PROVERBS 23:9-12: FOOLS, THIEVES and WISE GUYS

Previously on Wisdom Wednesday I taught on PROVERBS 22:28-29. You can hear it (again) at the SBC YT Channel, entitled: Prosperity: Profitable or Perilous? (posted May 16th).

I dealt with the whole thing regarding “removing the ancient landmarks” – those divided personal properties among the tribes of Israel. Dishonest, greedy folk would move those landmarks to increase the size of their own property, infringing on and diminishing the property of others – thus land theft. I’ll go in a little different direction tonight in vs. 10-11 of PROV 23, focusing instead on the prince of thieves, and no – I’m not talking about Sir Robin of Locksley aka Robin Hood. First, vs. 9:

PROVERBS 23:9
Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, For he will despise the wisdom of your words.

PROVERBS 9:8-10 

8 Do not correct a scoffer, lest he hate you; Rebuke a wise man, and he will love you. 9 Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; Teach a just man, and he will increase in learning. 10 "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

MATTHEW 7:6
Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.

I have been rebuked many times in my Christian walk – and though it stings, and my kneejerk reaction at times was not very becoming, I would sooner or later come around to receive it and thanked them who were faithful to correct me! I loved them for it – so I suppose that makes me “a wise guy”.

As I’ve stated before, we are all stewards in life, and GOD has given us everything we have, and waits and watches to see what we do with these gifts.
This is particularly true where the Word of GOD is concerned.

We have the general revelation of GOD in His creation that testifies of His reality, as well as our GOD given conscience that testifies of His moral law written on our hearts. We are to steward these things with care and attention.

Then we have the special revelation of GOD, the Word of Truth as written in the Holy Scriptures. How’s our stewardship of the Word? Are we being attentive? Are we submitting to and applying its truth to our lives?

When we speak with the wise, when we give to them instruction from the Bible he will be a proper steward and gain in wisdom, keeping GOD’s truth in their life and their actions.
Not so with the fool, the scoffer – they will despise you who share the Word of Truth that you treasure in your heart; they will actually hate you for it! And hate the One Who gave you this truth! Amazing! They disdain the LORD and His Word and consider all of this as trash. They fail in their stewardship of what GOD has delivered to them.

This is why the Word warns us against speaking to fools, to correcting scoffers, to refrain from showing the precious pearls of GOD’s truth to them.

And the more that such foolish scoffers reject the witness of Scripture, the harder of heart they become. If they continue to harden their heart, they are on the road to reprobation – that is, their heart will eventually become so hard (unless they repent!) that they go beyond the reach of the Holy Spirit to convict them:

1 TIMOTHY 4:1-2
1 Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, 2 speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron…

EPHESIANS 4:17-19
17 This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, 18 having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; 19 who, being past feeling [apathy], have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.

In ROMANS 1 we read about how “GOD gave them up” – those who knew GOD (His reality) but didn’t acknowledge Him, and rather worshiped idols, false gods, themselves, money, sex, etc. (vs. 24,26), and they became darkened in their minds. Then in vs. 28 it states that because society revered homosexuality, “GOD gave them over”.

For these reasons, whenever I happen to be sharing the Gospel with someone, and they respond with jeering and mockery, I’ll leave it at that. Unless so directed by GOD, I won’t share with them a second time, giving them further opportunity to harden their hearts even more.

What I will do, is intercede for their soul in prayer, asking GOD to break through their hardness of heart, soften their heart, make them receptive to hear the Word of GOD and that they will approach a saint (myself or someone else) and ask out of humility about the Gospel. There is a young man I met last Christmas that’s in this very situation, and I’m earnestly praying for him!

PROVERBS 23:10-11
10 Do not remove the ancient landmark, Nor enter the fields of the fatherless;11 For their Redeemer is mighty; He will plead their cause against you.

Any kind of theft is unlawful and rebels against the Holy Commandment, and the prince of all thieves, as you know, is Satan who has come “to kill, to steal and to destroy” (JOHN 10:10a). That’s your enemy’s mission objective where you’re concerned.

And he is determined, focused, motivated – and he never sleeps. How motivated is he? Extremely! How so?
SATAN HATES YOU WITH EVERY FIBER OF HIS BEING!
If we realized the intensity of his hatred for us, were it not for the shield and high tower of safety that we have in Christ, we would be terror-stricken!

Why does he hate us so much?
Due to his sense of pride and self-exaltation: the ultimate example of SELF-ESTEEM, he was cast out of heaven, rejected, humiliated, denigrated (Check out ISA 14 and EZEK 28 sometime). And if that wasn’t enough, GOD created a new race, starting with Adam which Satan no doubt saw as his replacement as well as a rival.

Those of the human race who have or will receive salvation in Christ are seated in the heavenlies with Christ. We the bride of Christ will rule and reign over all of creation with our bridegroom. We will receive glorified bodies and powers which will exceed all of the angels.

Essentially, we will receive a higher position and far greater honor than Lucifer ever had before his fall. And while he will be roasting for all eternity in the Lake of Fire, he will suffer there in the knowledge that we saints will enjoy the eternal blessings of heaven!

THAT is why he hates us with psychopathic propensity and with such insane zeal.

He wants to steal your godly character and reputation, he wants to steal your witness in Christ, he wants to steal your heart so that you devote yourself to someone else more than devote yourself to GOD. He wants to steal your time, your attention, your fellowship with other saints both at church and everywhere Christians congregate. Satan wants to steal opportunities where GOD wants to use you for His glory and your benefit and that of others.

He wants to kill off your spiritual hunger for the Word. To kill off your prayer life. He wants to destroy any fruit of the Spirit that have been seeded into your life. He wants to increase his baleful borders in your life while decreasing those blessed borders the LORD intends to increase in your life.

Let’s not give hell a reason to celebrate by allowing defeat in our lives via the devil! And the flesh! And the world!

Also understand that the LORD will plead our cause against Satan, if not in the here and now, then most certainly on the Day of Judgment where this fallen angel will have A LOT to account for!!

PROVERBS 23:12
Apply your heart to instruction, And your ears to words of knowledge.

He who is wise in the eyes of the LORD, applies “instruction” to their hearts!

“Instruction” here is from the Hebrew word musar, meaning “instruction, warning, restraint, reproof, correction, chastening, rebuke, discipline.

This is the purpose for the Word of GOD! We read the same thing in 2 TIMOTHY!

2 TIMOTHY 3:16-17
16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

We’ve taught this time and again, the pastors of SHINE BRIGHT Church: the three aspects of Bible Study:

1) There is first of all the Observation of GOD’s Word. We carefully read the Scriptures, observing the details found in the words and see what they actually say, not what we think they say.

I will often ask people about:

ACTS 20:28
"Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.

By Who’s blood are we purchased? People will say JESUS! And they are correct, but that isn’t what this verse says; the name of Jesus doesn’t appear in vs. 28. Careful observation shows that the One that’s spoken of, by whose blood we are purchased is “GOD”. We know specifically that this is “GOD the Son”, but it’s interesting that the Holy Spirit phrased this verse just so.

It becomes a proof text to show that Jesus is GOD, because GOD is Spirit, and doesn’t possess blood! That is, until He was incarnate 2,000 years ago!

2) After we carefully observe a passage of Scripture and learn what it SAYS, we move on to the Interpretation of GOD’s Word, which leads us to ask, What does this MEAN? How do we interpret what the Scriptures say? We let Scripture interpret Scripture and learn how to properly interpret the Word.

3) Then, once we know what the Scriptures say, and what they mean, we move on to the final aspect of Bible Study – the part that without this, all of our observation and interpretation we work through is meaningless – the application of GOD’s Word.

Check out SHINE BRIGHT Church Seminar on BIBLE STUDY:

Part One - pastor Albert Lopez: How to study the Bible

Part Two  - lead pastor Sonny Islas: Understanding the Bible 

Part Three - pastor James Fire: Preparing a Bible Study

Now that I know what the Word says, what it means, how do I apply this to my life? How can I be a faithful steward of GOD’s Truth that I’ve learned by growing in Christlikeness, letting the Word and the Spirit to transform me into the image of the LORD Jesus Christ?

2 CORINTHIANS 4:6
For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

2 CORINTHIANS 3:17-18
17 Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

ROMANS 12:2
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.