Proverbs 29:13

The Bible says in Proverbs 29:13, “The poor and the deceitful man meet together: the Lord lighteneth both their eyes.” The Bible is the greatest book on equality that has ever been written. What does this verse say that is common between all human beings? The Lord “lighteneth” their eyes. God gives truth, some truth, to all human beings whether they are rich or poor. In the age in which we live Jesus Christ is the Light. It says about Jesus in John 1:9, “That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” The question that will determine every person’s eternal destiny is: how did you respond to the Light that was given to you. The measure of your opportunity is the measure of your responsibility. There is one thing that is true about every person on this earth whether they are poor or whether they are rich and deceitful: God has given each some light.

The Bible says in Proverbs 29:14, “The king that faithfully judges the poor, his throne shall be established forever.” Most leaders in the history of the world have been wicked and corrupt. “Power corrupts” is a common saying. And so if you have a ruler who truly cares about the poor and treats them properly, God notices. God sees. God judges. God raises up and casts down. God is at the top of the hierarchy. God can change leaders in any country at any time. A wise leader will trust in God to protect him and his role of responsibility. Go can protect no matter how many are the enemies. God is over all.

The Bible says in Proverbs 29:15, “The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.” Children need correction because they have the selfish nature that we all have. Two types of correction are mentioned in this Old Testament verse: “The rod and reproof.” Each parent will need wisdom to know what correction to give and when. Be careful. Sometimes all that is needed is reproof which is verbal only. The New Testament never mentions corporal punishment as recommended. For example, it says in Ephesians 6:4, “And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.” “Nurture and admonition” refer to teaching children. Do not be too harsh. A parent needs to be a teacher. That means knowing what to say and when to say it to children.

The Bible says in Proverbs 29:16, “When the wicked are multiplied, transgression increaseth: but the righteous shall see their fall.” Sin is like a cancer. One sinful person begets others because human beings are often like sheep and are followers. The old saying is: one rotten apple spoils the whole barrel. That is one reason that we have so much wickedness in our land. Hollywood is not innocent here. In many of their movies they have presented wicked lifestyles and glorified them. They have reveled in sin, and many citizens have been influenced by the transgressions of Hollywood, and the wicked ones have multiplied in our land. Of course, we know the final ending. “the righteous shall see their fall.” We do not gloat over them because we know what terrible fate awaits them. We will continue to pray for them.

The Bible says in Proverbs 29:17, “Correct thy son, and he shall give thee rest; yea, he shall give delight unto thy soul.” There are several verses in Proverbs about correcting children. Children need to be corrected to help keep them on the right path in life, and to help them avoid the excesses of human nature. Of course, children will grow up and make their own decisions. They always have their own free will no matter what the parents do. That is why also in Proverbs there is a constant plea of a father to the son hoping that the son will make right decisions and follow the parents’ teachings. For example, Proverbs 1:8-10 says, “My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother:[9] For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck.[10] My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.” When a child receives the proper correction and instruction from the parents, and when the child also makes good decisions growing up, there will be one result for the parent: “he shall give delight unto thy soul.”

The Bible says in Proverbs 29:18, “Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.” The word “vision” means “revelation.” In this context it refers to revelation from God. Human beings are not just flesh and blood. We are also soul and spirit. Food for the soul comes from the Word of God, and the Word of God was given by divine revelation. The importance of having the Word of God as part of your daily life cannot be over-emphasized. You will “perish” without it. You will grow weak, and you will languish spiritually, and you will die spiritually speaking. Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” There are benefits in this life to being a Christian and following the Lord and obeying Him: one of those benefits is happiness. No one will ever be happy without serving the Lord Jesus. That is why we were born. We were born to serve the Lord.

The Bible says in Proverbs 29:19, “A servant will not be corrected by words: for though he understand he will not answer.” Sometimes words are not enough to get the result that you want. Sometimes the leader will have to do something to change things. Servants and workers and those under authority can get into a rut, and a culture gets created that will not budge. Only the leader can make the necessary changes. It takes wisdom to know what to change and when.

The Bible says in Proverbs 29:20, “Seest thou a man that is hasty in his words? there is more hope of a fool than of him.” This is another of the many verses in the Bible that tell believers to be careful what we say. Words can do a lot of good, but they can also do a lot of evil. Jesus also told us to be careful what we say. Jesus said in Matthew 5:37, “But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.”

The Bible says in Proverbs 29:21, “He that delicately bringeth up his servant from a child shall have him become his son at the length.” This verse reminds us that you can have the closest of family relationships without it being a blood relationship. God may not give you children, or He might take away the ones that you had, but He can give you other children that might even be closer to you than your very own were. Every child deserves a loving parent, whether it be the blood-related ones or not. Interesting that verse 21 says, “delicately bringeth up his servant from a child.” Whatever you do, if you have children under your care, avoid being too harsh with them.

The Bible says in Proverbs 29:22, “An angry man stirreth up strife, and a furious man aboundeth in transgression.” There are many negatives to being an angry person. This verse mentions two of the negatives. An angry man “stirreth up strife.” We need people to get along and to be able to work together. We need harmony in a family, in a neighborhood, and in a nation. Anger will destroy relationships. Anger will also cause people to commit even more sins. Anger is like a drug that makes people stop thinking and lose control of their actions. Anger is the foundation for one of the greatest sins: murder. Jesus said in Matthew 5:21-22, “Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:[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.” The word “raca” means “worthless.” That is what blacks do who are racist against whites, and what whites do who are racists against blacks. Jesus said that is the same as murder in God’s eyes, and will be punished with the same judgment in hell.

The Bible says in Proverbs 29:23, “A man’s pride shall bring him low: but honor shall uphold the humble in spirit.” This is another verse of many verses in Proverbs that warn us about human pride. Some things in the Bible present ideas that are in direct contrast to what comes naturally to human beings. It has to do with the difference between the natural man and the spiritual man. It should be easy for a Christian to be humble. We know that we are sinners, and it is only by the grace of God that we are forgiven and on our way to heaven. We know that we are weak and easily fail the Lord. We know that we deserve to be punished by the holiness of God, but we never will be. Therefore, why should we be offended if some human offends us or insults us or is against us? We have nothing to be proud about. If we do learn to be humble, instead of it being a sign of weakness, we will actually be honored for it. People will notice because they know that true humility is rarely seen among the children of men. They will honor you, and it will be part of your testimony in Christ.

The Bible says in Proverbs 29:24, “Whoso is partner with a thief hateth his own soul: he heareth cursing, and bewrayeth it not.” This verse is one of many about the importance of having the right kind of separation from those who live wicked lives. We are social creatures, and we are like sheep. We easily follow others. There are many people who are in jail for one main reason: something happened before they committed a particular crime. They got involved with the wrong people who led them astray. In this verse the wrong people are those who are thieves and those who curse. Those who are thieves commit great transgressions against the commandments of God. Jesus told us to love our neighbor as ourselves. The law tells us: thou shalt not steal. Someone who steals does a great harm to his neighbor. A thief not only steals his neighbor’s things, but also steals his neighbor’s peace of mind and his neighbor’s faith in his fellow man. A thief should be working to earn his own things.

Someone who curses a lot should also be avoided. If they cannot control their tongue, then they have not grown in life, and they do not understand what is important. A foul-mouthed person pollutes the environment with their words. Also, “from the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh.” Therefore, a foul-mouthed person is giving evidence of an evil heart. Do not allow such a person to be one of your best friends so that you will not follow their example. Of course, treat them with respect. Be a good example to them of how to speak.

The Bible says in Proverbs 29:25, “The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.” Some people do not come to Christ because they fear the opinion of man. That would be the worse “snare” of all. If you get past that fear because you fear your guilt and going to hell more, then you will be able to bow at the feet of the Lord Jesus and trust in Him to be your Savior. And if you do that, you will have the greatest of all safety: your soul will be saved, and you will live with Christ forever in heaven.

The Bible says in Proverbs 29:26, “Many seek the ruler’s favour; but every man’s judgment cometh from the Lord.” King Solomon certainly would have experienced personally the truth of the first part of this verse. No doubt “many” came to seek King Solomon’s favor. King Solomon must have thought: too bad these people do not seek the favor of the Lord. That is supposed to be the motivation of a Christian. Our souls are saved through faith in Christ and we will go to heaven, but one day we will be judged by Jesus in order to determine what our rewards will be. Seek God’s favor, not man’s. It says in First Corinthians 3:11-15, “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.[12] Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;[13] Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.[14] If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.[15] If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.” That is exactly what the Apostle Paul was striving for. What motivated Paul after Paul became a believer in Jesus Christ? Paul knew that the judgment of believers was coming, and Paul wanted to be rewarded at that judgment. You can feel the great relief when Paul came to the end of his life and was able to say in Second Timothy 4:6-8, “For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.[7] I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:[8] Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.”

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