Proverbs 20:23

The Bible says in Proverbs 20:23, “Divers weights are an abomination to the Lord; and a false balance is not good.” We have seen verses similar to this one already in the book of Proverbs. When God repeats something, He is trying to make an emphasis. Unfortunately, human beings are very selfish by nature. Therefore, we have to be very careful when dealing with people in the business world. We want to have honest people that we deal with, and we know that we have been blessed when we find a Christian businessman whom we can trust to keep his word and to be honest. An important part of your Christian testimony is how you handle your own business dealings. Of course, the Lord wants us to be honest. And we do not want the Lord to look at what we are doing and think that it is an “abomination.”

The Bible says in Proverbs 20:24, “Man’s goings are of the Lord; how can a man then understand his own way?” This verse is really about the omnipotence of God and the fact that the Lord is involved in every detail of every person’s life. God gave us life. God decided the parents and the family we would have, and all the other details of our lives over which we have no control. We do not even know what a day will bring forth, but God knows. God not only knows, but He determines what each day will bring forth. The conclusion to this whole concept is to make sure that you live by faith. When something happens in your life, whether good or bad, remember to say in your heart that this is the will of God and the hand of God. God has a reason for it, and God has a solution to it.

The Bible says in Proverbs 20:25, “It is a snare to the man who devoureth that which is holy, and after vows to make enquiry.” All human beings are sinful, but each person better be careful to choose goodness over evil. If you choose evil, you are helping to destroy goodness in the world. This is what happens to many people: they live for a certain number of years committing their own sins, and the day comes when they do some self-analysis and they say, “You know, I need to make some improvements to my life, so I am going to become religious and join a religion.” In other words, they make their vows or their commitment to some religious organization. The problem is that they did not make careful research, and did not know what they were getting into. That is exactly how people get involved in false religion. You had better learn the Bible and learn it really well, especially the New Testament. If you do not, you will be an easy target to fall into a “snare.”

The Bible says in Proverbs 20:26, “A wise king scattereth the wicked, and bringeth the wheel over them.” One of the most important responsibilities for a ruler of any country and for government is to punish evil-doers. If law-breakers are not punished, then we will have a lawless society. Also, rulers and governments are ordained by God to do His work as judges of the evil doers. 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.”

The Bible says in Proverbs 20:27, “The spirit of man is the candle of the LORD, searching all the inward parts of the belly.” A human being is made up of body and spirit. The Lord will reveal Himself to your spirit when He thinks you are ready for Him. Only Jesus Christ can search your spirit in that way. Human beings can be very complex with sins, selfishness, fears, needs, emotions, hopes, and dreams that you nor anyone else knows anything about. But God knows. And God is able to reach them, especially through His Word by the Spirit. It says in Hebrews 4:12, “For the word of God is quick(alive), and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

The Bible says in Proverbs 20:28, “Mercy and truth preserve the king: and his throne is upholden by mercy.” Mercy and truth are the two main words of this verse. Mercy is used twice. It is important for leaders to be merciful. They have so much power compared to the rest of us. If they have vengeance only without mercy, then they will be cruel task-masters. In addition to mercy, to be a good leader, they must have truth. So many powerful people lie in order to gain power, and then in order to stay in power, they lie even more. If God wants you to have power on earth, then you will not need to lie. God opens the door that no man can shut. But those who lie ruin themselves. The truth will come out because God is truth.

The Bible says in Proverbs 20:29, “The glory of young men is their strength: and the beauty of old men is the gray head.” Every phase of life is good and is important because this is the life that God has given to us. In your youth you have your physical strength. If you are wise, you will use your strength for God’s glory. Whatever work you do, make sure to do it to the glory of God and Christ. Strength and energy and the optimism of youth are great resources. Wisdom is also needed, and if you have aged and matured with the help of God, when you are old, you will have one great asset: wisdom. Grey hair symbolizes wisdom. When the strength of youth is joined with the wisdom of the aged, then you will see human beings successful and accomplished.

The Bible says in Proverbs 21:1, “The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.” Most rivers do not go in a straight line. They twist and turn depending upon the obstacles in their way. God turns the king’s heart because God turns everyone’s heart. God is also at the top of every hierarchy. God decides what happens, and God decides how each person’s heart is touched and moved. If you want to change what your leaders do, you do not have to argue or protest or rebel. There is something much more effective: prayer. Prayer changes things. Prayer changes the leaders because God controls them.

The Bible says in Proverbs 21:2, “Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the LORD pondereth the hearts.” It is not easy for people to see their own faults. It takes the Holy Spirit to convict of sin. Therefore, human beings tend to think that everything they do is fine, even when they sin greatly. They blame others, or they find some way to justify themselves. Only God knows the heart, and only God can touch the heart. God is always viewing the hearts of people. God knows what is in the heart. He sees and He knows the real you: who you are deep down inside. That is why you need an honest change of heart in order to find God through Christ.

The Bible says in Proverbs 21:3, “To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.” God wants us to do right. Do right until the stars fall. What is God’s will for you in any situation: to do the right thing.

The Bible says in Proverbs 21:4, “An high look, and a proud heart, and the plowing of the wicked, is sin.” There are other sins in addition to breaking one of the Ten Commandments. One of the sins is pride. It is amazing that people can be so full of pride when they have nothing to be arrogant about. All are sinners. Any ability that you have is the result of a gift from God, and therefore God should receive the praise for it. Pride is being centered on man instead of on Jesus Christ, and that includes being centered upon yourself. That is why it says that even “the plowing of the wicked, is sin.” Any activity that is undertaken without trusting in the Lord, and relying upon the Lord, and dedicating the activity to the glory of the Lord, is a sinful activity. It is in part a violation of the first of the Ten Commandments where God said to mankind: “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” If you do not knowingly join with God in your activities, then you are in effect opposing God. You are going against God’s will for mankind. God’s will and desire is for every person to know Jesus as Savior and to serve Him. If you are not walking in fellowship with Christ, then you are living in sin.

The Bible says in Proverbs 21:5, “The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness; but of every one that is hasty only to want.” This verse is much more than an encouragement to be a good worker. It also tells us where right actions come from. Actions come from the mind. “The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness…” Before every deed is a thought. Think the right thoughts and you will have the right actions. That is one of the values of the Bible. The Bible is God’s Word, and thus the Bible gives us God’s thoughts. Memorize Bible verses, read the Bible, listen to sermons from the Bible, and think about the Bible. If you know Jesus as Savior, and can properly interpret the written Word by the indwelling Holy Spirit, then your life can be transformed by Him.

We also need to talk about the last part of verse 5: “but of every one that is hasty only to want.” This particular verse does not talk about lazy people ending up poor, even though that will happen to lazy people. This verse talks about “hasty” people being in need. Someone who is hasty is in a hurry. They might not be lazy and they might be expending a lot of energy, but they are in too big of a hurry. God is going to take all eternity to fulfil His plans. Slow down. Think things through. Plan properly. And once you start an endeavor, give proper attention to the details. Do not rush. Someone pointed out that Jesus was never in a hurry, and He had the most important work of anyone to accomplish.

The Bible says in Proverbs 21:6, “The getting of treasures by a lying tongue is vanity tossed to and fro of them that seek death.” This verse speaks against two bad behaviors (sins): lying and materialism. Why do people lie? One reason that they lie is because they think they will benefit from lying. They are wrong, but that is what they think. People want extra money so badly that they are willing to lie in order to get it. They will not get the results that they wanted because God is Judge. God wants us to be spiritually-minded, not materially-minded; and God wants us to tell the truth because Jesus is Truth. Material possessions may come our way in abundance through work or other honest means, and there is nothing wrong with that. Of course, we will be responsible for how we use those possessions. Hopefully, God will give us grace and wisdom to use our material possessions for His glory.

The Bible says in Proverbs 21:7, “The robbery of the wicked shall destroy them; because they refuse to do judgment.” Thieves are wicked people. They do not respect God because they are constantly breaking God’s commandment that says, “Thou shalt not steal.” Thieves do not respect their fellow human beings either because they willingly take someone else’s things. Thieves violate other peoples’ space and other peoples’ rights. Thieves lust for and desire what is not theirs. And so thieves are very wicked indeed. Why do some people become thieves? One reason is that thieves have refused to do the right thing, and have chosen to do evil. They are not doing wrong because they are weak, but they are doing wrong because they have made a conscious decision to do evil.

God news. Every sinner can be saved from their sins and from a terrible destiny by repenting and turning to Jesus for forgiveness.

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