Proverbs 16:15

The Bible says in Proverbs 16:15, “In the light of the king’s countenance is life; and his favor is as a cloud of the latter rain.” This is another verse about the hierarchy that God has put in place in this world. You had better understand authority and it proper place in God’s will, or you are in for a hard learning curve. Those in authority can punish, and they can also reward. Daniel found that out when he was employed in the government in Babylon. Be the best Christian you can be, walk with the Lord, do your best, and honor and respect those in authority, and you will get the best results possible for your life and the abilities that God has given to you. You will be rewarded by those in power for your efforts.

The Bible says in Proverbs 16:16, “How much better is it to get wisdom than gold! And to get understanding rather to be chosen than silver.” What is more valuable than gold or silver? A lot of things are more valuable. This verse says that wisdom and understanding are more valuable. Love is more valuable than gold and silver. Health is more valuable than gold or silver. Eternal life is more valuable than gold or silver. Jesus said that your soul is more valuable than gold or silver. Jesus said, “What shall it profit a man if he should gain the whole world, but lose his own soul; or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?” Do not lose your soul. Make sure that you soul is saved by falling at the feet of Jesus and calling upon His name.

The Bible says in Proverbs 16:17, “The highway of the upright is to depart from evil: he that keepeth his way preserveth his soul.” Your soul is the real you. There are really two aspects to saving your soul: one has to do with your eternal destiny, and the other has to do with what happens to you in this life. When your soul gets saved through faith in Christ, you start going down that straight and narrow way as you follow Jesus and dedicate your life to Him. One benefit to doing that is that instead of your life being wasted, you have the opportunity of realizing exactly what you were put on this earth to do.

The Bible says in Proverbs 16:18, “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.” How dangerous and damaging pride is. Pride results in destruction. Pride keeps a person from trusting in the Lord because they think that they have the answers and they are sufficient in themselves with their own abilities and resources. Every single human being needs to trust in the Lord. Anyone who thinks they do not is likely afflicted by pride. According to Proverbs 16:18, there are two certain outcomes for a prideful person: “destruction” and “a fall.” If you are not destroyed this time, then you definitely will suffer because of your pride. Find a way to humble yourself. One way to do that is to admit your sins to God. You can humble yourself and say to the Lord Jesus, “be merciful to me, a sinner.”

The Bible says in Proverbs 16:19, “Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud.” This verse tells you to stay away from prideful people too. Remember that they are on a path that is going to lead to destruction or a terrible fall. So you just might want to stay away from them. Also, you do not want to be infected by their ideas or attitude. “Come out from among them and be ye separate, saith the Lord.”

The Bible says in Proverbs 16:20, “He that handleth a matter wisely shall find good: and whoso trusteth in the Lord, happy is he.” No matter what happens to you in life, there is a right way to handle it. That is what is most important: not what happens, but how you react to what happens. You want to react with faith, hope, and love. You want to make the right decision and say the right thing and do the right thing. Even if you do make the right decision, you still need the Lord’s blessing, so you need to trust how He will work things out. Even if you make the wrong decision, at least you can still trust in the Lord to fix everything. God is good at that. He does it all the time because we all fail easily and often, and He often intervenes on our behalf.

The Bible says in Proverbs 16:21, “The wise in heart shall be called prudent: and the sweetness of the lips increaseth learning.” If you are wise, your reputation will grow, and you will be honored. If you are wise, then good words, (sweet) words, will come out of your mouth, and the words that you use will be one of your strong points. Your words will open up doors of opportunity for you. Some of those opportunities will be opportunities to learn. You will increase even more in wisdom and in favor with God and man, and that is exactly what Jesus did when he was on the earth.

The Bible says in Proverbs 16:22, “Understanding is a wellspring of life unto him that hath it: but the instruction of fools is folly.” Look at the phrase “the instruction of fools.” Fools teach. They teach their philosophy and their ideas. If you know Truth and wisdom, then you will stay away from fools and their teachings. Fake news is nothing new. It has been going on for all the history of the human race.

The Bible says in Proverbs 16:23, “The heart of the wise teacheth his mouth, and addeth learning to his lips.” If you are wise then you understand that the words that you use are very important. Two of the Ten Commandments refer to our words: Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord in vain, and Thou shalt not lie. You use your words to be a witness for Christ. If you are wise, you will use your opportunities in that way.

The Bible says in Proverbs 16:24, “Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.” The right words can accomplish a tremendous amount of good. Look how good words are described here: honeycomb, sweet, and health. That is one of the values of hearing a good sermon. You will be hearing good words that your soul and your bones need to hear. Be careful what words that you are using: you are either making the world a better place or a worse place simply with your words.

The Bible says in Proverbs 16:25, “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” This verse is an important warning. Do not go your own way in life. It will be a big mistake to resist God and go your own way in life. No wonder that Jesus taught us to pray, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

The Bible says in Proverbs 16:26, “He that laboureth laboureth for himself; for his mouth craveth it of him.” This verse has a very practical meaning to it. The mouth refers to eating. If you want to eat, you better work. The New Testament says the same thing: “They that do not work, do not eat.” Yes, ask for God’s blessing, but do your part too: work.

The Bible says in Proverbs 16:27, “An ungodly man diggeth up evil: and in his lips there is as a burning fire.” Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.” Jesus is the Prince of Peace, and so when you come to know Him and start following Him, you will learn about peace and you will become a peacemaker. Those who reject Christ, reject the peace that they could have had, and therefore because they do not have peace with God, they are not agents of peace. They are troublemakers. They dig up evil wherever they god, and their words do great harm. Their words burn and harm and cause trouble.

The Bible says in Proverbs 16:28, “A froward man soweth strife: and a whisperer separateth chief friends.” This is another verse about troublemakers. Someone who is forward is rebellious against God: not surrendered and with a bad attitude. Jesus said, “Whosoever gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.” There are many ways that people like this sow strife. One way is by gossiping. There are people who once were very close friends, and then something happened, sometimes something very insignificant, and then their friendship was torn asunder. Gossip can do that. Believe what you observe about people. Do not believe what others tell you.

The Bible says in Proverbs 16:29, “A violent man enticeth his neighbour, and leadeth him into the way that is not good.” Among the things that you must watch out for in life are bad examples: people that would lead you astray. Misery loves company. If they are doing wrong, they will want you to do wrong with them. One of the great passages in the Bible on this subject is Psalms chapter 1. It says in Psalms 1:1-6, “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.[2] But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.[3] And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.[4] The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.[5] Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.[6] For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.” Seek out other Christians, stay in the Word, and avoid those who do not serve the Lord.

The Bible says in Proverbs 16:30, “He shutteth his eyes to devise froward things: moving his lips he bringeth evil to pass.” It is no accident that wicked people do wicked things. It is their plan to be that way. They know what they are doing, and why they are doing it, and they do it anyway. They close their eyes, and they think, and they plan their wicked deeds. They also understand the power of their words. And so they use their evil words to bring to pass even more evil deeds. Hell awaits them, unless they repent honestly and turn to Jesus.

The Bible says in Proverbs 16:31, “The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness.” Older is supposed to mean wiser, but it does not always. Sometimes older means more wicked. If a person stays in the evil ways year after year after year, then older means more wicked. There is nothing worse than a dirty old man or a bitter old woman. That is probably where the concept of a witch came from. If you start serving the Lord now and keep serving Him, the older that you get, the more that you will be respected and honored for your wisdom and for your knowledge of truth and goodness. One of the many benefits of serving Jesus is that you will have an old age the way that it was meant to be. With Jesus you have the possibility of aging gracefully.

The Bible says in Proverbs 16:32, “He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.” Anger overpowers many people. Anger is dangerous because it can motivate to even greater sins. Anger can be the starting point of violence. That is why the Bible tells Christians to be “slow to anger.” If you do learn to be slow to anger and thus to conquer your anger, you will be a rare person and you will be able to go on to other victories. You will be “better than the mighty.” What are some ways that Christians can avoid anger? Faith will help. If you really believe that God is guiding everything in your life, then that means He allowed this painful or difficult thing that happen to you. He has a reason. Also, God can fix it how and when He wants to. A lot of anger comes from selfishness. The more that you are surrendered to the Lord Jesus, the less likely that you will get angry because you did not get what you wanted.

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