Proverbs 14:35

The Bible says in Proverbs 14:35, “The king’s favour is toward a wise servant: but his wrath is toward him that causeth shame.” A king is not only someone who has a lot of power, but is also someone who (if they are doing their job properly) has a lot of responsibility. That responsibility is fulfilled by those who are under the king. And so obviously the king’s work does not get done if those under him do not fulfill that which has been delegated to them. The king is going to like those who do a good job, and dislike those who do not. That includes any activity in the kingdom. Why do you need wisdom? One reason you need wisdom is so that you will know how to do your job, so that you will truly excel in the eyes of your superiors.

The Bible says in Proverbs 15:1, “A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.” An important part of wisdom is knowing how to speak to people. Human beings are emotional creatures, and anger is one of the emotions that can have very negative consequences to it. You have the ability to control your own anger by trusting in the Lord and by being willing to lose things that you want. Also, you can help control other people’s anger by the words that you use. If your words are angry words, then those to whom you are speaking will more likely be angry in response. If your words are “soft” words, then you will be helping others not to be angry. Looks like we just might have some sins to be confessing; and just maybe we have some areas where we need to improve.

The Bible says in Proverbs 15:2, “The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright: but the mouth of fools poureth out foolishness.” People acquire new knowledge all the time. There is always a lot to learn. One of the joys of life is to learn more things about any subject. The truth is that the more you learn, the more that you realize that you do not know. But gathering more knowledge does you no good unless you know how to use that knowledge and put it all together into something meaningful: in other words, you must learn to think for yourself. God gave you a brain, and so make sure you know how to use it. Do not just swallow other people’s view of any matter. For example, someone might study biological sciences for many years. They might get university degree after degree. But they must realize that some of the information they are studying is simply other peoples’ interpretation of the information. Evolutionists lost the ability to think a long time ago. They are clouded by their presuppositions. They are totally incapable of seeing the scientific evidence that speaks against the Theory of Evolution and speaks for the Creation account as found in the Bible. “the mouth of fools poureth out foolishness.”

The Bible says in Proverbs 15:3, “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.” This is a good reminder of one of the attributes of God. God sees everything and knows everything. People naturally try to hide their failures and mistakes and sins, but you cannot hide anything from God. If your sins are not covered by the blood of Christ, then you will stand before God at the judgment with God knowing every detail of your life, including the things that you thought were done in secret. On the other hand, when you do the right thing, God knows even if no one else does. If you are a Christian, God will reward you for every good thing that you have ever done for the glory of Christ.

The Bible says in Proverbs 15:4, “A wholesome tongue is a tree of life: but perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit.” If you want to live a good Christian life, then control your tongue. If your speech is right, then everything else will be right. The word that is translated “wholesome” means “healthy.” The tongue needs to be healed from a disease: the disease of sin. Someone who says wicked things is broken in the spirit. They have spiritual problems, and those problems are manifested in their speech. If you say the right things, you will create life in all those who hear you.

The Bible says in Proverbs 15:5, “A fool despiseth his father's instruction: but he that regardeth reproof is prudent.” The main purpose of a father is to symbolize the heavenly Father. You may not have a human father or you may not have had a human father who was a good example, but you can always have a heavenly father if you come to faith in Jesus. Jesus will introduce you to His Father, and then slowly but truly you will know what a true father is. One of the things that a true father does for his children is to give instruction (otherwise known as advice and counsel.) If you are wise, you will receive that instruction, whether it come from a human father or from the heavenly Father. If you are a fool, you will not.

The Bible says in Proverbs 15:6, “In the house of the righteous is much treasure: but in the revenues of the wicked is trouble.” This verse applies specifically to the Jewish people. God made a great nation from Abraham’s descendants. In doing that, God made the Jewish people very prosperous as long as they served Him. Once they stopped serving Him, everything was taken away. In the New Testament we are offered spiritual treasure, and we are also promised that the Lord will at a minimum supply our needs. Jesus said in Matthew 6:33, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”

The Bible says in Proverbs 15:7, “The lips of the wise disperse knowledge: but the heart of the foolish doeth not so.” Jesus was the great Teacher. Of course, He did many great things: He lived a perfect life, He raised the dead, He healed every disease that came His way, and He cast out demons. But of all the things that Jesus did, perhaps His greatest were His teachings. No man ever spake as this man. When we teach the Bible, in a very small way we are being like Jesus. If the Lord has taught you something, then He wants you to teach others.

The Bible says in Proverbs 15:8, “The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD: but the prayer of the upright is his delight.” Sacrifice is a human work. No amount of human good works can bring a person to God. “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us.” Why is prayer God’s delight? God created human beings so that we would have a relationship with Him. An important part of that relationship is when we talk to Him through Jesus in prayer. It is called “the prayer of the upright.” You are one of the upright if you have been justified by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Once you receive Jesus by faith, then you have a relationship with God and can talk to Him. The first time you talk to Jesus is when you ask Him to save your soul. And then you can just keep talking to Him for the rest of your life.

The Bible says in Proverbs 15:9, “The way of the wicked is an abomination unto the LORD: but he loveth him that followeth after righteousness.” The verse tells us another thing that is an abomination to the Lord: everything that the wicked do. They have no relationship with God. They are still in their sins. They have not come to Christ for salvation. Spiritually speaking, they live and walk in untruth. Of course, the way of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord. According to Jesus, not many people get on the straight and narrow way. Jesus said, “Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” It is no wonder that God loves those who get on that narrow way. Once you turn to Jesus, you enter into a relationship with the Lord where the full love of God falls on you. God loves everyone. He proved that by sending Jesus to die on the cross for us all, but you come to know the love of God in an even greater way when you accept Jesus as Savior.

The Bible says in Proverbs 15:10, “Correction is grievous unto him that forsaketh the way: and he that hateth reproof shall die.” What is “the way?” It is God’s way. Every human being on this earth is called by the Holy Spirit to go God’s way through faith in Christ. Those who do not have made a choice: a determined choice to go away from God. That is why they do not want anyone to correct them. Of course, the final result of such an attitude is well-known: “he that hateth reproof shall die.” This is talking about spiritual death, meaning that you will not get into heaven: not good.

The Bible says in Proverbs 15:11, “Hell and destruction are before the Lord: how much more then the hearts of the children of men?” God knows everything. He knows the future and the past. He knows what is coming with death and hell. “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.” We all have a rendezvous in the future: a set place and time that God sees coming. God knows the things that we do not know. God knows your heart also. Your heart tells God what you really love. Your heart tells God who you really are. And your heart tells God why you do what you do. Your heart is your innermost being. The way to fix your heart is to receive Christ into it. In other words: receive Christ into your innermost being. That involves your mind, your emotions, and your will. No wonder that receiving Christ changes your life.

The Bible says in Proverbs 15:12, “A scorner loveth not one that reproveth him: neither will he go unto the wise.” You can learn about someone by what he loves and what they do not love. If God works in someone’s heart and they reject Him, they are going to reject any person that points out their need to repent too. As a matter of fact, they will avoid anyone who knows the truth and who knows the Lord. Christians are supposed to have a certain type of separation from nonbelievers. Once you let them know that you are a Christian, that separation will be easier to maintain because they will separate from you: “neither will he go unto the wise.”

The Bible says in Proverbs 15:13, “A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.” Where does happiness come from? It comes from the heart. Happiness is not determined by what goes on around you. Happiness is determined by what goes on inside of you, and part of that is how you react to the circumstances and events. And according to Proverbs 15:13 you cannot hide your level of happiness or sorrow. Sorrow is not a good thing, and God wants us to be happy. We will all have some sufferings. Jesus was called a man of sorrows and well acquainted with grief. But Jesus took our sorrows upon Himself. Christians should be the happiest people in the world. Several times Jesus said to His disciples, “Be of good cheer.” Christians should be happy because our sins are forgiven, we are on our way to heaven, and all the promises of the Bible are directed to us personally. The Lord will always be with us. The Lord will guide us and direct us. The Lord will protect us. The Lord will answer our prayers. And the list goes on and on and on. Yes, if we walk in fellowship with the Lord Jesus, we will be experiencing the joy of our salvation.

The Bible says in Proverbs 15:14, “The heart of him that hath understanding seeketh knowledge: but the mouth of fools feedeth on foolishness.” Wisdom is the ability from God to know how to use knowledge. But you need knowledge in order for wisdom to have something to work with. If you are wise, you will get as much knowledge as you can on every subject that comes your way. Knowledge is power. People will pay you because of the knowledge that you have. The knowledge of the Bible is important for every believer. The knowledge of the details of your profession is important. There are various ways of getting knowledge: by reading, by learning from someone who has more experience than you (sometimes that is called on-the-job training), by going to a school or college that is designed to increase your knowledge on one or more subjects. Although, some people are starting to doubt the value of a college education, especially since many universities are simply leftist propaganda institutions.

There is one very important type of knowledge that everyone can have freely: the knowledge of Christ as your Savior. Pray to Jesus today and He will save your soul.

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