Proverbs 14

CHAPTER 14The Book of Proverbs is an important section of the Word of God. Here we find the wisdom of God distilled into small sentences. We see that they fit individuals who are mentioned in the Bible. Also they fit folk whom we know, and they fit you and me.

Proverbs 14:1

“Every wise woman buildeth her house.” This is not talking about the physical building of a home. I think Sarah is an example of a wife who built her house. She was the wife of a patriarch, and she built up the house of Israel. I think we can say that Jochabed, the mother of Moses, built her house. Although she was a slave in a foreign land, to save her son she hid him, watched over him, and finally became his nurse in the service of Pharaoh’s daughter. She is the one who taught him about the Lord and the promise of the Lord to Israel. She was a wonderful mother, and she built her house. “But the foolish plucketh it down with her hands.” Several women in the Scriptures did that. Because of their wickedness, the house they built was destroyed. Let me point out one passage in particular. “Forty and two years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother’s name also was Athaliah the daughter of Omri. He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab: for his mother was his counsellor to do wickedly” (2Ch_22:2-3). The counsel of his mother really brought the house of Ahab low. This is indeed a true proverb. You can take these into the laboratory of life and see them work out even today. I know of several examples of women whose personal sins have destroyed their homes.

Proverbs 14:2

This tells us that our walk will reveal our relationship with God. We are told by the apostle John, “He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked” (1Jn_2:6). Our walk should be in obedience to the Father just as the walk of the Lord Jesus was. You will remember that Samuel laid this matter before King Saul: “… Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams” (1Sa_15:22). Obedience to the Lord is the important thing. Without that, your religion is phony and false.

Proverbs 14:3

This reminds me of David and Goliath (1Sa_17:41-49). “In the mouth of the foolish is a rod of pride.” This is a picture of Goliath. He did a lot of boasting as the champion of the Philistines. When David volunteered to fight him, Goliath reacted this way: “And the Philistine said unto David, Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field” (1Sa_17:43-44). “But the lips of the wise shall preserve them.” Now notice David’s answer: “Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied” (1Sa_17:45).

Proverbs 14:4

This is a very interesting proverb. In several portions of Scripture the ox is used as an example to us. Also the ox was a beast of sacrifice, symbolic of Christ in sacrifice. Now the ox was a strong animal. In fact, he was the tractor and the sedan of the families in that day. They used the ox to ride to market, and they used the ox to plow their fields. I suppose he was rather a dirty animal in the sense that his crib needed to be cleaned out, and that was an unpleasant task because he was a big animal. Of course, the way to get rid of cleaning the crib was to get rid of the ox. That would give them a clean crib, but they would be deprived of the “strength of the ox.” This has a tremendous spiritual lesson for us. Sometimes we try to solve problems in the church and try to clean up divisions in the church by throwing out the ox. Often there is a group or clique in the church, busy as termites and with about the same result, who want to get rid of those people who insist on having Bible teaching in the church. They are going to clean the crib, they think, so they throw out the ox. I believe this has happened to church after church in our country. After a while it becomes evident that it was the oxen who pulled the plow.

They were the ones who contributed financially; they were the ones who sent out the missionaries; they were the ones who paid the bills. So before one tries to do any cleaning, it is very important to find out who are the oxen in the Lord’s work. I play golf with a wonderful Christian man. He gives to our Bible-teaching program because he believes in teaching the Bible. We have wonderful fellowship together, but we disagree on a lot of things. When we are playing golf, I like to concentrate on the game. He is always talking to me about my work, saying, “Why don’t you do this, and why don’t you do that?” Sometimes that is a little irritating. I could get rid of himthat would be getting the crib cleanbut I would be throwing out the ox! I would lose a friend who is very right in much of the advice he gives me. And he pulls the plow with me in trying to get out the Word of God. How absolutely foolish it would be to clean the crib by throwing out the ox.

Proverbs 14:5

The Lord Jesus has been called the faithful and true witness. That is the kind of witness we ought to be, too. We hear a great deal today about being a witness for Christ. There are courses given on how to be a witness for Christ. It is wonderful to take a course that will enable you to go out and ring doorbells and tell people about the Savior. But remember, there are two kinds of witnesses: the faithful and the false. If you tell someone that Jesus saves and keeps and satisfies, are you telling the truth? You answer, “Of course, it is the truth.” Yes, the facts are true, but have you proven it to be true in your own life? Or are you being a false witness?

Proverbs 14:9

Jezebel is a prime example in the Word of God of one who made “a mock at sin.” We are told to turn away from people who do that and have nothing to do with them.

Proverbs 14:10

Every heart has some secret joy or sorrow that no one can share. No one. We may try to share it, but they do not understand. I remember some folk asked me to tell them about my operation for cancer. I told them how in the hospital I had turned to God and how at that time He had made Himself real to me. They didn’t like that. I could see they turned me off. Later I said to myself, Probably that is a secret that I can’t share with anyone else. Have you ever had some wonderful, joyful experience, and you attempted to tell it to your loved ones? When I was a young man, some time after my dad had died, I wrote a poem. At that time I was living with an aunt, and there were several relatives there. I came in and said, “Look, I’ve written a poem, and I want to read it to you.” I read it, and it brought great joy to me, but it didn’t bring any joy to them. They turned me off when I started reading it. In fact, that experience caused me to stop writing poetry. If I were a budding poet, I was lost to the world forever, because they sure put a stop to my poetry right there! There are some things we can share with others, and there are some things we cannot share.

Proverbs 14:12

This is a verse which should be applied to the cults and “isms.” They sound so reasonable and so nice and so attractive. Recently a friend said to me, “Why is it that this certain cult keeps growing as it does?” I said, “Because it appeals to the old nature of man. It appeals to the flesh. It tells you that if you are a nice sweet fellow and follow certain rules, you are going to make it.” My friend, “there is a way which seemeth right unto a man,” but notice the end of this proverb: “but the end thereof are the ways of death.” The end is eternal separation from God. How important it is to be in the right way! The Lord Jesus said, “… I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (Joh_14:6).

Proverbs 14:15

The viewpoint of the world is that the Christian is a person who has a low I. Q., is very naïve, and will believe everything that is said to him. The real child of Godand the only kind of child of God is a real oneis not simple in that sense. He doesn’t believe anything and everything. Have you ever noticed that the disciples were constantly questioning the Lord? The man we call “doubting Thomas” was constantly raising questions. Simon Peter asked many questions: “Lord, where are You going? Why can’t I follow You?” Philip, the quiet one, asked Him, “Show us the Father. That’s all we need.” Judas (not Iscariot) asked, “How is it You will show us these things and not show them to the world?” These fellows were always raising questions. If you are a child of God, you will not be gullible. You’re not going to swallow everything you hear. Faith is not a leap in the dark. Faith is not betting your life on something. Nor is it the little girl’s definition, “Faith is believing what you know ain’t so.” My friend, faith rests upon a solid foundation, God says if it is not on a solid foundation, don’t believe it. “The simple believeth every word.” The prudent man, the wise man, tests what he hears. The fear of the Lord causes a wise man to test what he hears. He will not be taken in. He won’t believe what the preacher says just because the preacher says it. He will check what the Word of God says. I want to say to you right now that you should not believe anything I say just because I say it. I am not the oracle of Delphi; I do not speak ex cathedra; I am not a know-it-all. You test what I say by the Word of God. There is a lot of sweet-sounding speech going out from churches and from the media. Oh, my friend, don’t believe everything you hear. Test it by the Word of God.

Proverbs 14:20

That seems to be becoming more and more true. I doubt if a poor rail-splitter like Lincoln could run for the presidency in our day. A candidate has to be rich.

Proverbs 14:21

How do you feel toward those who can do nothing for you in return? Do you do something for them?

Proverbs 14:23

Some people just talk; they don’t do. People can almost be classified as either talking people or doing people.

Proverbs 14:24

The riches here are not necessarily material riches. There are a great many happy people who are rich, not in the things of this life, but in those things that are spiritual. That is the most important of all.

Proverbs 14:25

The Lord Jesus said it this way: “… if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch” (Mat_15:14).

Proverbs 14:27

To teach the fear of the Lord was the object of the Holy Spirit all the way through the Book of Proverbs.

Proverbs 14:30

How true this is! Envy will not only rob you of your joy and fellowship with the Lord, but it will affect you physically.

Proverbs 14:34

I wish this verse were inscribed over the United Nations instead of the verse about beating their swords into plowshares, which will not happen until Christ reigns on this earth. When Christ returns, then they will learn that righteousness does exalt a nation. Today the nations do not believe that righteousness exalts them, but history bears testimony to it. The pathway of history is strewn with the wrecks, the debris, and the ruins of nations that didn’t follow this principle. “Sin is a reproach to any people.”