Proverbs 24-25 — Walter Brubacker

Greetings in the name of Jesus. I welcome every visitor and all of us here. I pray that we're together because of Jesus and because of his love for us, coming down from heaven to teach us the ways to eternal life.

I just appreciate what's shared this morning. It's a subject that seems to be coming up more often. I was just going through my life a little bit and seeing all the times that I didn't have fellowship, I was continuing to look for it.

And yeah, sometimes I did move somewhere and then I moved away. I think I can say like Max said, that I was trying the best I knew, but it wasn't very much. And in the eyes of God, I don't know much at all yet.

I know a little more than I did back then, but it's not very much. But I wonder if the importance of desiring, I've wondered already if we have not much desire for fellowship, if that is an indication of being very lax in the spiritual part of respecting Christ.

I wonder if that would be part of just desiring. Any child of God would just desire to have that. There'd be a deep longing for that. And I appreciate what all the brothers shared. Adlai had intended to have something to share.

He hurt his back, and so you don't think he's going to be able to come. Why don't we stand for prayer? Our Heavenly Father, we thank you again for your great mercy to us and your kindness. And pray that you would open each one of our hearts to you and we can walk in your ways and learn of your ways and continue to strive.

And if we follow that, we can get up and continue on. We thank you for the hard times and the good times. Thank you for the hard times to keep us alive and keep us strong that we continue to be humbled.

We thank you. Bless each one here. Bless all those that are not here. And help us on this journey to eternity. In the name of Jesus, amen. So I'm going to do this and see how it goes. So I'm going to read two chapters, and I might make some of my comments on it.

Wisdom, Fellowship, and the Foundation of the House

And then I want all of you who wants to share something about it, just either write it down or remember it, and you all can be free to share about these two chapters. It's Proverbs 24 and 25. Do not envy the wicked, nor desire to be with them.

For their minds devise violence, and their lips talk of mischief. By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established. By knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches.

My thoughts went to our families, those of us that have families, that we build a house with understanding and have it established, and that the rooms be filled with precious and pleasant riches. My thoughts went to children, that the rooms can be filled with precious and pleasant children.

Wise warriors are mightier than strong ones, those who have knowledge than those who have strength. For by wise guidance you can wage your war, and in abundance of counselors there is victory. I can't think of what King James says, but I like this victory better.

It seemed to ring a chord in my heart that, you know, so we're all counselors, right? We all can counsel, we all have opinions, and hopefully we have wise counsel, and that we would have knowledge or wisdom.

But again, it's this picture of being separated, or being that we can actually, in being together there's more chance of victory. There's still risk involved, but there's, we have a, in abundance of counselors there's victory.

Wisdom is too high for fools. In the gate they do not open their mouths. Whoever plans to do evil will be called a mischief maker. The devising of folly is sin, and a scoffer is an abomination to all.

When we see somebody mocking somebody, or scoffing at them, or putting them down, I think that all is folly and a scoffer. It's an abomination. If you feign in the day of adversity, your strength being small.

Rescuing the Vulnerable and Standing Against Oppression

If you feign in the day of adversity, your strength being small. If you hold back from rescuing those taken away to death, those who go staggering to the slaughter, if you say, look, we did not know this, does not the one who weighs the heart perceive it?

Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it? And he will repay all according to their deeds. I think these four, three verses, three or two verses, or maybe these three are together very much. And we see somebody weak, suffering from the hands of somebody strong, whether with words or in person.

And we withhold from rescuing that. And we say, look, we didn't know this. We turn our face the other way. We don't want to notice. We don't want conflict. There's going to be conflict if we hold back, or rather if we get involved and do not help those that we know are being put down.

And it says here, and he will not repay all, and will he not repay all according to their deeds? I think that's the end of these verses. So we have to be strong. We have to be vigilant. My child, eat honey for it is good, and the drippings of the honeycomb are sweet to your taste.

Know that wisdom is such to your soul. If you find it, you will find a future, and your hope will not be cut off. So if we can find wisdom, we will have hope. Our hope will not be cut off, and we will find a future.

Perseverance Through Adversity

Do not lie and wait like an outlaw against the home of the righteous. This all kind of seems to be of the same message, like trying to make trouble. Do no violence to the place where the righteous live, for though they fall seven times, they will rise again.

But the wicked are overthrown by calamity. So the righteous, when they get into calamity, this gets into this part of being able to address problems that come along. This is something we need to strive for.

But if we get stumbled and we fall, or we help somebody to stumble and fall, they will rise again. Like there's some vision and wisdom that will go on through. But the wicked, something happens and they're overthrown.

They can't handle it. And earlier it said, in the day of adversity, or if we're weak, if we fall in the day of adversity, I just mentioned to the family lately that I'm seeing more and more that it does take adversity to keep us alive.

It is just something that we have to have. Without adversity, well, without wind, I thought maybe Max was going to say the water is nice and calm and he was talking about a sailboat. It doesn't go anywhere.

I thought that's what he was going to say. Then he said, well, it's in the harbor, so it's okay to be calm. But out in the ocean, no wind, they stay right there. They go nowhere, very little. And so without wind, without adversity, we die.

I'm not sure what it all means yet. It's kind of a, I'm just getting more grasped with that than I had in the past. Do not rejoice when your enemy falls and do not let your heart be glad when they stumble, or else the Lord will see it and be displeased and turn away His anger from them.

God is going to turn the tables, the way it looks to me, not be good. We think the enemy is having a hard time, and we rejoice in that, and God's going to turn His anger away from the enemy and be against us.

Reverence for Authority and Integrity in Judgment

Do not fret because of evildoers. Do not envy the wicked, for the evil have no future, and the lamb of the wicked will go out. My child, fear the Lord and the king, and do not disobey either of them, for disaster comes from them suddenly.

And who knows the ruin that both can bring? But he often brings up the point, we don't know kings. We don't know how kings operate. They just kind of do what they please. And if it's a good king, he'll have wisdom.

But if it's a bad king, he'll have bad things happening. And even if it's a good king, if we disobey them, we don't know what might happen. There was a queen in the Old Testament that got put out of her queen position because she disobeyed the king, and another was put in its place.

These are also the saying of the wise. Verse 23. Partiality in judging is not good. Many of these are just kind of plain encouragements. I don't know that showing partiality, there'd be many things could be said about that.

But it's not good to show partiality. Whoever says to the wicked, you are innocent will be cursed by the peoples, abhorred by nations. And those who rebuke the wicked will have delight and a blessing will come upon them.

One who gives an honest answer gives a kiss on the lips. Prepare your work outside and get everything ready for you in the field. After that, build your house. It seems like he's saying sometimes we want to have a nice place to move into, but we're not willing to give heed to what gives us substance or life or maybe even fit into the category of having a nice church, Utopia Church, and not realizing the work behind it.

There's other work that has to be done first. And like in the fields, if we first build a house come winter and we haven't planted anything, so guess what? We go hungry and we die that winter because we didn't have wisdom.

Honest Speech, Reconciliation, and Diligence

Do not be a witness against your neighbor without cause and do not deceive with your lips. Do not say, I will do to others as they have done to me. I will pay them back for what they have done. Here's an Old Testament teaching.

Do not say, I will do to others as they have done to me. I will pay them back for what they have done. I passed by the field of the one who was lazy by the vineyard of a stupid person and see it was all overgrown with thorns and the ground was covered with nettles and its stone walls were broken down.

Then I saw and considered it. I looked and received instruction. So he was considering this person and this is what he thought. A little sleep and a little slumber, a little folding of hands to rest and poverty will come upon you like a robber and one like an armed warrior.

These are the other Proverbs of Solomon. The officials of King Hezekiah and Judah copied. It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out. Like the heavens for the height, like the earth for death, so the mind of kings is unsearchable.

Refinement, Character, and Spiritual Growth

Take away the draws from the silver and the smith has material for a vessel. This is something God has to do to us all the time. Take away the draws from the silver and then the smith can make something beautiful.

If there's a chunk of slack or something in the silver, there'll be a hole in the bowl. When he beats it out, he needs pure silver. So when God has good soil to work with, we know that story of the sowing.

If we're rocky ground, we have no, God cannot work with that. There's a process. I'm not saying it all happens. It doesn't all happen at once. I have yet to find a man that jumped from being a wicked person to being completely whole and not go through a process of working.

I think one reason I've concluded that can't happen is because God is desiring character. He wants people that have substance and that's one way to have it. We're not puppets. We're not animals. He created us as human beings in his likeness and in his image and he wants us to be wise.

He wants us to be cultured. He wants us to make the right choices. So when there's too many, I don't know how to say this. This is also a process. One wicked person in the kingdom, is the kingdom going to fall?

Probably not. But when that continues and that continues and that continues, there's a time when that kingdom falls. And so take away the wicked from the presence of the king and his throne will be established in righteousness.

Humility, Private Correction, and Well-Chosen Words

Do not put yourself forward in the king's presence or stand in the place of the great for it's better to be told, come up here, than to be put lower than the presence of a noble. This is the teaching that Jesus gave as well.

We should not seek that top position. It's just so much better if somebody asks us to. If we have the patience, it'll happen. If we get impatient, we get that consequences and fruit as well. So it's better for people to say, come up here.

What your eyes have seen, do not hastily bring into court for what will you do in the end? When your neighbor puts you to shame, argue your cause, case with your neighbor directly and do not disclose another secret or else someone who hears you will bring shame upon you and your ill repute will have no end.

Now this is also a New Testament teaching. When we have a problem, that we go to that person, that neighbor directly. Not go telling all the rest of the people first. I'm not saying we can't ask counsel of somebody that I think could be wise.

Sometimes things happen and we don't know what to do or what should be done. I don't think it's wrong to ask counsel. But that's totally different than trying to spread something around. Totally different.

And all these, if you have thoughts, remember them. I'm not trying to, I'm just reading through this. A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver. This is something most of us can get better at, to have words fitly spoken at the right time.

Not too quick and not too long. That's, again, this nice tension that we need to live in. We can't quite relax because we just can't sit in the cave and we can't just go exploit ourselves. And this applies to many, many different principles.

I'm not intending to get into any of them, but like a gold ring or an ornament of gold is a wise rebuke to a listening ear. Here is an encouragement for the listeners. I'm not talking about you all, but for those that can hear, we can have gold rings and an ornament of gold, like a gold ring or an ornament of gold, gold gold, if we have a listening ear, to a rebuke.

This is pretty precious. Like the cold and the snow in the time of harvest are faithful messengers to those who sent them. They refresh the spirit of their masters. Like clouds and wind without rain is one who boasts of a gift never given.

With patience a ruler will be persuaded and his soft tongue can break bones. This is also something that I, you know, we can easily, maybe sometimes or maybe somebody we love, we just speak softly, but what about the person that aggravates us just a little bit?

Is our tongue still soft? And I think it's also indicating that a soft answer will have strength. I think that's what it's saying here. It's so strong it can break bones. Buddy had talked different times about our words and he didn't mention this one, but the strength of strength in our tongue, a soft answer doesn't sound very strong, but it breaks bones.

Temperance, Trustworthiness, and Guarding the Heart

If you have found honey eat only enough for you or else having too much you will vomit it. Honey is a very powerful food and eating too much you will vomit it. It's temperance. It's doing the right thing.

Let your foot be seldom in your neighbor's house otherwise the neighbor will become weary of you and hate you. Like a war club and a sword or a strong or a sharp arrow is the one who bears false witness against the neighbor.

Is witness not speaking again? It's like a war club and a sword or a sharp arrow. Very great weapons. It's the one who bears false witness against the neighbor. But we would all say we don't speak falseness about our neighbor.

Which one of us is guilty of being a false witness against our neighbor? We wouldn't do that. When we have a disagreement we tend to have a false witness. Somebody is going to have a false witness. Somebody is living in a false idea.

May the words of Jesus be our guide in that. I don't know what else to say. Maybe it's also the humility of being able to stop. Like a bad tooth or a lame foot is trust in your faithless person in a time of trouble.

Some of these are just so strong. We would like to think, I would like to think I should say that I'd be a faithful person in a time of trouble and people could trust me. But it's just a really bad thing if somebody we trust and is a faithless person in a time of trouble they disappear, they go away.

Like vinegar on a wound is the one who sings songs to a heavy heart. Like a moth in clothing or a worm in wood sorrow gnaws at the human heart. Is this encouraging us not to continue in sorrow but to forget, forgive?

Otherwise the sorrow continues to gnaw at us and gnaw at us. Finally, what do worms do in wood? They make a lot of little holes through it. Finally the wood becomes weak and crumbles. Or moth in clothing.

We don't have clothing as much anymore but in the older days they had to preserve their clothing over summer time or the worms ate it. Their clothing was that edible. Today we've got plastic the worms just find it hard to chew on or maybe they don't like it or maybe they can't digest it.

I'm not sure what their problem is but I guess I do know. I still remember the smell of moth balls. In my mom's chest, cedar chest. Cedar chest by itself somewhat had a purpose. Cedar chests were a real purpose.

They were not like something to show around. It was to save your clothes for the winter. On top of that they would also put this poison in there too. That smell of the moth ball because maybe the cedar wasn't enough or maybe they should have put cedar chips in or maybe it was just coming out of that face into something else.

Like wool would be in danger of being chewed on by the moth. But it says sorrow gnaws at the human heart that way. So when we just live in sorrow all the time it sounds like it's destroying. If your enemies are hungry give them bread to eat and if they are thirsty give them water to drink for you will heap coals of fire on their heads and the Lord will reward you.

This is a very New Testament teaching but it's from the Old. I'm not sure I don't quite get the idea how they practiced that. Like their enemies were often killed and it says when they're hungry give them bread and if they're thirsty give them water.

Peace, Contentiousness, and Standing for What Is Right

The north wind produces rain and a backbiting tongue angry looks. It is better to live in a corner of a housetop than in a house shared with a contentious wife. I think maybe there's a housetop a little different than what we're used to.

I'm assuming there's one of these housetops that you could walk on top and maybe concrete walls around the edge and so one little corner in the top there is better than sharing a house with a contentious wife.

That is also true with brothers. If we're contentious or in families if we're contentious it's something to stay away from. We will be much better off not being contentious because the people that have to live with that contentious person they'd be better in a corner of a housetop.

It's not just the wife but I think the wife is maybe the worst because it's somebody very close somebody that's supposed to be as close as anybody can be on earth. Like cold water to a thirsty soul is good news from a far country.

Like a muddied spring and a polluted fountain are the righteous who give way before the wicked. This verse really stood out to me. I had never noticed it before. When a righteous person does not stand up for right things get muddy and there's destruction in the wake of this.

Again this predicament in my mind of who has the right to say he's righteous? Who can know who's helping who is often the case. There's this dispute and who's helping who? But there's a righteous person.

If a righteous person stands in that way like I read earlier it is good. If a righteous person gives way before the wicked or I thought like this if somebody doesn't talk nice to each other or gets angry or God forbid anybody would steal something but if somebody stole a little something and nobody stood up for it things get muddied.

We have a muddied congregation. So again the only answer I have is those that stand and walk in the ways of Jesus are those that are I just do not see those things conflicting themselves. If two people take a hold of Christ they can walk together.

There's no doubt in my mind. At the same time if people confess to be of Christ and can walk together there's some wickedness involved somewhere. It is not good to eat much honey or to seek honor on top of honor.

Like a city breached without walls is one who lacks self-control. Was he talking about self-control all the way through these two chapters? I think it would fit quite a bit in all these in our whole life it is good to be temperate self-controlled.

These are virtues that are to be sought after. They're wisdom if we can walk in them. Anyways, I think I will just open it up and if you all have much or little so be it just there's many verses in here that I didn't talk about and you probably had thoughts for it so and the ones I talked about you can talk about.

It's just feel free and correct me in whatever way I misrepresented something.

Thank you Brother Walter. I think it's a neglected book to be spoken from Proverbs and I confess I study the Bible a lot but I really don't get into Proverbs much so it's a blessing to hear that. For some reason verses chapter 25 verses 7 to 10.

Did Brother Walter skip that or was the only one? Did I just doze off? I thought you just skipped three verses unintentionally. Are you doing King James Version? Yes. I thought that too. Yeah. Right, three verses.

I said boy am I dozing off and all of a sudden we're back to. He said the next verse was an apple of gold and settings of silver and I said what happened to the other verses? Is it different? Tell? Was anyone else?

I got the Orthodox and I thought that. I thought that he skipped 25, 26, 27 but I thought maybe also he read them and then and because in the Orthodox.

It's like it's the same thing but it's worded differently so I thought we were very meticulous. Yeah we said. What's going on? Yeah. Verse in 25 verses 7 to 10. I didn't hear any of that. Oh no I was.

I know. Yours and Tao's was different too. We got. We have a whole bunch. My verse 7 says it's better to be told. Come up here.

Yes. Did you say 8. Okay. My sin. Okay. And verse 9 also debate not with a you're okay. It was worded differently. Verse 23. Little sleep below slumber. Yeah. Verses 33 and 34. Yeah. Little sleep below slumber.

Yeah. What about the poverty one 34. I think I read there's proof on the tape. Exactly when we listen to the tape confess our sins. I want to acknowledge I just didn't know for sure. I just I remember reading like it was one word in the thing.

So I think I remember this. I want to comment. Excuse me I'm losing my throat. My voice. On verse 5 in chapter 25 brother Walter read King James. Yeah. Take away the wicked from before the king. Take away the wicked before the king.

And his throne should be established in righteousness. So I'll go out on a limb and say the king is Jesus. And we should have more or less a bride being us unspotted and unwrinkled. And I could have stayed in Catholicism and worked within the system.

You too Dijon. You could have probably we could have stayed in the system and worked within within the system and contributed to rotten fruit. And think we're really doing great. We have to come out of a rotten.

We don't have an option brother. We don't. Okay. Why. And I just wrote down four reasons. Jesus wants a glorious and honorable bride. Glorious and honorable.

And by having contamination with you know we have leaven and lots of sin. He wouldn't put up with it. Five of the bad churches in seven Asia are the weak ones. Jesus says I have this against you to have Jesus against you.

You're going to lose. You're going to lose bad. And I'll pray for annihilation if I do that. I mean when you have Jesus against you it's it's wicked and not only rid the the gravity the gravity of sin the discipline to restore the fallen brother or sister the gravity of sin.

So we can get restored. And the last one would be a witness to the world. We want a great you know witness to the world. Look at those people how they live. And I know it's not a perfect church brother Max but it's a great witness to the world.

And now I have a a problem with one verse that a close brother of mine brought up. In fact he brought it up last night to me. And this is in chapter 25 because I was encouraging a brother admonish the ones daily and be with the ones daily and never forsake the assembly to God.

And you can never get more fervent love for each other like in Acts 2 and verse 40 and daily. They did this in Acts 2, 46 daily. And so the verse I'm referring to is and I need help for this. I just think let's see where it says with verse 17 and 25 withdraw thy foot from thy neighbor's house lest he be weary of thee and hates thee.

So I don't want to get too close to you Tyler and too close to you Aaron. You know I come and see you everyday. Just pray together and you start hating me. I mean come on. Is that because I was encouraging this brother.

Just you can never fervent love first John like you said brother Max you know we're going to have that first John our love for the brethren and God our buddy said that brother buddy said that that's the thing the assurance of salvation besides Jesus being Lord is is our love for God keeping His commandments and our love for the brethren.

But if I just meet you once can I go ahead. Can I get put my foot in my neighbor's house. Is that a despicable abominable disease. Yeah thank you for going into Proverbs. These are some of my favorite Proverbs that I don't read enough.

And brother Robert just said withdraw your foot from your brother's house. And you know how this is different than you know daily that we should be functioning as a church together. I know that for us it'd be like we you know before we would never have fellowship or very very rarely.

And so all of a sudden we found ourselves living right next door to the brew bakers. And at the beginning at least almost every day I went over to brother Walter's house and and I don't know if he was just being kind but he never said get out of here.

But anyway I did I always tried to ask like if you guys are busy I can go but anyway no it was just really exciting to be around brothers and sisters for so after so long at least yeah so I understand what you mean like that's a little bit of a bewilderment but I wonder if it's talking about it in a particular context like like you know you're just like you're just being too expectant of your brother's hospitality.

And yeah I don't know I often wonder about that but what I what I wanted to talk about was in chapter 24 verse 25 26 and 27 and again I'm going to say that I could be wrong. I didn't hear this but I know that in the orthodox opposed to some of the other like between the subduagents and the Masoretic text there's sometimes a discrepancy and you know for there's sort of a prophetic thing.

Was that in the Masoretic or no? Anyway so hang on to that question. The other thing I just wanted to mention was admittedly without talking in great detail there there is a disagreement that I have with a brother that that is not here and I and I would like to settle the disagreement in a peaceful way that would be my hope and I and I would think that that would be his hope as well but I.

Just I just I guess in that light it really touched me. This this part. 9 verse 25. Or sorry. Chapter 25. Verse starting verse 9. Do not enter into a quarrel quickly that you may not be sorry. In the end when your friend reproaches you retreat and do not despise him lest your friend continue to reproach you and your quarrel and enmity shall not depart but be equal to death for you.

Grace and friendship free. A man keep these for yourself that you may not be reproached but guard your ways peaceably. It's interesting that there is a prescription there at the end like there is a prescription so the first part is like this is what not to do.

The second part is this is what you do. Do that if we have grace and friendship that that actually frees us and to guard our ways peaceably. And I don't think he's saying that we shouldn't. You know if somebody reproaches you for good reason obviously you should admit your sin and repent anyway.

That's all I had. And I had a question about 25 26 and 27 so I don't know I had something so actually had some thoughts thoughts about this a while ago. 24. Verse 3. Through wisdom a house is built and it is established by understanding and by knowledge the room shall be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.

So I was thinking about a you know like when you build a house you have to have the good firm foundation you have to and then once you get the walls up it has to protect you. You know of course from the outside weather and storms get a good roof.

Then it's then it's like if the house is all sealed up you know where's the water going to come through. You know you need water. So it's like there's vessels inside of a house that draw in good water just like there's vessels inside of a house that also draw out bad water.

So I was thinking like a vessel could be could be understanding. You know like it says in Proverbs like oh like oh here comes a bad thought oh understanding like oh yeah that's yeah that that's a bad thought.

We gotta flush that out and by knowledge the room shall be filled with all precious and pleasant riches. And I'm pretty confident like these riches are in like kindness and meekness and humbleness. Like that's where the true riches are in love.

So like our rooms will be filled with kindness and riches. Had some thoughts about that on on houses. Oh also like another spiritual aspect you could think of is uh houses have gutters to catch outside waters and to to um to lead them and draw them out into the yard so your yard will be good with grass and green.

That's that's all I have. I don't really have anything to say on it but chapter 25 it is the glory of God to conceal a matter but the glory of kings is to search out a matter. Thank you. I don't I haven't thought much about that verse Rob but I did want to share something on something else where it says one proverb that I really appreciated was a fit a word fitly spoken is like apples of gold and pictures of silver.

And I've thought about this verse in relation to Jesus when John the Baptist's disciples came to him and they asked him are you the are you the Messiah are you the Christ. And then he didn't answer him he just went out and performed miracles.

And then he said go and tell John what you saw like hey it was just like it was a perfect word spoken in a in a perfect time. I always appreciated that also too when you said when you got to chapters probably 25 21 and 22 and you said this is a New Testament teaching it is true if thine enemy be hungry give him bread to eat and if he be thirsty give him water to drink for thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head and the Lord shall reward thee.

I can only speak for myself but I think there's been times in my life when I've done something nice thinking the Lord you know I'm gonna be I'm gonna be really good right now and I'm gonna do the right thing.

But you know the Lord the Lord will repay you. And I just I don't think that's the right spirit. I don't think that's the right heart because if you go back to 24 verse 17 it says rejoice not when thine enemy falleth and let not thine heart be glad when he stumblest lest the Lord see it and it displeased him and he turned away his wrath from him.

So you just you want to do it in the right spirit. It's the right spirit of of this from the New Testament is to father forgive them for they have known not they know not what they what they do and and just add a true sincerity and love that you would want to do something nice to somebody even if they were your enemy in hopes that it would cause them to return but I appreciated that the book of Proverbs is one of my favorite.

Thank you thinking about your question there Robert.

The other one I think there's a thing about the Lord seeing his children seek out his will that that pleases him so it is a delight for him to to conceal things so that we would seek them out seek his will in them.

There's a lot of New Testament scriptures that would testify to that that he is pleased when we strive to do discern his will in the matters of life and for for whatever reason that only he understands.

He hasn't laid that out in just real simple terms or black and white for us but I do believe what it says. He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. So there's a reward there that he would love to give us if we will submit to him.