Proverbs 12:2 ESV A good man obtains favor from the Lord, but a man of evil devices he condemns. [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs%2012&version=ESV] Good things for good people seems like an over-simplified, Sunday school moral, and when we put it that way, it is. The righteous, those who hold faith in God and seek to follow his…
Proverbs 12:1 ESV Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid. [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs%2012&version=ESV] Discipline and reproof are an essential part of any parent’s arsenal. When a kid throws a tantrum over not getting ice cream (incidentally launching his brussel sprouts in a parabolic arc towards the floor), his mother and father…
Proverbs 11:31 ESV If the righteous is repaid on earth, how much more the wicked and the sinner! [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs+11%3A31&version=ESV] God’s justice doesn’t always seem to work. From out finite, mortal perspectives, it seems like a rickety old coffee machine which only works when you kick it a few times and turn the dials juuuust…
Proverbs 11:30 ESV The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and whoever captures souls is wise. [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs+11%3A30&version=ESV] The good deeds of a man are a blessing upon that man and upon those around him (Gen. 22:18; 18:18-33). As this verse says, the fruit- the results- of the righteous man’s life is…
Proverbs 11:29 Whoever troubles his own household will inherit the wind, and the fool will be servant to the wise of heart. [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs+11%3A29&version=ESV] ‘Inheriting the wind’ seems a little bit excessive for such a minor offense as ‘troubling your household’. This word for ‘trouble’ however, is another form of the word used for Achan…
Proverbs 11:28 Whoever trusts in his righteousness will fall, but the righteous will flourish like a green leaf. [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs+11%3A28&version=ESV] Many men trust in their own righteousness. They say that they do good works for the poor, that they have never been rude, and that no man can hold anything they’ve done against them. These…
Proverbs 11:27 ESV Whoever diligently seeks good seeks favor, but evil comes to him who searches for it. [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs+11%3A27&version=ESV] In searching for God, man not only fulfills his duty but brings himself much benefit. When he searches for trouble, though, he will find it. He will not usually like the results of finding it.…
Proverbs 11:26 ESV The people curse him who holds back grain, but a blessing is on the head of him who sells it. [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs+11%3A26&version=ESV] Not every verse in Proverbs is a moral admonition. Some, like this verse, are intended to teach the read about the way the world really works. After all, just as a…
Proverbs 11:25 ESV Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered. [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs+11%3A25&version=ESV] This verse continues the theme of the last (LINK): the man who blesses another will be blessed by the Lord. The focus of verse 25, however, is on the spiritual as much as the physical. The most…
Proverbs 11:25 ESV Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered. [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs+11%3A25&version=ESV] This verse continues the theme of the last (LINK): the man who blesses another will be blessed by the Lord. The focus of verse 25, however, is on the spiritual as much as the physical. The…