Wise Up: Proverbs 28
Proverbs 28 (NIV)
1 The wicked flee though no one pursues,
but the righteous are as bold as a lion.
2 When a country is rebellious, it has many rulers,
but a ruler with discernment and knowledge maintains order.
3 A ruler who oppresses the poor
is like a driving rain that leaves no crops.
4 Those who forsake instruction praise the wicked,
but those who heed it resist them.
5 Evildoers do not understand what is right,
but those who seek the Lord understand it fully.
6 Better the poor whose walk is blameless
than the rich whose ways are perverse.
7 A discerning son heeds instruction,
but a companion of gluttons disgraces his father.
8 Whoever increases wealth by taking interest or profit from the poor
amasses it for another, who will be kind to the poor.
9 If anyone turns a deaf ear to my instruction,
even their prayers are detestable.
10 Whoever leads the upright along an evil path
will fall into their own trap,
but the blameless will receive a good inheritance.
11 The rich are wise in their own eyes;
one who is poor and discerning sees how deluded they are.
12 When the righteous triumph, there is great elation;
but when the wicked rise to power, people go into hiding.
13 Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper,
but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.
14 Blessed is the one who always trembles before God,
but whoever hardens their heart falls into trouble.
15 Like a roaring lion or a charging bear
is a wicked ruler over a helpless people.
16 A tyrannical ruler practices extortion,
but one who hates ill-gotten gain will enjoy a long reign.
17 Anyone tormented by the guilt of murder
will seek refuge in the grave;
let no one hold them back.
18 The one whose walk is blameless is kept safe,
but the one whose ways are perverse will fall into the pit.
19 Those who work their land will have abundant food,
but those who chase fantasies will have their fill of poverty.
20 A faithful person will be richly blessed,
but one eager to get rich will not go unpunished.
21 To show partiality is not good—
yet a person will do wrong for a piece of bread.
22 The stingy are eager to get rich
and are unaware that poverty awaits them.
23 Whoever rebukes a person will in the end gain favor
rather than one who has a flattering tongue.
24 Whoever robs their father or mother
and says, “It’s not wrong,”
is partner to one who destroys.
25 The greedy stir up conflict,
but those who trust in the Lord will prosper.
26 Those who trust in themselves are fools,
but those who walk in wisdom are kept safe.
27 Those who give to the poor will lack nothing,
but those who close their eyes to them receive many curses.
28 When the wicked rise to power, people go into hiding;
but when the wicked perish, the righteous thrive.
13 Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper,
but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.
14 Blessed is the one who always trembles before God,
but whoever hardens their heart falls into trouble.
When we are not honest with ourselves and God about our sin, our hearts become calloused in that place, and we do fall into (even deeper) trouble. Though I have experienced His mercy time and time again, I still feel squirmy about giving Him full access to my messier parts. Crazy, right? He’s my only hope!
Still, I would rather tremble before God as He sanctifies me than tremble hiding in some dark corner.
It is crazy that we fear that vulnerability even with our creator. I too am guilty of it. Part of it for me though is I convince myself, at times, that this is too small for God! He has done so much let me handle this so I can take the burden off of him. While its noble in theory to try to repay God for Lifting my burdens and providing so much, it’s not my place to do so. He wants to help, to love, to bless and so on! You’re not alone in that though, part of it is I want to repay God and Part of it is this is too ugly God please Don’t look!
I find many times when I’m avoiding God because I don’t want Him to know I’m angry or grouchy etc. and then when I look into His loving face, he says I already know and I want to help. He really is amazing and wonderful.
Today my verse is 28:13
“You can’t whitewash your sins and get by with it, you find mercy by admitting and leaving them.” (Message)
This verse is asking me to be transparent and honest with myself and others. Letting go of the sin, the guilt, the shame, the dissappointment in myself that this is a continuing .
So yesterday I didn’t really want to comment on my verse and you will see why. But today after reading vs 13, I know I need to, so here I go.
Prov 27:15 “A nagging spouse is like the drip, drip, drip of a leaky faucet. You can’t turn it off, and you can’t get away from it.” So, that can be me. It’s not so much in what I’m saying, or nagging about, but more about my tone. That is where the major work in my life needs to be done, healing and freedom. So I am confessing it to you, my church family. Feel free to ask me how I am doing in this area and hold me accountable. My husband will appreciate my freedom in this area. :).
Good for you Debi. May your healing quickly appear!
Vs. 19
I want to work what I have and chase after the dreams God gives me. Although I seek wisdom to know which dreams are his. If he isn’t already at work, then I am just spinning my wheels and not going anywhere.
9 If anyone turns a deaf ear to my instruction, even their prayers are detestable.
This is a heavy one for me this morning. I have the kind of relationship with Christ where he is really honest and constantly speaks to me. I’ll have full on conversations with him especially when he is asking or urging me to do something that I don’t want to do. Think of an argument between yourself and your parent! It’s a blessing to have God communicate with me in such a familiar way. But man the warning in the above passage… There are many times where I put my earplugs in and ignore our Heavenly Father. To think that in doing so my prayers become detestable is very frightening. What a lonely feeling brought on by my own actions, or lack there of. Thank God we Have a loving father and a forgiving one to boot!
I agree…….I have the same relationship and it’s hard for me sometimes to surrender and listen. Then if I don’t want to do what is asked, then I avoid praying or speaking with him. This is very heavy for me as that makes any prayers after that detestable. Thank you Jesus, for loving me unconditionally, being there for me even when I don’t listen and to continually guide me.
This is the same verse that stood out to me Anthony. “9 If anyone turns a deaf ear to my instruction, even their prayers are detestable.” It is far too easy for me to get up in the morning and be completely caught up in busyness, noise, news, fix-its. Looking for, wanting to hear the Lord’s instruction takes my desire to want to be in fellowship with Him at all times and in all places, wanting to hear his instruction for me. What a blessing it is for me when I get it right and no wonder why turning a deaf ear to the Lords instruction makes prayers detestable to Him, to only hear from his children when they have a need.
I like to think of it in light of my relationship with my grandson. Sometimes I am trying to communicate something to him and he just ignores my words and goes off on his own tangents. It all stop there because of the break in communication. I tell him as soon as we can talk about what I was saying, I will be glad to listen to everything he wants to tell me.
26 Those who trust in themselves are fools,
but those who walk in wisdom are kept safe.
Leaning on my own understanding (Prov. 3:5) has led me down the wrong road in the past. I pray for a renewed mind seeking His wisdom.
Rob: this is the first time I’ve gotten to read some of our blogs (from Hume). I am so inspired by your thoughts and others. Thank you for the true words!
As I read this chapter verse 3 stands out to me: 3 A ruler who oppresses the poor is like a driving rain that leaves no crops.
I think this has applied to me when I was in a management position. How I treated people that reported to me had a huge impact on their productivity and happiness.
V. 26 Those who trust in themselves are fools,
but those who walk in wisdom are kept safe.
This ties so well with the other verses, including 13 that also stood out to me.
God is our loving Father who longs for us to acknowledge and live by the wisdom He tries to give. If I trust in myself above God, I am essentially taking Him of His throne.
I pray I will be receptive to His loving kindness and listen to His call and daily direction, that I would surrender myself wholly to the One who surrendered Himself for me!
13 Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper,
but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.
Too often we feel “if no one knows” then that makes it ok. We are only fooling ourselves because our Father knows and His judgement is the only one that matters. I’ve done a lot of things in my past for which I am ashamed but I gave them all to our Lord years ago and continue to give Him all my shortcomings and because of this He fills me with His peace and joy to move forward.
vs. 23 Whoever rebukes a person will in the end gain favor rather than one who has a flattering tongue.
I want to be a person who can tell the truth in love, but I struggle with it. I also want to hear the truth when I need to. This is a good reminder that good comes out of truth-telling, whether I’m the rebuker or the rebukee.
True Dat!
How refreshing it is to have relationships where you know that you value each other and feel to give and receive correction.
26 Those who trust in themselves are fools,
but those who walk in wisdom are kept safe.
There is no battle for control, God is always in control. I need to remind myself that constantly. My trust and faith can’t be in myself but rather in our provider.
Proverbs 28:19 (ESV) ~ Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits will have plenty of poverty.
Wow! Priorities into perspective.
Proverbs 28:22 – The stingy are eager to get rich
and are unaware that poverty awaits them.
I cannot think of a better new testament companion than1 Timothy 6:9-10, where Paul tells us, “Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”
I want to live a life where I do nothing from selfishness, but regard others as more important than myself; where I do not merely look out for my own interests, but also for the interests of others.
Verse 1 the second half touched my heart
But the righteous are as bold as lions
I long to be so confidently aware of Abba’s presence with me
at All times that I am bold as a lion, unafraid to speak or do anything
Abba asks of me.
Evildoers do not understand what is right,
but those who seek the Lord understand it fully. I love how I can understand the scriptures now that I seek the Lord. Before I became a believer, I would try to read the Bible and it didn’t make any sense to me. Now it is alive and I understand it more fully each day! Thank you Jesus!
If anyone turns a deaf ear to my instruction, even their prayers are detestable .
Wow…. I pray that I hear and follow what God wants for me.❤️
26 Those who trust in themselves are fools,
but those who walk in wisdom are kept safe.
This one stood out right away.
From the moment I wake I am faced with decisions, choices, options of how I am going to live that day.
Some are menial (what am I going to wear), some are bigger (how do I respond to the guy that cut me off), some are huge (how can I comfort my patient that is dying).
I don’t want to be in charge of the big ones. I want someone greater than me to guide me. Someone that knows the right path, the one that created the path.
I am so thankful that God gives us the option of following him, and I only need to ask for his wisdom, and then listen.
The trick is to shut myself up long enough to do that. There lies my struggle.
This was King David’s prayer;
Teach me how to live, O Lord.
Lead me along the right path,
for my enemies are waiting for me. – Ps. 27:11
He wasn’t perfect (sounds familiar), but he knew what to ask for…
Shaye: I love your thoughts on proverbs. Thank you for taking the time to share with us. These writings are my devotions at Hume Lake this week!
I am loving this study Britt, Proverbs are my favorite!
5 Evildoers do not understand what is right,
but those who seek the Lord understand it fully.
This jumped out at me. This really describes our world today.