There’s a lot here. The explanations provided are to help with any verses you may have trouble understanding. Please use it as a resource as you read the passage and try not to feel overwhelmed! Maybe check out 12:20-21, and 13:22-23.
(12:1) The purpose of reproof, rebuke, or discipline should be instruction, and we should want instruction in our lives. We should desire to learn to do what is right! When we don’t do what is right, the consequences catch up with all of us, both the righteous and the wicked.
(12:2) We establish ourselves in God’s kingdom by following Him. Whether we think, plan, or daydream, our thoughts should be about good and godly things. Only then will we grow!
(12:4) It would be very easy to read our culture back into verse 4, but we need to remember something very important. Much of Proverbs is written like a message from a father to a son. It’s only natural that the proverb should read like it does! The important message is that we need to be careful who we marry. Since we become one flesh, whatever one partner does affects the other. The message for those of us who are married is to make sure we live in such a way that others say, “What a lucky girl/guy!”
(12:5) The righteous think right and convey that right thinking to others. When we seek advice we need to make sure that we seek out the righteous, because the counsel of the wicked is fraudulent. It may sound good at the beginning, but it ends up being wrong and rotten!
(12:6-7) Words can hurt. Gossip, slander, hateful speech, lies…the list can go on and on. The upright are careful with their words. They avoid the bad and stick to the good! Ultimately, those who choose to be hateful and bitter will be judged, both in this life and in the life to come. We show whose we are by how we behave!
(12:8) Normally, if you do good you are respected, and if you do evil you are disliked. However, in the world we live in we often find it reversed! That’s because the culture is anti-God and unbiblical. When we want to know how to live, we need to make sure that we look to the Bible and to the righteous for guidance.
(12:9) Humility goes a long way in this world. I’ve known people who felt that they were too good for certain jobs. Inevitably they ended up struggling, while those who were willing to work ended up doing much better.
(12:10) Mercy works itself out in the life of a Christian by being kind to animals as well. Don’t beat the livestock! By showing mercy to animals we are like God, since God loves all His creation. But, even when acknowledging that, we recognize that mankind is the most precious of all His works.
(12:11) You can have some fun in life, but if you neglect your work you’ll starve!
(12:12) The wicked desire to do wicked deeds and to gain from wickedness, but their gain is ultimately loss. The righteous want to do what is right, and it leads to growth and blessing.
(12:13) There are a lot of Proverbs about the mouth, because our mouths cause us a lot of trouble. Ever been caught in a lie? Then don’t lie! Use your mouth to speak wisdom, truth, and to build others up.
(12:14-15) Building others up with your words will bring satisfaction when you see the good that you have done. The same can be said of the good results that come from work, but could even more be going on here? Those who believe in “karma” think that what you do/accomplish on this earth affects your return, i.e. reincarnation. Although believers understand the wrong thinking behind that philosophy, there is a type of “karma” that happens in our lives. The way God made this world there is a certain “reciprocity” that takes place:
Job 4:8 (WEB) “According to what I have seen, those who plow iniquity and sow trouble, reap the same.”
So, whatever good or bad that you do, you can expect a certain amount of it in return, even if it’s only in the way others respond to you. If you’re smart, you’ll listen to this advice and try to do good. However, if you aren’t willing to listen to others, you’re just a fool and you’ll end up sowing trouble!
(12:16) When a fool gets upset, he lets everyone know it. In contrast, someone who is clever keeps things to themselves.
(12:17) Do you want to be a faithful witness or a false witness? The answer is simple. Speak the truth and stay out of trouble!
(12:18-19) We see here perhaps the strongest words yet on the power of our words/mouth/tongue. We need to think before we speak, otherwise our words are destructive. We need to use our words for good, not evil! One way we do that is by speaking the truth. Truthfulness is one of the hallmarks of the godly. One way we use the truth to promote healing is by sharing the gospel of truth!
(12:20-21) I think that we’ve covered this before, but it’s important to say again. Proverbs are not promises, they are probabilities. They are things that are most likely to be true, and we can usually see how they would come to pass. If you steal, say nasty things about others, or commit adultery, you have a much greater chance of problems in your life! Conversely, if you don’t, your life will be better because of all the trouble you avoid. When we read, “no mischief shall happen,” we understand that to be a statement of what is most likely to happen, not an absolute promise. If we take it as a promise, we’ll either be very frustrated when bad things happen to us that we don’t think are deserved, or we’ll be constantly examining our lives with a microscope trying to find out why we’re being punished. So, having said that, what do we have here? If we promote peace and try to get along with others, we’re much more likely to have joy in our lives. If we try to deceive others and plot against them, it will probably bring calamity into our lives. If we’re honest, we can see how both are true, even if God doesn’t intervene directly!
(12:22-23) As we’re going to see repeatedly in Proverbs, we shouldn’t speak when we don’t know what we’re talking about. Sometimes we seem the wisest when we say the least! But when we do speak, we should always be honest and faithful. Gossip, slander, and lying are evil and an abomination before God.
(12:24) In general, industry is rewarded, while laziness isn’t. But punished with forced labor? Well, if you’re lazy enough to look for a shortcut like stealing, forced labor is where you will end up!
(12:25) Anxiety, worry, and stress have all been scientifically shown to have negative effects on the body. Did we really need science to teach us that?!?!?! We all need the hope and help that kind, gentle, or encouraging words can bring. We may not always get it from others, but we can always look to God’s Word to find comfort, guidance, hope and joy.
(12:26) Who we choose as friends is vital. Those closest to us have a profound influence on our lives. While we certainly should try to reach out to the unrighteous, we should make sure that we surround ourselves with and listen to godly people, otherwise we can be led astray. Led astray to sin. Led astray in our spiritual understanding
(12:27) Laziness can lead to hunger. If we don’t work, we won’t have! We won’t have food. We won’t have possessions. We won’t have a home. Those things come from industry.
(12:28) Once again we can see an earthly as well as a spiritual application here. Do good, stay out of trouble, and you have a better life! Do bad, get in trouble, and serious enough trouble leads to death. But the “way of righteousness” should remind us of Jesus, who died on the cross so that He could be our righteousness and we could have spiritual life through Him!
(13:1) A wise child will understand the practical and spiritual warnings that come from physical or spiritual parents and pay attention. A foolish child refuses to listen and makes fun of godly wisdom.
(13:2-3) What comes out of your mouth comes from within. Good begets good. A good heart brings forth good speech which brings good outcomes. A bad heart brings forth bad speech and brings rotten results. And sometimes the smartest thing to do is to keep your mouth shut! A wise person knows when to speak and when not to, thereby bringing life and not ruin.
(13:4-5) It doesn’t matter how much you want something if you aren’t willing to work for it! Unfortunately, your desire could drive you to do something wrong or illegal, which means that you may get rewarded initially, but you will end up a “shameful disgrace” with nothing to show for it. The diligent get what they desire because they are willing to work for it, and they don’t engage in anything “false” to get it.
(13:6-7) Poor and rich is about more than money. Spiritual wealth is much more important than material possessions, and spiritual riches start with a relationship with Jesus Christ! Trusting in riches is a form of wickedness and it leads to sin, while living with integrity and trusting and following God brings righteousness.
(13:8-9) There are some advantages to being poor – you’ll never have to worry about being kidnapped! The underlying idea is that rich people have problems too, sometimes even greater problems than the poor. Wealth doesn’t solve everything. That’s why righteousness is so important. When we have a right relationship with God it leads to wisdom, peace and joy. Wickedness leads to darkness, both literally (perhaps through idleness) and figuratively (because of the end result of refusing to follow God).
(13:10) You’re smart if you listen to and are willing to take advice. You’re dumb if you don’t. And it’s worse than that. If you refuse to listen to others it often leads to discord and dissension.
(13:11) How many lottery winners do you know that continue to grow a fortune and end up business tycoons? Most stories revolve around how a person won millions of dollars and ended up squandering it. Riches gained quickly are often lost, but money earned slowly can be easier to hold on to, most likely because of the work that went into gaining it!
(13:12-13) Hope is powerful. Hope makes is possible for us to carry on, even in difficult circumstances. Thank God that we have hope because of our relationship with Jesus Christ! We know that there is greater and better to come. And the hope that we hold on to is given to us through the Word of God. Without the Word we wouldn’t know about Jesus. Without the Word we wouldn’t know the promise of our future inheritance. Without the Word we wouldn’t have hope! We need to read the Word. We need to love the Word. We need to obey the Word. Without it, we face despair and destruction.
(13:14-15) When you give wise advice, people appreciate you. When you listen to good advice, it makes your life better. When you follow bad advice, watch out!
(13:16) The Hebrew word underlying “prudent” means to be cunning or clever. If you gather wisdom and act on it then you’ll look smart. However, it’s very easy to tell when a person is unwilling to listen to good advice or act upon it. They do dumb things!
(13:17) Imagine a ruler sends a message, only to have the wrong message arrive or to not have a message arrive at all. Disaster! A faithful messenger makes sure the correct message gets there, which is vital for the health and well-being of the community. In our own lives it speaks to the importance of making sure we pass on correct information. It is also a reminder of the importance of being a faithful envoy for the King of Kings and Lord of Lords! We need to live the way He wants us to live and speak the truth He wants us to share.
(13:18) If you accept advice and instruction you are much more likely to end up with a life that is honored and blessed. If you don’t, you’re going to end up in trouble!
(13:19) The righteous desire what is good, and the blessing that follows is “sweet to the soul.” A fool won’t listen, won’t follow, won’t turn away from evil, and will never experience that sweetness. In fact, a fool is so warped in their thinking that they actually abhor turning away from evil. What an indictment!
(13:20-21) We become like those we hang around, which is why we have to be careful. That doesn’t mean that we can’t be a witness to others, but we have to be sure that we are influencing them, and not the other way around! We want to experience good (prosperity), not evil (misfortune).
(13:22-23) There are multiple ways these proverbs could be understood. The first proverb probably isn’t simply referring to the idea that we should make sure that we leave something for our children. The principle behind it is probably the idea of industry again. If you work hard, all things being equal, you’ll do well and end up leaving an inheritance. Those that don’t work, or perhaps engage in illicit activities, won’t have anything to leave behind, or will end up with what they do have being taken away. Unfortunately, all things are not equal. A poor person could work hard, be righteous, and someone could come along who is unjust and take it all away. That’s why proverbs are probabilities. They even warn us that things don’t always work out in this life. An alternative view is that, if you work hard, you end up with abundant food. However, the evil person may find that God takes his away. And, as part of the retribution, God gives it to those who are righteous. Finally, there may also be a spiritual component at work here. A good person leaves a moral inheritance to their children and grandchildren. An evil person doesn’t, and the lessons that are supposed to be learned by their offspring are never learned. That “inheritance” of learning goes to the offspring of the righteous!
(13:24) Without getting into a big discussion about corporal punishment, the issue in verse 24 is discipline, which is made clear in the second half of the verse. If we aren’t willing to discipline our children, we don’t love them, because we aren’t helping them prepare for life. When we discipline our children, we show them the difference between right and wrong, and the fact that there are consequences for actions. Hebrews even uses the issue of discipline to show that God is our Father and that He loves us!
(13:25) The righteous will be taken care of either because of their good morals and habits, or because God is the one taking care of them. The wicked come up empty!
Thought for the day: Again, proverbs are probabilities. But very great probabilities. You’ll have a much better life if you listen to good advice.
Proverbs 1:8-9 (WEB) “My son, listen to your father’s instruction, and don’t forsake your mother’s teaching; for they will be a garland to grace your head, and chains around your neck.”
AMEN!