Posted on 03/22/2020 5:58:24 AM PDT by Pilgrim's Progress
“A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished. By humility and the fear of the LORD are riches, and honour, and life. Thorns and snares are in the way of the froward: he that doth keep his soul shall be far from them” (Proverbs 22:3-5).
“A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself,” that is a cautious man fearful of judgment and reaping, and careful about the future. He refuses to involve himself in something that is evil, because he already knows what the end result will be for him. He isn’t going to sow the wrong crop.
“. . . but the simple pass on, and are punished,” this is the crowd that Proverbs begins with back in chapter 1: “How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?” (Proverbs 1:22). Some folks are just simpletons. They are fools and just won’t believe the truth, and the laugh at the judgment. “Ha! Ha! It won’t come! There is no God to judge!” And then they die and go to hell.
“. . . but the simple pass on, and are punished,” it just goes to show us that there are a lot of simple folks in this world, because the way is broad and wide that leads to destruction according to Matthew 7:13-14.
“By humility and the fear of the LORD are riches, and honour, and life.”
Sometimes in this life, all the time in the next life. If a man follows God, and has faith in God, the Bible tells us that our trials are priceless: “That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ” (I Peter 1:7). If a man is humble, and trusts God, and believes God, and trusts in God for his needs—and he fears God—that is great riches and honor, and of course it is going to be everlasting life for the man that humbles himself, fears the wrath of God, and turns to Christ for pardon.
“Thorns and snares are in the way of the froward: he that doth keep his soul shall be far from them.”
“Thorns and snares are in the way of the froward,” what this simply means is that trouble is coming. If a man’s ways are crooked or perverse, he’s headed for trouble, he’s seeking death, he is just looking for a bad end— “thorns and snares.”
God puts those “thorns and snares” there. Over here is old Ahab. He has just killed Naboth for his vineyard. He is just about to go over there and possess it and take ownership of it. He is about to go relish over it and revel in his gain. And here comes along the prophet. All of a sudden, the sweet taste of victory is turned bitter. He is staring into “thorns and snares.” That prophet looked straight into his face and rebuked him for his sin and told him of his impending death.
“. . . he that doth keep his soul shall be far from them,” in other words, if you keep your soul right, stay in the Word of God, you’ll stay out of a lot of trouble. That is just good, plain advice.
If anyone would like to be added to the ping list, please let me know either by post or by p.m.
For more books on all topics of the Bible, visit my web site at:
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.