Proverbs 14:1

The Bible says in Proverbs 14:1, “Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands.” This verse is about the power that a woman has in the home. Of course, every human being has the power to destroy or to build up and make better. How do you build up something? This verse says that if you have wisdom, you will know how to do it. If a woman has wisdom, she will know how to build up her home.

The Bible says in Proverbs 14:2, “He that walketh in his uprightness feareth the LORD: but he that is perverse in his ways despiseth him.” This verse actually associates fearing the Lord with loving him. The opposite of despising someone is loving them. If you love the Lord, you will have knowledge about Him, and you will know that He is Judge of the earth who will bring consequences to the wrong actions. If you love the Lord, you will also honor the Bible and attempt to put the teachings of the New Testament into practice in your life.

The Bible says in Proverbs 14:3, “In the mouth of the foolish is a rod of pride: but the lips of the wise shall preserve them.” This verse associates foolishness with pride. No one should be proud anyway. We all have weaknesses, failures, and sins. Therefore, what is there to be proud about? If someone insults you, curses at you, or condemns you, so what? Who cares? I am not important. Not only that, but pride is so very negative and will bring negative results. But the foolish do not know that. Their words are motivated by pride, and that will give them one sure result: punishment that they bring on themselves. Verse 3 speaks of “a rod of pride.” Their own pride will punish them by means of the words that they say. In contrast to that, “the lips of the wise shall preserve them.” If you are wise, the very words that you say will be an asset to you to bring good into your life and to protect you.

The Bible says in Proverbs 14:4, “Where no oxen are, the crib is clean: but much increase is by the strength of the ox.” You cannot have everything. If you want a barn that is as clean as a house, then you are not going to have any oxen, and if you do not have any oxen, then you will not have the strength of an ox at your service.

The Bible says in Proverbs 14:5, “A faithful witness will not lie: but a false witness will utter lies.” Some people are liars. They lie whenever they can. They lie thinking they can benefit from lying. They lie so much, that they even lie when they have nothing to benefit from doing so. Obviously, if you need a witness in some case, you want one who is not a liar. The teachings of the Bible are very valuable. When God said, “Thou shalt not lie,” there is a good reason for it. The world would be a much better place if no one lied.

The Bible says in Proverbs 14:6, “A scorner seeketh wisdom, and findeth it not: but knowledge is easy unto him that understandeth.” A scorner rejects God’s Word, and therefore has already rejected the most important part of true wisdom. If you reject the Savior who knows all things, how can you possibly attain to wisdom? You cannot. But if you do not scorn: you will receive the moving of the Spirit to lead you to Christ, then you have that great knowledge of the Savior. You might come under a great conflict and conviction before you come to Christ, but once you do, all other knowledge is easy after that. You will be able to read the Bible and understand it. You will be able to teach others what you have learned. And you will be able to continue to grow in your knowledge of the infinite Savior.

The Bible says in Proverbs 14:7, “Go from the presence of a foolish man, when thou perceivest not in him the lips of knowledge.” You will be able to evaluate others based upon the words that they use. A foolish person will be known by their words. This verse is all about whom you choose to be your friends and companions. You can be friendly to all people in order to win them to Christ, but do not make the mistake of having too close of a contact with the Foolish people of the world. Shakespeare said, “Do not dull thy pall with entertainment of each new-hatched, unfledged comrade.”

The Bible says in Proverbs 14:8, “The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way: but the folly of fools is deceit.” Some people do not understand their way. They end up at a certain place in life, and they look back and say, “How did I end up in such a bad place?” But if you have wisdom from God, that should never happen to you. For one thing, God gives you commandments and describes very clearly in the Bible what type of life He wants you to live as a follower of Jesus. You can know very clearly what path you are on and what way you are taking.

The Bible says in Proverbs 14:9, “Fools make a mock at sin, but among the righteous there is favor.” Sin refers to going against God’s commandments. Why would anyone make a mock at sin when the Holy All-powerful God is there to back up His truth? A human hearts is either surrendered to God or else it is in rebellion against Him. Can a man mock God and benefit from it? We who believe in Jesus know the answer to that. Suffering in this life and then an eternity in hell await those who mock God and refuse to turn away from sin. Therefore, yes, it is a fool who makes a mock at sin. It would be better to change your mind, turn to Jesus, and ask Him for forgiveness for your sins.

The Bible says in Proverbs 14:10, “The heart knoweth his own bitterness; and a stranger doth not intermeddle with his joy.” Whether good or bad, the true feelings that someone is experiencing is often buried deep in their soul. Human beings cannot see those thoughts, but God can. God knows what everyone is going through, and He has the answer. And when you come to Jesus, bring everything with you including your deepest thoughts and emotions. That is one of the things that is being spoken about when the Bible says in Romans 10:9-10, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.[10] For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

The Bible says in Proverbs 14:11, “The house of the wicked shall be overthrown: but the tabernacle of the upright shall flourish.” A tabernacle is a tent. You might have less than someone else, but God knows how to make what you have to prosper. Therefore, make sure you are on the straight and narrow path of following Jesus, and you will have God’s help to have the most prosperous life possible for you and God’s calling for you.

The Bible says in Proverbs 14:12, “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” The lesson here is that one of the worse things that can happen to anyone is to get what they want. In other words, going the wrong way can kill you. Of course, this verse is primarily talking about spiritual death. Another lesson is that is learned here is the fact that we must be surrendered to God’s will. Jesus made that very clear when He prayed to the Father on the way to the cross and said, “Not my will, but thine be done.” Jesus also told us to pray in Matthew chapter 6, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Proverbs 14:12 says, “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man…” That is called humanism. One of the many values of the Bible is that when you read the Bible, study the Bible, and hear the Bible taught, you are replacing your own mind with the ideas from God. That will help to keep you from going the way that “seemeth right unto a man.”

The Bible says in Proverbs 14:13, “Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful; and the end of that mirth is heaviness.” This is another verse that emphasizes the importance of what is going on deep in the heart of a person. If the heart does not get fixed then nothing will be fixed that is lasting. Happiness comes from within. You create your own happiness by having the right thoughts. Christians should be the happiest people in the world, and they will be if they are growing in the Lord and walking close to Him.

The Bible says in Proverbs 14:14, “The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways: and a good man shall be satisfied from himself.” What is a backslider: Someone who turns away from God. Once they were walking with the Lord, and then they turned away from Him. That cannot end well. One reason that it will not end well is because the Lord will chastise His children in order to wake them up so they will want to come back to Him. Once you have tasted the goodness of Christ, nothing will satisfy as a replacement. If you know that you have back-slidden, then turn back to Jesus. He will always forgive you and accept you back.

The Bible says in Proverbs 14:15, “The simple believeth every word: but the prudent man looketh well to his going.” There are a lot of liars out there. And there is a lot of false information that people are passing around especially in regards to religion and the true teaching about God. One of the benefits of having Jesus as your Savior, is that you have the Bible and the Holy Spirit to teach you truth. Follow the example of some of the Christians in the first century. It says in Acts 17:11, “These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.”

The Bible says in Proverbs 14:16, “A wise man feareth, and departeth from evil: but the fool rageth, and is confident.” You are wise if you fear the consequences of sin and use that fear as a motivation to avoid sin. A fool has confidence in himself and in the way that he has chosen, but that confidence will fail. The judgment is coming.

The Bible says in Proverbs 14:17, “He that is soon angry dealeth foolishly: and a man of wicked devices is hated.” Anger comes much too easily to human beings. That is not good. One source of anger is our own selfishness. That is not good. Another source of anger is when we are wronged by others. But we must remember: “Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord, I will repay.” Jesus said in Matthew 5:22, “But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.” Proverbs 14:17 associates anger with wickedness. Who likes an angry person: no one. It is in your interest to conquer anger.

The Bible says in Proverbs 14:18, “The simple inherit folly: but the prudent are crowned with knowledge.” “Simple” means foolish. When folly comes to an unwise person, they just accept more folly. They have no means of defense. They do not realize that they are receiving even more foolishness. But if you are wise, you know how to acquire more and more knowledge. You grow in knowledge constantly. That is one of the benefits of being a believer in Jesus. You start your spiritual journey by coming to know Him, and then He gives you more and more knowledge as you stay in His Word. You grow in wisdom and in knowledge and in favor with God and man.

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