Proverbs 18
Proverbs 18
New King James Version (NKJV)
1 A man who isolates himself seeks his own desire;
He rages against all wise judgment.
2 A fool has no delight in understanding,
But in expressing his own heart.
3 When the wicked comes, contempt comes also;
And with dishonor comes reproach.
4 The words of a man’s mouth are deep waters;
The wellspring of wisdom is a flowing brook.
5 It is not good to show partiality to the wicked,
Or to overthrow the righteous in judgment.
6 A fool’s lips enter into contention,
And his mouth calls for blows.
7 A fool’s mouth is his destruction,
And his lips are the snare of his soul.
8 The words of a talebearer are like tasty trifles,
And they go down into the inmost body.
9 He who is slothful in his work
Is a brother to him who is a great destroyer.
10 The name of the LORD is a strong tower;
The righteous run to it and are safe.
11 The rich man’s wealth is his strong city,
And like a high wall in his own esteem.
12 Before destruction the heart of a man is haughty,
And before honor is humility.
13 He who answers a matter before he hears it,
It is folly and shame to him.
14 The spirit of a man will sustain him in sickness,
But who can bear a broken spirit?
15 The heart of the prudent acquires knowledge,
And the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.
16 A man’s gift makes room for him,
And brings him before great men.
17 The first one to plead his cause seems right,
Until his neighbor comes and examines him.
18 Casting lots causes contentions to cease,
And keeps the mighty apart.
19 A brother offended is harder to win than a strong city,
And contentions are like the bars of a castle.
20 A man’s stomach shall be satisfied from the fruit of his mouth;
From the produce of his lips he shall be filled.
21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue,
And those who love it will eat its fruit.
22 He who finds a wife finds a good thing,
And obtains favor from the LORD.
23 The poor man uses entreaties,
But the rich answers roughly.
24 A man who has friends must himself be friendly,
But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
My Thoughts:
- So let’s start with (v. 18) we read “A man who isolates himself seeks his own desire; He rages against all wise judgment?”
- The fool will separate himself from others because he believes that he is superior to everyone. Glorification of oneself will never he him gain wisdom (Ezek. 14:7; Heb. 10:25).
- In (v. 21) we read “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit”
- Here is something I found out just a few weeks ago; Cranes in the Taurus Mountains of Turkey tend to cackle a lot, especially while flying. And the eagles here this noise and swoop down and eat the cranes. But the older cranes avoid this by picking up stones to fill their mouths. This stops them from cackling and from becoming lunch for the eagles. I know many people that could learn for this technique; if so many of us would just put a stone in our mouths we would be much better off.
- Here is a very good poem to live by; help me watch the words I say and keep them few and sweet, for I don’t know from day to day which ones I’ll have to eat.
- And we will finish today with (v.22) “He who finds a wife finds a good thing, and obtains favor from the LORD”
- If someone is thinking of marriage or even dating the first thing they should do is look to God for guidance. Every Christian must ask themselves if this relationship can and will glorify God. I cannot tell you how many people tell me that they know that they would have been happier if they would have just ask for help in this matter. Many times we choose for ourselves whom to marry and forget to ask God. Any relationship that glorifies God will receive His blessing, but the key is put God in your lives first and pray together often.
Thought of the Day
It is easy to boast of what we are or are not; but the real question is as to what others think of us. A Christian lady told me that a little time ago she went to a meeting where one after another arose to say how long they had been without sin. When an opportunity was given, she asked simply if they might be allowed to hear something from those who had lived with the persons that had been so loudly expressing themselves; because she said that she had observed that the opinions of those who shared the same room or home as Christian professors were apt to vary greatly from those of the professors themselves.
It is a grave question for us all — what do our neighbors and associates think of us? Would they credit us with the highest attainments in Christian living? Would they concede the reality and beauty of our characters? After all, may not we be mistaking our ideals for our attainments, and judging ourselves by a lower standard than we apply to others? Might not our wives and sisters, our husbands and brothers, search us! It is so much easier to plead our own cause in a meeting than to stand clear in the searching scrutiny of the home.
And if our neighbors search us, what does God think of us as the fierce light of his eyes scans no and reads our deepest secrets? What should we do were it not for the Blood of Christ? I used to hesitate once to call myself a miserable sinner; but as I know myself better, I begin to feel that it is a reasonable designation. That is what we are by nature, though we have been made by divine grace, children, heirs, joint-heirs with Christ. Job, the righteous man, confessed himself vile when God’s light revealed him.
Personal Reflection and Discussion
- What do you think (v. 10) is saying?
- What other things do you see in the text?
Prayer Activities
- Call your Partner and discuss this devotional.
- Continue to have a prayer list and continue to praying for them.
- Pray with them and ask for the following;
- For God to fill our mouths with stones when needed.
- For God to walk with us in all our relationships.
- For the individuals on your pray list.
- Let’s use (Rev. 21:6) for today’s prayer verse.
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This chapter is very interesting and speak to us at these moments. We are in time in history where our society has trained us to speak up and never shut up. I had an opportunity to visit with a very successful person a few weeks back and he told me something that really surprised me. He told me in every conversation you have to always look for that opportunity to shut up and listen. Talking less is very important and listening more is very profitable. We need to ask God to help us, whenever we utter any word be a word that glorifies him.
Welcome back Joseph, and yes I could not agree more.
Joseph I agree with your comment. So many times we talk just to hear ourselves, because 9 times out of ten we are the only ones listening to ourselves. Many times, ( and it should be many times more) I have to pray for the Holy Spirit to keep my mouth shut so I may listen or so I don’t say something foolish. At first it was really hard but it is getting easier. I am still in need of a lot of prayer for this problem and other problems too. As in Bobby’s thoughts for the day, I have come to realize that I am in no way even close to perfect. I am a sinner of the worst kind. I need the Lord to save me for only through His grace and His blood do I have any hope. In Desire of Ages, Ellen White talks of verse 10. She says “We cannot save ourselves from the tempter’s power. He has conquered humanity, and when we try to stand in our own strenght, we shall become prey to his devices” She goes on to say that satan trembles and flees before the weakest soul who finds refuge in the mighty name of the Lord. Thank God for that promise because I am one of the weakest but I know that Jesus will carry me when it is needed.
Rosi, perfection comes through His grace. No one of us can be able to stand and say i am perfect but we can claim it if He abide in us and we abide in him through daily confession. I had a conversation last night with an individual and she told me that there are moments she feels OK and maybe that is the time the devil is a sleep. Though it sounded funny but i told her the devil don’t sleep he has less time left. Brothers and sister we know the powers of darkness are out there, lets all be on gourd.
You are so right about the Devil, with everything going on around the world today I think that he is on overdrive.
We are all sinners but through Christ we are cleansed. Even Paul said he was a he was a wretched sinner in (Romans 7:24) if an Apostle is that bad what hope do we have? Jesus Christ.
I do agree sometimes people could talk too much and really not be listening at all. We see this alot in our society; but we also see we’re in a Laodicea stage. We’re half-asleep. We must be talking in our sleep. Too much talk and not enough walk. Normally quiet or submissive individuals once called to actions, turns the most heads and cause the most change. Look at Rose Parks, Martin Luther King, or earlier reformers like Martin Luther, Jesus and Gideon to name a few. There is a time for everything; not everything all the time. A time to sit, listen, and learn, and a time to stand-up, talk, and teach.
I think you are right; we all have our 15 minutes we need to be up in front. The only issue is we do not want to let go of that moment.