Justification: The Journey to a Place of Rest (

Throughout Proverbs 10-29 we encounter hundreds of individual proverbs that appear to have no organized arrangement in which they are presented us. This is because in the journey of life, our encounters with the wise man and the fool appear to come in the same random order. However, God has placed all things in His divine order. When we read individual Proverbs , they appear to be randomly assembled, but if we will step back and look at them as a whole or in groups, we can see an order. These proverbs are clearly grouped together by themes, such as a pure heart, the tongue, a long life, and wealth. In the same way, the circumstances that we face in our daily lives appear to have no particular order. We see very little of God's hand in our lives in a single day, but when we step back and look as our lives over the months or years, we very clearly see God's sovereign hand at working in our lives. We recognize that He is divinely orchestrating His purpose and plan for our lives. This is the way that the verses in the book of Proverbs are arranged.

We have seen that Proverbs 1-9, about one third of the book, is man's call to follow the path of wisdom. Thus, about one third of the book of Proverbs is an introduction, or a preparation, for the rest of this book. Why is that so? We know that Solomon was chosen to be the successor to the throne at his birth. Therefore, he received many years of training under King David for this great task. Even today, we spent the first twenty years of our lives going to school and training for a profession, which is about one third of our lives. We spend the next two thirds of our lives building upon these twenty years of preparation. In our lives, we spend the first twenty years in preparation, the next twenty years sowing, and the last twenty years reaping what we have sown. This is why these years seem to be turning points in many people"s lives. This was the pattern in King Solomon"s life of preparation and growing in Wisdom of Solomon , and this is the pattern found in the book of Proverbs. It is important to note that a season of preparation is something that God has designed and instituted in the human life. He created every human being with the capacity to be shaped and molded through a training process. We often use the term "brainwashing" in a negative sense to refer to a person who has been programmed to think in a negative way; but proper training also reprograms the mind and prepares an individual for the tasks of life. Our human make-up of the spirit, soul, and body were designed to receive training before practical application and abundant living can be achieved.

Although we will study these Proverbs , we will find ourselves falling short of fulfilling them in our everyday lives. None of us has walked flawlessly in obedience to any single proverb. Therefore, each individual proverb reveals God's standard of righteousness, pointing us to Jesus, who alone fulfilled this divine standard in our behalf. In this sense, this collection of proverbs is a collection of redemptive Proverbs , revealing our need for a Redeemer, who alone fulfilled every proverb.

1. Justification: Solomon's First Collection — Proverbs 10:1 to Proverbs 22:16

2. Divine Service: Sayings of the Wise — Proverbs 22:17 to Proverbs 24:34

3. Perseverance: Solomon"s Second Collection by Hezekiah — Proverbs 25:1 to Proverbs 29:27

Verses 1-33

Justification: Solomon's First Collection of Proverbs (Antithetic Proverbs - Wisdom verses Foolishness) - The proverbs contained in chapters 10 through 15 are located within Solomon's First Collection of Proverbs. Almost all of these proverbs are similar in that they contrast the wise man with the fool, or good versus evil. 77] This means that in every decision we make in life, we either make a wise decision or a foolish one, a good one or a bad one. It will either bring us into a position of right standing with God, or separate us from God. There is no way to straddle the fence in making decisions. Thus, the primary theme of this passage in Proverbs 10:1 to Proverbs 15:33 is our justification before God. On our spiritual journey in life, we can most closely compare it to our justification through Jesus Christ our Lord. In other words, this group of proverbs provides a definition of true righteousness before God in the same way that the Sermon on the Mount expounds upon righteousness before God.

77] Graeme Goldsworthy also suggests that the contrast of righteousness with wickedness is being emphasized in this section when he says, " Proverbs 10 is a collection of sayings that mainly contrast wise and foolish behavior or, alternatively, righteous and wicked behavior. It would appear that these two pairs of opposites are synonymous. There is a cumulative effect to this chapter that works on the assumption of the character of God as the basis of assessing what is wise and righteous." See Graeme Goldsworthy, Preaching the Whole Bible as Christian Scripture (Michigan: Eerdmans, 2000), 189.

Also woven within Proverbs 10:1 through Proverbs 15:33 we can see smaller groups of proverbs that have been collected together with similar themes. It is important to note that not all of the proverbs within a collection listed above are about the same theme. This is because each day that the Lord guides us, he gives us a variety of wisdom on our place. We do not receive a one-course meal, although we are going through a season of learning a lesson on a particular subject.

Within this passage we see four major topics, which are long life ( Proverbs 10:27), riches ( Proverbs 13:13), abundant life ( Proverbs 14:26-27) and honor ( Proverbs 15:33). Thus, we see a reference to the heart, soul, body and finances of man. These topics will later be summarized in Proverbs 22:4, as this learning phase of the journey comes to an end. Thus, the secondary theme of this passage of Proverbs 10:1 to Proverbs 15:33 is how wisdom and foolishness is reflected in the four-fold aspect of a man's life.

Also woven within Proverbs 10:2 through Proverbs 15:33 we can see smaller groups of proverbs that have been collected together with similar themes. These proverbs are groups by the same four-fold themes running throughout the book of Proverbs , which are the themes of the heart, of the tongue, of the labour of the body and of wealth. For example,

It is important to note that not all of the proverbs within a collection are about the same theme. For example, we will find a proverb about our mental, physical or financial wellbeing mingled within a group of verses that deals with our spiritual wellbeing. This is because each day that the Lord guides us, he gives us a variety of wisdom on our place. We do not receive a one-course meal, although we are going through a season of learning a lesson on a particular subject. Thus, wisdom offers us wine that is "mingled" as described in Proverbs 9:2.

Notes that these sections breaks are not distinct in that they overlap one another. This overlap represents the aspect of man's spiritual journey in which God takes man through phases of learning that overlap.

Outline - Here is a proposed outline:

1. Let your heart guide you — Proverbs 10:1-9

2. The Tongue — Proverbs 10:10-32

3. Long life — Proverbs 10:27 to Proverbs 11:22

4. Wealth gained by sowing and reaping — Proverbs 11:24-31

5. The Righteous heart — Proverbs 12:1-12

6. The Righteous tongue — Proverbs 12:13 to Proverbs 13:5

7. Diligence — Proverbs 12:24 to Proverbs 13:4

8. Wealth by a right heart, guarded the tongue, & diligent work — Proverbs 13:1-25

9. The Mind- Understanding must guide our decisions — Proverbs 14:1-35

10. A Merry Heart — Proverbs 15:1-33

Signposts- Woven within the themes of this passage are signposts that help us to identify these themes. On this part of the journey, we find four main signposts:

Proverbs 10:27, "The fear of the LORD prolongeth days: but the years of the wicked shall be shortened."

Proverbs 13:13, "Whoso despiseth the word shall be destroyed: but he that feareth the commandment shall be rewarded."

Proverbs 14:27, "The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death."

Proverbs 15:33, "The fear of the LORD is the instruction of wisdom; and before honour is humility."

These four signposts tell us that the fear of the Lord will give to us. Perhaps they refer to the four aspects of our wellbeing.

1. A long life ( Proverbs 10:27) — Our physical wellbeing

2. A reward ( Proverbs 13:13) — Our financial wellbeing

3. A fountain of life ( Proverbs 14:27) — Our spiritual wellbeing

4. Instruction and Honour ( Proverbs 15:33) — Our mental wellbeing

We know that we will receive these blessings if we follow the path of wisdom (see Proverbs 3:2).

Proverbs 3:2, "For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee."

We can see that a long life refers to the body, a reward refers to prosperity, a fountain of life refers to abundant life in our hearts, and instruction and honour reflects the character of a Prayer of Manasseh , which is revealed in his mind, will and emotions. Thus, this passage of Scripture deals again with the spirit, soul, body and finances in our lives.

This signpost is planted within a passage of Scriptures that deals with the longevity of the righteous verses the brevity of the wicked ( Proverbs 10:24 thru Proverbs 11:22). Thus, this verse promises long life to those who fear the Lord.

This signpost is placed within a group of verses ( Proverbs 13:1-25) that deal largely with the issue of prosperity and financial blessings from the Lord. Thus, the signpost that summarizes the theme of this passage is found in Proverbs 13:13, which theme is to follow the path of Wisdom of Solomon , and we will be rewarded with prosperity from the Lord.

Instruction and honor emphasize the mind of a man. This verse is found within a group of verses that place emphasis upon man's mind. However, this closing verse also identifies the underlying theme of Proverbs 10:1 to Proverbs 15:33. Proverbs 15:33 says that the fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom. In Proverbs 1:7; Proverbs 9:10, we were told that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. This is because the first nine chapters are a preparation, or beginning, of the journey. But here in Proverbs 15:33, we are in a phase of the journey called "the instruction of wisdom". We have been learning to identify the wise man and the fool under the instruction of these one-verse contrasts between these two people. Let me give a clear illustration. When my oldest daughter would sit on my lap, we would sometimes to Bible studies together. At the age of four, she began to ask me simple questions. "Daddy, is this person bad or good?" I would reply, "David was good, and Goliath was bad; the prophet Samuel was good, but King Saul was bad." I would then explain, "Samuel was good because he obeyed God; Saul was bad because he tried to kill David." This became my child's first lesson about the wise man verses the fool. It is in this same pattern that God first teaches us how to identify the wise man and the fool as we journey through Proverbs 10:1 to Proverbs 15:33.

Verse 2-3

Finances - Proverbs 10:2-3 deal with material possessions. A young man"s initial instinct as he journeys from home is to provide for himself. He is determined to survive, and to no longer depend upon his parents for support. Therefore, he quickly sees the wealth of the sinner as he struggles to make it on his own ( Proverbs 10:2). However,, he must remember that God will provide for His children ( Proverbs 10:3).

Illustration- I will never forget the summer of 1975. My father left my mother and us children in July 1975. I had just graduated from high school and just been accepted to the University of Florida. When Dad left, fear gripped my heart as I wondered how our remaining family was going to make it financially. However, mother was strong in faith. I went on to college with some small summer savings, enough to take me through a few weeks of college. By a miracle, I received one-hundred percent financial aid before my money ran out. Mother worked hard with a minimum wage Job , and later found a good job in a local bank. She would spend the next twenty-five years on this job. God was faithful, and we did not famish.

Proverbs 10:2 Treasures of wickedness profit nothing: but righteousness delivereth from death.

Proverbs 10:2 — Comments- When a young man sets out on his own, he enters a new world of experiences that he has never known at home under his parent"s guidance. He sees people doing great things and possessing great treasures. A young"s man"s desire to become like his new peers and to please them, as he has always done with his parents, can be a strong impulse.

But here is one of his earliest tests of wisdom. He must now learn how to obtain possessions in this life. He now has a choice. He can choose to seek after earthly treasures, or he can choose to pursue righteousness. If he chooses to seek earthly treasures the way the wicked seek them, he will find a great loss, for he will leave the path of wisdom. If he chooses to pursue righteousness, he will remain on the path of wisdom.

He has heard this warning from his father before in Proverbs 1:10-19. He knows that the wicked will entice him with the pursuit of great possessions.

Proverbs 1:13-14, "We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil: Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse:"

He has been told that their end is destruction.

Thus, this proverb explains that wicked treasures profit nothing, but rather, they lead to death. The ability to make the right choice here largely depends upon the training that the young man received in his parent"s home.

My pastor says that sin will take you further than you planned to go and it will cost you more than you planned to pay.

In the times of Noah, even rich men perished. Only Noah and His family lived, and this was because of the righteousness of Noah. Note a similar verse:

In contrast, the wealth of the wicked will be short lived. It will be quickly taken away.

Verse 4-5

Verse 6-7

Verse 8-9

Verses 10-32