS

“With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him. He goeth after her straightway, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks; Till a dart strike through his liver; as a bird hasteth to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for his life" (Proverbs 7:21-23).

“With her much fair speech she caused him to yield,” notice that sequence of words, “with her much fair speech,” and fair speech is what will do it, right? “Much fair speech.” We talk about fair speech a lot. Paul had this to say about it: “by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple” (Romans 16:18).

“He that hateth dissembleth [“dissemble” means he lies. He pretends] with his lips, and layeth up deceit within him" (Proverbs 26:24).

We've come to a day now where if a guy speaks fair enough, we're automatically supposed to believe him. Would good old Barack mislead us? I mean, really” Would a sweet old grandmotherly person like Hillary ever mislead us? Or her kind and gentle husband, Bill? I mean, if they speak fairly enough, we're just supposed to believe them. Unless he is a Republican, of course.

The Bible says when they speak fair like that, don't believe them. In the end, you’ll know them by their fruits, but just because somebody learns to talk that doesn't mean that they are sincere. How many used car salesmen do you know that are nominated for businessman of the year?

Verse 25 of Proverbs 26, “When he speaketh fair, believe him not: for there are seven abominations in his heart.” You say, “That’s harsh! That's critical!” “Yes, it is. Absolutely.” Just like you're supposed to be.

“With her much fair speech she caused him to yield,” so, whose fault is it? She caused him to yield. “It’s her fault, he couldn't help it!” No, she caused him to “yield.” That's the issue with sin. The issue with sin is “yielding,” Okay? “She caused him to yield.” Yeah? You know, it's a two-way street; but as soon as you try to blame the one completely, the other one is still involved by that verbiage.

“She caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him.” That “force” there is the same word used in the Bible for rape. So, next time somebody is busy flattering and sweet talking you, you had better be careful. Understand that I'm not talking necessarily physically. We are in an election year.

Verse 22, “He goeth after her straightway, as an ox goeth to the slaughter.” if you're not a farm boy or a farm girl you probably don't have an appreciation for that very much but anyone that grew up on a farm have led a steer or an ox or a pig or something to slaughter somewhere along the way. You led them someplace for somebody to shoot him in the head or knock them in the head and it’s kind of a sad thing. You don't want to be on the other end of that halter, okay? This gal right here will lead you there.

Daily Bible study is necessary if we are going to begin our day with the right attitude and the right spiritual diet. Proverbs has 31 chapters, and most months have 31 days, so let’s read a chapter of Proverbs a day and see what God might have for us. As the Lord leads, share with us what God has shown you in a special way and by His grace let us build up a devotional repository. Let’s keep our knives and forks handy for some daily bread! Ideally, a chapter or two of Proverbs will fit in nicely with a good plan of reading our Bibles through each year.

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