Proverbs 19:25

The Bible says in Proverbs 19:25, “Smite a scorner, and the simple will beware: and reprove one that hath understanding, and he will understand knowledge.” There are different types of punishment, that is for sure. The first phrase is corporal punishment, and the second is not. To smite or to reprove, that is the question. This verse is an emphasis on the person receiving the correction. If that person has understanding, they do not need corporal punishment when they are corrected. Reproof will be perfect for them. Human beings are very sensitive people. It does not take very much for us to know that someone is displeased with us: a glance of the eye, a frown, or a furrowed brow will do just fine. And when we are in that situation, we will learn. We will learn to improve ourselves because we do not like being reproved, and because we want to improve as a person. This verse is a statement that tells you that if you are giving out corporal punishment, then you are making a statement that the person you are punishing is a simpleton and not wise. You are stating that you are certain that they cannot learn from reproof only.

The Bible says in Proverbs 19:26, “He that wasteth his father, and chasteth away his mother, is a son that causeth shame, and bringeth reproach.” This presents an image of the father providing for the children. The dream is that all of the care will have a positive result. Much money and much time and much love are given to the child. What will the result be? That depends upon the child, and what direction they go in life. If they go the wrong way, they are wasting everything that has been done for them by the parents. What a shame that is. Of course, a mother loves her children. A lot of love will be showered on the children by a mother. Surely a child will listen and surely a child will accept what a mother will bring. But no, there are some who will reject all that was given to them, and will turn the wrong way. How ungrateful. This is one of the things that can happen when you have children: you can end up with a son “that wasteth his father, and chasteth away his mother.”

The Bible says in Proverbs 19:27, “Cease, my son, to hear the instruction that causeth to err from the words of knolwledge.” One of the reasons that children go astray is that they listen to the wrong teachers, or the wrong influence, or the wrong crowd. Be careful whom you listen to. It can ruin you. If only young people would learn this important lesson.

The Bible says in Proverbs 19:28, “An ungodly witness scorneth judgment: and the mouth of the wicked devoureth iniquity.” In order to have a good and a fair judicial system, we must have good and honest people as our citizens. Some of our citizens eventually become our judges and become lawyers. And some of the citizens become witnesses. If we have ungodly people in our country, then we will have ungodly witnesses in our court system, and we will have an ungodly result for those who go into the court system looking for justice. Wicked people love wickedness. Their wickedness becomes a drug that they are addicted to. That is why the only fix is for them to repent of their sins and turn to Jesus.

The Bible says in Proverbs 19:29, “Judgments are prepared for scorners and stripes for the back of fools.” Unlike man, God is a righteous Judge. God is holy and pure and good, and God has a very high standard with which He holds people accountable. You cannot escape God’s judgment. If you are foolish and turn away from the Lord Jesus, the consequences will be certain. If you scorn the truth of the Gospel of Christ, you will bear the terrible result. Do not be like the fool. Turn to Jesus and He will save you.

The Bible says in Proverbs 20:1, “Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.” In this Bible verse wine is associated with “strong drink,” in other words associated with strong alcoholic beverages. In the Bible the word “wine” means fruit of the vine. In some contexts it is only grape juice, but in others it is an alcoholic beverage. New wine is the wine that first comes out of the wine press, and that is grape juice. That is what Jesus made in the miracle at the wedding when Jesus changed water into wine. Because Jesus made it, and Jesus only does good things, that must have been grape juice without alcohol. In the first century the drink of the common man had very little alcohol in it: at most a couple of percent. When you take a bottle of wine off the shelf in a modern retail store, you have a very strong alcoholic drink in your hand: much stronger than was used in the first century. No matter what, just look at the statistics. Look at the number of lives that have been ruined by alcoholism. According to the government in 2014 there were 88,000 deaths from alcohol related causes. That is just one year. Half of all deaths from liver disease are caused by alcohol. There have been millions and millions of alcoholics since alcohol was legalized. Families and marriages have been ruined, careers and lives have been ruined, and death has come early to millions because of alcoholic beverages. The Bible says that you are not wise if you are deceived by wine and strong drink. The statistics prove that to be true.

The Bible says in Proverbs 20:2, “The fear of a king is as the roaring of a lion: whoso provoketh him to anger sinneth against his own soul.” God has established a hierarchy of authority for this world. We all have people in authority over us, and we had better have the proper respect to authority or we will suffer for it. Actually, because of this important Bible principle, Christians should be the best citizens in whatever country they live. We honor those in authority and we obey those in authority. Those who do not are foolish, and they will be punished because those in authority have the power.

The Bible says in Proverbs 20:3, “It is an honour for a man to cease from strife: but every fool will be meddling.” Human beings easily strive with each other. Strife is one of the main characteristics of human life. That is why Jesus said that our age would be characterized by wars and rumors of war. Strife comes naturally because we are so selfish and self-willed. You are an honorable person if you know how to “cease from strife.” A foolish person keeps stirring up strife and keeps meddling with it. There are many ways to avoid strife: turn the other cheek, be a little bit humble, have a thick skin, do unto others as you would have them do unto you, understand that people are not perfect, trust God to change things, learn to say words that result in peace instead of more strife. One of the values of following Jesus is that He will teach you these things.

The Bible says in Proverbs 20:4, “The sluggard will not plow by reason of the cold; therefore shall he beg in harvest and have nothing.” If you do not want to do something, then you will always find a reason not to do it. That is definitely true of lazy people. It is never just right to do anything. It is either too hot or too cold. You either want to sleep in or you want to do something else rather than the task at hand. In trying to start a church, you will sometimes see the very same thing. You try to find people who know the Lord Jesus as Savior, and who want to learn more about the Bible. But in our secular society where Sunday has become another Saturday, and where people live very busy lives, and where there are so many other pursuits to fill up any extra time with the internet, cable TV, sports, movies, video games, fishing and hunting, and much more: there is no time left to spend 2 or 3 hours on a Sunday gathering with other Christians in an assembly of believers to hear the teaching of God’s Word. If the latter is not your number one priority, other things will crowd it out. Once someone has a schedule they have been following for years, it will take an act of God to get them to change that schedule and start coming to a church service, and once they start, they will easily go back to their old habits and stop going to church services.

The Bible says in Proverbs 20:5, “Council in the heart of a man is like deep water; but a man of understanding will draw it out.” People have things going on inside of them that often we cannot see. Life is difficult and people have their own personal struggles. Among those struggles are spiritual needs. Everyone has the greatest spiritual need which is to know Jesus as Savior. The Lord wants believers to be witnesses for Christ, and He wants us to have wisdom in doing that. It takes wisdom to talk to people about such a serious matter. It is one of the reasons that we pray to the Lord and ask Him for wisdom. We need it to deal with people and their spiritual needs.

The Bible says in Proverbs 20:6, “Most men will proclaim everyone his own goodness: but a faithful man who can find?” It definitely is hard to find a faithful man. Most people are not faithful. In other words you cannot count on them. They say they will do something, but then they do not do it. You need them to do something, but it does not happen. You are counting on them, but they let you down. That situation about people is associated with the fact that “Most men will proclaim everyone his own goodness.” That is because we are all sinners, and no one enters into true honesty about themselves unless they have been honest on this subject with the Lord. It also humbles you when you confess your sins and ask Jesus to forgive you. People who have not come to such honesty about themselves do not understand the importance of keeping their word, and they are probably not humble either, so it does not bother them if they do not keep their word or their commitment. It is all about themselves. They do not think of others.

The Bible says in Proverbs 20:7, “The just man walketh in his integrity: his children are blessed after him.” Someone who is right with God is “just” because God freely gives that spiritual position of righteousness through Christ. The righteousness and justice of Christ is credited to his account. Someone who has truly turned to Christ and been justified by faith, has had a change in his or her life. They are now following Jesus. “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things are passed away: behold all things are become new.” Those who have had such a positive change in their life will be a blessing to all who know them. The more that anyone is around such a believer, the greater the benefit. God blesses His believers, protects His believers, and helps His believers. The children of such a believer are also blessed. They get the benefits of having a spiritual parent. They see the good example every day. They are taught the scriptures. They live under high moral standards. They are prayed for and planned for. They are loved. When God blesses the believer, God blesses the whole family.

The Bible says in Proverbs 20:8, “A king that sitteth in the throne of judgment scattereth away all evil with his eyes.” This verse associates the leader of a country with getting rid of evil. That is the way that God meant it to be. One of the main responsibilities of governmental leadership is to punish and destroy evil in order to have a good and peaceful country and to protect the innocent citizens. If government does not punish evil, then who will do it? If government does not punish evil, then evil will spread across the land. The crime rate will constantly go up. Any community that has a continual increase in crime probably has leaders that are not doing their job. It says in Romans 13:1-4, “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. [2] Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of god: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. [3] For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? Do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same. [4] For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain; for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.” Once a leader has gained the reputation that he will punish evil, just the look in his eyes will scatter away evil. If the leaders of this world do not do their job, then God will do it at the Second Coming of Christ and at the judgment. You can escape the final judgment by turning to Jesus for forgiveness while there is time.

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