PROFITING FROM PROVERBS

“The mouth of a righteous man is a well of life: but violence covereth the mouth of the wicked. Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins” (Proverbs 10:12).

The mouth of the wicked is a touched over and over again in the Bible, almost as much as the mouth of the righteous man; but back in verse 6, “Blessings are upon the head of the just: but violence covereth the mouth of the wicked,” alright?

Here's the thing with Proverbs. It seems like in every phrase, even in one sentence, it is just loaded with all kinds of stuff: as though there's all these changes of direction and all this really intense stuff and you're just constantly changing gears. In most of the Bible, the narratives are like a smooth rolling road out in the country where you can put it in 5th gear and just cruise, and then you get to the proverbs and there's like this constant turning and stuff just somebody changes. Contrast that smooth country drive with a trip up and down the Ozarks on those winding roads, if you know what I am talking about. In verse 12, we see here that the man’s mouth is still an issue, as we see in verse 13, for instance, “in the lips of him that hath understanding,” so that's kind of the underlying theme. In verse 12, “Hatred stirreth up strifes.”

“He that hateth dissembleth with his lips, and layeth up deceit within him” (Proverbs 26:24).

He is a liar. Now, that is a fruit of hatred.

The passage continues: “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. Whoso diggeth a pit shall fall therein: and he that rolleth a stone, it will return upon him. A lying tongue hateth those that are afflicted by it; and a flattering mouth worketh ruin” (Proverbs 26:25-28).

So, again, you're still stuck with things that come out of somebody's mouth. Notice verse 12, “Hatred stirreth up strifes,” strife is one of those things you can really go into real deep, real long and in the word of God.

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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