《Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures – Proverbs (Vol. 1)》
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Word Study on "mischief" - Strong says the Hebrew word "mischief" ( זִמָּה) (H 2154) means, "a plan, especially a bad one," and it comes from the root verb ( זָמַם) (H 2161), which means, "to plan, usually in a bad sense." The Enhanced Strong says it is used 29 times in the Old Testament, being translated in the KJV as, "lewdness 14, wickedness 4, mischief 3, lewd 2, heinous crime 1, wicked devices 1, lewdly 1, wicked mind 1, purposes 1, thought 1." Comments- Proverbs 10:23 says that a fool delights in doing evil. If you every wonder why a person continues in his sins, even when he knows it is destroying him. The Scriptures tell us that there are "pleasures in sin for a season" ( Hebrews 11:25). However, as some point in time, his sins become addictive and he is bound in those sins, with no strength within himself to be set free. Without God's divine intervention, such a person will die in those sins. Hebrews 11:25, "Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;" Proverbs 10:23 — Comments- When a righteous man sins, he is remorseful, ashamed and humbled. But, when a fool commits wickedness, he rejoices and enjoys what he has done. Note similar verses: Proverbs 2:14, "Who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked;" Therefore, this traveler has been taught by his father in Proverbs 2to identify this man. He will see him at other times on his journey. Proverbs 14:9, "Fools make a mock at sin: but among the righteous there is favour." Proverbs 15:21, "Folly is joy to him that is destitute of wisdom: but a man of understanding walketh uprightly." Proverbs 26:18-19, "As a mad man who casteth firebrands, arrows, and death, So is the man that deceiveth his neighbour, and saith, Am not I in sport?" In contrast to the fool who rejoices in wickedness, the man of understanding has the wisdom to know how to avoid sin. Job 28:28, "And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding." As a fool rejoices in his sins, a man of understanding delights in Wisdom of Solomon , thus, he delights in doing good. As sin is taking pleasure in wickedness, wisdom is taking pleasure in that which is good.
Verses 24-30 Emphasis upon a Man's Long Life- Most of the verses in this passage clearly deal with the longevity of the righteous and the brevity of the wicked man"s life. The key verse in this passage is Proverbs 10:27, "The fear of the LORD prolongeth days: but the years of the wicked shall be shortened." Proverbs 10:24 The fear of the wicked, it shall come upon him: but the desire of the righteous shall be granted. Proverbs 10:24 — "The fear of the wicked, it shall come upon him" - Comments- John Gill gives two Scriptural examples of Proverbs 10:24. The men of the earth decided to build the Tower of Babel for fear of being scattered upon the face of the earth ( Genesis 11:4). In their prideful hearts, God confused their tongues, and brought their fear upon them, as they scattered over the face of the earth to create the nations of the earth. Genesis 11:4, "And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth." A second example is in the Jews" treatment of Jesus. They feared that Jesus" action might bring the wrath of the Romans upon the city of Jerusalem ( John 11:48). In the divine judgment of the Jews for rejecting the Messiah, God allowed the Romans to destroy the city of Jerusalem in A.D 70. 81] 81] John Gill, Proverbs , in John Gill's Expositor, in e-Sword, v 777 [CD-ROM] (Franklin, Tennessee: e-Sword, 2000-2005), comments on Proverbs 10:24.
The traveler has been taught this truth earlier by his father in preparation for this journey in Proverbs 1:27, "When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you." Scripture References- Note similar verses: Psalm 90:11, "Who knoweth the power of thine anger? even according to thy fear, so is thy wrath." Isaiah 66:4, "I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them; because when I called, none did answer; when I spake, they did not hear: but they did evil before mine eyes, and chose that in which I delighted not." Hebrews 10:27, "But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries." Proverbs 10:24 — "but the desire of the righteous shall be granted" - Scripture References- Note a similar verse: Psalm 21:2, "Thou hast given him his heart"s desire, and hast not withholden the request of his lips. Selah." Psalm 37:4, "Delight thyself also in the LORD and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart." Psalm 84:11, "For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly." Psalm 145:19, "He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them." John 16:24, "Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full." 1 John 5:14-15, "And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him." Proverbs 10:24 — Comments- The wicked fear God"s judgment, but lack the wisdom to avoid it. The righteous also fear God"s judgment, but they have the wisdom to avoid it and receive His blessings in place of judgment. Proverbs 10:25 As the whirlwind passeth, so is the wicked no more: but the righteous is an everlasting foundation. Proverbs 10:25 — "As the whirlwind passeth, so is the wicked no more" - Comments- As suddenly as a whirlwind comes, it is gone. Such are the wicked, here for a short time, and suddenly cut off from the earth. Scripture References- Note similar verses: Job 20:5, "That the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment?" Job 21:18, "They are as stubble before the wind, and as chaff that the storm carrieth away." Job 27:19-21, "The rich man shall lie down, but he shall not be gathered: he openeth his eyes, and he is not. Terrors take hold on him as waters, a tempest stealeth him away in the night. The east wind carrieth him away, and he departeth: and as a storm hurleth him out of his place." Psalm 1:4, "The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away." Psalm 58:9, "Before your pots can feel the thorns, he shall take them away as with a whirlwind, both living, and in his wrath." Isaiah 40:24, "Yea, they shall not be planted; yea, they shall not be sown: yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth: and he shall also blow upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble." Proverbs 10:25 — Comments- Proverbs 10:25 is clearly illustrated in the story that Jesus told in His Sermon on the Mount. Matthew 7:24-27, "Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise Prayer of Manasseh , which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish Prayer of Manasseh , which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it." We also see this contrast in the book of Psalm: Psalm 37:9-11, "For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth. For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be. But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace." Scripture References- Note also similar proverbs: Proverbs 12:3, "A man shall not be established by wickedness: but the root of the righteous shall not be moved." Proverbs 12:7, "The wicked are overthrown, and are not: but the house of the righteous shall stand." Illustration- When a powerful tornado strikes homes in the Midwest of the United States, often the only thing left intact is the foundation. Perhaps the writer of this proverb observed the stability of a strong foundation in the midst of a devastating whirlwind. The destruction of the home symbolizes the removal of the wicked, while the strong, unmovable foundation represents the life of the righteous. Proverbs 10:24-25 — Comments- The End of the Wicked and the Reward of the Righteous- The theme of these two proverbs is also clearly seen in Psalm 37. Proverbs 10:26 As vinegar to the teeth, and as smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to them that send him. Proverbs 10:26 — Comments - Vinegar is "an acid liquor obtained from wine, cider, beer..." (Webster) As vinegar irritates the teeth and smoke irritates the eyes, a sluggard irritates the soul. It causes much irritation to a boss who tells his employee to do a task, only to find the task unfinished. It is also a hard thing to work with a lazy person, because you have to help carry the load that he puts off on others. Illustration- In the early 1980"s, I was working a summer job with FloriBay Sanitation Company. The owner of this company hired a high school dropout and sent him on an errand. The young man used a company truck to drive into town and back. But this young man could not resist the temptation to drive to his high school campus and show off his vehicle to his schoolmates. Everything appeared to be going well until foolishness broke out at this gathering in the school parking lot and someone dented the company vehicle. Needless to say, this young man drove back to work with a fearful heart and was immediately fired after explaining what he had done, all to the grief of the company owner. Scripture References- Note a similar verse: Proverbs 26:6, "He that sendeth a message by the hand of a fool cutteth off the feet, and drinketh damage." Verse 27 The Physical Body of Man: Long life - This section emphasizes man's physical body, as Proverbs 10:1-9 has emphasized the heart of man and Proverbs 10:10-32 has emphasized the tongue, or mind, of man. Although there is still some verses that focus upon the tongue until Proverbs 10:32, we do find a transition in an emphasis about a long life. Proverbs 10:27 The fear of the LORD prolongeth days: but the years of the wicked shall be shortened. Proverbs 10:27 — "The fear of the LORD prolongeth days" - Comments- The phrase "the fear of the Lord" is used in the book of Proverbs as a signpost throughout this journey. Proverbs 10:27 confirms that the theme of this particular passage is the longevity of the righteous in contrast to the brevity of the wicked man"s life. The phrase "prolongeth days" literally reads, "adds days." The Lord can add days to the life of a righteous man. We see this happen in the life of Hezekiah when he was told that he would not live. After pleading to God, the Lord added fifteen years to his life. 2 Kings 20:5-6, "Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the captain of my people, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the LORD. And I will add unto thy days fifteen years; and I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for mine own sake, and for my servant David"s sake." Proverbs 10:27 — "but the years of the wicked shall be shortened" - Illustration: Genesis 6:3, "And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with Prayer of Manasseh , for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years." Proverbs 10:27 — Comments- The contrast is clear in Proverbs 10:27. God will add years to the righteous, and He will subtract years from the wicked. This is seen in the long life of Noah in contrast to the destruction of his wicked generation. It was at this time in history that God shortened man's life to one hundred and twenty years. Genesis 6:3, "And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with Prayer of Manasseh , for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years." Proverbs 10:28 The hope of the righteous shall be gladness: but the expectation of the wicked shall perish. Proverbs 10:28 — Comments- Proverbs 10:28 contrasts the hope of the righteous with the expectation of the wicked. It is within every human being to have hope, but the hope of the wicked is vain. The righteous shall realize his hope and rejoice, but the wicked will only have disappointment ( Proverbs 13:12). Proverbs 13:12, "Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life." A wicked man's hope is in this life. Our hope as Christians is in eternal life. Thus, when a wicked man dies, none of his hopeful expectations are realized, but rather disappointment and horror. His hope for anything comes to a complete end; it dies. In contrast, when a righteous man dies, his hopes are just beginning to be realizes, and far beyond his expectations and will continue throughout eternity ( Job 27:8, Proverbs 11:7; Proverbs 14:43). Job 27:8, "For what is the hope of the hypocrite, though he hath gained, when God taketh away his soul?" Proverbs 11:7, "When a wicked man dieth, his expectation shall perish: and the hope of unjust men perisheth." Proverbs 14:32, "The wicked is driven away in his wickedness: but the righteous hath hope in his death." In the parable of the rich fool how the rich man's hopes were in the things of this world, for he said to himself, "Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry." Once he died, his hope of good things died with him. ( Luke 12:13-21) In the story of the rich man and Lazarus, we see how poor Lazarus's hope was realized in his death, while the expectations of the rich man perished at his death ( Luke 16:19-31). G. S. Bowes gives us the following examples of the fallen expectations of the wicked: "Alexander the Great was not satisfied, even when he had completely subdued the nations. He wept because there were no more worlds to conquer, and he died at an early age in a state of debauchery. Hannibal, who filled three bushels with the gold rings taken from the knights he had slaughtered, committed suicide by swallowing poison. Few noted his passing, and he left this earth completely unmourned. Julius Caesar, ‘dyeing his garments in the blood of one million of his foes,' conquered 800 cities, only to be stabbed by his best friends at the scene of his greatest triumph. Napoleon, the feared conqueror, after being the scourge of Europe, spent his last years in banishment." (G. S. Bowes, Our Daily Bread 29 February 1991) 82] 82] William MacDonald, Proverbs , in Believer's Bible Commentary, ed. Arthur Farstad (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Pub, 1995), in Libronix Digital Library System, v 21c [CD-ROM] (Bellingham, WA: Libronix Corp, 2000-2004), comments on Proverbs 10:28.
Contrast "the way of the Lord" with "the way of the wicked": 1 Kings 15:34, "And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin." 1 Kings 22:52, "And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of his father, and in the way of his mother, and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin:" Psalm 146:9, "The LORD preserveth the strangers; he relieveth the fatherless and widow: but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down." Proverbs 8:13, "The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate." Proverbs 15:9, "The way of the wicked is an abomination unto the LORD: but he loveth him that followeth after righteousness." Isaiah 53:6, "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." "The way of the Lord" refers to the providence of God at work in our lives. Note: Jeremiah 10:23, "O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps." Proverbs 20:24, "Man"s goings are of the LORD how can a man then understand his own way?" Scripture References- Note a similar verse: Isaiah 40:31, "But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." Proverbs 10:29 — Comments- The contrast in Proverbs 10:29 is seen in the fact that the Way of the Lord brings a righteous man to a place of strength, but the way of the Lord brings weakness and destruction to the wicked man. Thus, the way of the Lord is God"s providence, both blessings and judgment, at work in our lives. Proverbs 10:30 The righteous shall never be removed: but the wicked shall not inhabit the earth. Proverbs 10:30 — Comments- The simple contrast in Proverbs 10:30 is to say that the righteous will eternally possess the earth if they will seek first the kingdom of God, while the wicked, in his desperate efforts to have the things of this world, will lose it all. Jesus spoke of this in the Sermon on the Mount. Matthew 6:32-33, "(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." Proverbs 10:31 The mouth of the just bringeth forth wisdom: but the froward tongue shall be cut out. Proverbs 10:31 — "The mouth of the just bringeth forth wisdom" - Word Study on "bringeth forth" - Strong says the Hebrew word "bringeth forth" ( נוּב) (H 5107) a primitive root word that literally means, "to germinate," and figuratively it means, "to flourish." The Enhanced Strong says this Hebrew word is used 4times in the Old Testament, being translated in the KJV as, "bring forth 2, increase 1, make cheerful 1." Proverbs 10:31 — "but the froward tongue shall be cut out" - Word Study on "cut out" - Strong says the Hebrew word "cut out" ( כָּרַת) (H 3772) is a primitive root that literally means, "to cut off, to cut down, or to cut asunder." The Enhanced Strong says this Hebrew word is used 288 times in the Old Testament, being translated in the KJV as, "cut off 145, make 85, cut down 23, cut 9, fail 6, destroy 4, want 3, covenanted 2, hew 2, misc 9." Scripture References- Note a similar verse: Psalm 12:3, "The LORD shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud things:" Proverbs 10:31 — Comments- The two Hebrew verbs in Proverbs 10:31 give a clear picture of the contrast. The tongue of the righteous germinated, or bears fruit, but the tongue of the wicked must be pruned, or cut off. The mouth of the just brings forth good fruit. He is a tree of life ( Proverbs 15:4). In contrast, the tongue of the wicked will be cut down, as it is an unprofitable tree to the vinedresser. Proverbs 15:4, "A wholesome tongue is a tree of life: but perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit." Proverbs 10:32 The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable: but the mouth of the wicked speaketh frowardness. Proverbs 10:32 — Word Study on "frowardness" - Gesenius says the Hebrew word "frowardness" ( תַּהְפֻּכָה) (H 8419) means, "deceit, fraud, perverse." Strong says it means, "perversity, fraud," and it comes from the root verb ( הָפַךְ) (H 2015), which means, "to turn, change, overturn, return pervert." Webster says the word "perverse" means, "Turned aside; hence, specifically, turned away from the right; willfully erring; wicked; perverted." Proverbs 10:32 — Comments- The contrast seen in Proverbs 10:32 is that the righteous speaks Wisdom of Solomon , which is accepted by God, but the wicked speak perversity, which is unacceptable in God"s eyes. Proverbs 10:31-32 — Comments- The Tongue of Man - Proverbs 10:31-32 appears to form a couplet, as they speak about the same issue, which is the tongue of man. Download 3.1 Mb. Share with your friends:
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