10/8/2023
Turn with me to Proverbs 16:16-19. These are our verses to finish studying and memorizing.
Proverbs 16:16-19 How much better it is to get wisdom than gold! And to get understanding is to be chosen above silver. 17 The highway of the upright is to depart from evil; He who watches his way preserves his life. 18 Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before stumbling. 19 It is better to be humble in spirit with the lowly Than to divide the spoil with the proud.
Introduction
These four verses form the foundation for our next section of proverbs which goes from here until Proverbs 17:6. The focus of this whole section is on pursuing the right pathway of life. As it introduces this section it tells us that the first thing that we absolutely must come to grips with is the all surpassing value of wisdom. Once we begin to value wisdom more than anything else, then we will eagerly learn and apply these proverbs that are being taught.
After expressing this foundational truth our four verse introduction gives two more essential truths to be mindful of as we study and apply these upcoming proverbs. As we saw last time, verse 17 focuses on what the highway of the upright is like. As we pursue what is right we depart from evil. That is what those who treasure wisdom do. They depart from evil. How? The wise person carefully guards their soul by watching their way of life. Now verses 18 and 19 highlight the foundational character trait of humility that is necessary for traveling on this highway of the righteous.
With this reminder of where we are at let’s take a look now at verses 18-19 more closely.
18 Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before stumbling.
Pride results in ruin.
Back in Proverbs 15:25 we saw that “The Lord will tear down the house of the proud.” Then in Proverbs 16:5 we saw that “Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord; Assuredly, he will not be unpunished.” We looked extensively at the reality that God will judge the proud. None will escape His judgment of this sinful world. Given this recent focus on the consequences of pride the question is, what does this add here? Why is this being reiterated?
There seems to be two main emphases that are different here. The first one can be seen in that word “before” which is repeated in both sides of the proverb. It stands out in English as the only word that remains exactly the same between the two halves of this (synonymous) proverb which restates its one main point in different words. In Hebrew it stands out even a bit more because it is the first word of each half. “Before destruction is pride, and before stumbling is a haughty spirit.” What does that tell us? It tells us that pride is the foundation to sin. It is a driving motivation for sin. It also tells us that pride is a precursor to judgment. Its presence is a warning sign of impending doom. Since it is sin, and leads to more sin, it is a harbinger of the doom that sin always brings. As Romans 6:23 says, “the wages of sin is death.” Because God is just and holy it is inevitable that He will eventually give all sin the judgment it fully deserves. Therefore, if we want to guard our souls and watch our way we must be on the lookout to keep pride from getting into our hearts.
The second main emphasis that is different in this proverb can be seen in the context of the introduction where it is found. These four verses are framed at the beginning and end with two “better” than comparisons. First wisdom and gold are contrasted and then humility and pride. Thus when we take both these last two proverbs on pride and humility in light of the first two on wisdom and righteousness we see that the upright are humble while the proud are cast down. Ultimately we are being taught that it is better to be wise, upright, and humble—even if poor—than ignorant, evil, and proud—even if riches come with it.
Why? Why is pride to be such an avoided characteristic? The proud will not value wisdom more than gold. They will value their own thoughts, desires, and so-called wisdom more than God’s wisdom. They will value what they can produce, make, and do rather than the God who made all things and gave them their abilities. Likewise, the proud will not depart from evil. They will think they know better than God. They set themselves up as the standard of right and wrong rather than God. Thus they pursue evil rather than departing from it. They pursue riches rather than righteousness.
Thus humility is the only outlook on life which will view God’s wisdom as the treasure that it is. It is the only outlook on life which will depart from evil. Whenever we add our pride into the mix it will cause us to turn away from God one way or another. Then it will reap destruction. Since this is true these two verses give a warning to keep us from allowing pride to rule our lives. They fortify us to make the right decisions even if it might not outwardly look advantageous or might even cost us financially.
To keep pride from ruling out lives and to make the right decisions we need to be humble enough to continually acknowledge our need for God’s wisdom in everything We need to see that it is the treasure that will meet all of our needs. If we are not humble enough to do this, then the path of life that we are pursuing will destroy us. Whenever we get that haughty spirit that thinks it knows better than God’s wisdom, that thinks we know better than God’s commands about what is right and wrong, that thinks it does not need God’s treasure to handle the situations facing one’s life, that thinks we are self-sufficient in our own wisdom and power to do what is right and best, we will stumble and fall. Then we will reap the consequences of trying to live life apart from God.
Scriptural Example: In Scripture we see an example of the need for humility in the book of Hebrews. The believers that are being written to in that book were Jewish believers who were being tempted to go back to living under the law and to not rely on Jesus alone for their salvation. They were facing persecution from fellow Jewish people for not holding onto the law for salvation. They were facing persecution from Gentiles for being different than the prevailing Judaism or the other idolatrous societies. With all of that they were being sorely tempted and pressured to go back to trying to keep the law and to live under the animal sacrificial system. They were being tempted to stop being that exposed thumb that the hammer kept hitting. The author of Hebrews is showing how impossible and wrong that would be. To do that he gives a series of teachings each followed by warning applications.
The first teaching and warning highlights our need to humbly listen to God’s wisdom. Notice carefully what it says in Hebrews 1-2:4.
Hebrews 1:1-2:4 God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, 2 in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. 3 And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they. 5 For to which of the angels did He ever say, “YOU ARE MY SON, TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU”? And again, “I WILL BE A FATHER TO HIM AND HE SHALL BE A SON TO ME”? 6 And when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says, “AND LET ALL THE ANGELS OF GOD WORSHIP HIM.” 7 And of the angels He says, “WHO MAKES HIS ANGELS WINDS, AND HIS MINISTERS A FLAME OF FIRE.” 8 But of the Son He says, “YOUR THRONE, O GOD, IS FOREVER AND EVER, AND THE RIGHTEOUS SCEPTER IS THE SCEPTER OF HIS KINGDOM. 9 “YOU HAVE LOVED RIGHTEOUSNESS AND HATED LAWLESSNESS; THEREFORE GOD, YOUR GOD, HAS ANOINTED YOU WITH THE OIL OF GLADNESS ABOVE YOUR COMPANIONS.” 10 And, “YOU, LORD, IN THE BEGINNING LAID THE FOUNDATION OF THE EARTH, AND THE HEAVENS ARE THE WORKS OF YOUR HANDS; 11 THEY WILL PERISH, BUT YOU REMAIN; AND THEY ALL WILL BECOME OLD LIKE A GARMENT, 12 AND LIKE A MANTLE YOU WILL ROLL THEM UP; LIKE A GARMENT THEY WILL ALSO BE CHANGED. BUT YOU ARE THE SAME, AND YOUR YEARS WILL NOT COME TO AN END.” 13 But to which of the angels has He ever said, “SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, UNTIL I MAKE YOUR ENEMIES A FOOTSTOOL FOR YOUR FEET”? 14 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation? Hebrews 2:1 For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it. 2 For if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty, 3 how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? After it was at the first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard, 4 God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will.
Do you see what this passage is saying? The first verse tells us that God Himself has been speaking to people throughout history. Through prophets that He sent, through angels, through direct visions, dreams, and speech—God spoke in many different ways. We see that carefully preserved for us by God in what we call the Old Testament Scriptures. That includes the book of Proverbs that we have been studying. It is God’s Word which He intentionally delivered to us. It is His very wisdom for life given to us.
But then the book of Hebrews continues on to begin to actually make its main point. In these last days God has done something even more marvelous. He has revealed Himself and His wisdom even more clearly in His Son. After reminding us of this truth, the chapter then highlights how important this is because of who Jesus actually is. Notice what it says about Him in this chapter. He is the heir of all things. He made the world. He is the radiance of God’s glory, the exact representation of His nature. He is the one who made purification for our sins (through the cross). He now sits at the right hand of the Father (having risen from the dead and ascended on high after paying for our sins). He is much better than the angels. He is the Son of God. He is to be worshipped by all the angels. He is everlasting God with an eternal throne. He made everything and will outlast His creation. He remains the same and will have no end. When we put all of that together it is quite staggering. This is the one who is speaking to us in these last days. This is the one who is revealing God to us. This is who Jesus is. He is God in the flesh.
Given all that, as Hebrews 2:1 directly says, we must pay much closer attention to what He has taught to us. We must not drift away from it. It is not negotiable. It is not something we can just give up and suffer no consequences. The whole Old Testament points forward to Him. It gives the wisdom that He fulfills. The New Testament then records what He did and said and explains it so that in every generation we can continue to have the full benefit of the treasures of His wisdom. As Colossians 2:3 says, in Him “are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”
Given who He is, we cannot turn our backs on Him and go back to trying to live under the Old Covenant sacrificial system which pointed forward to His fulfillment of it all! We cannot turn our backs on His Word. It points to Him. It reveals Him. It leads us to be with Him forever. It gives us His timeless truths. It gives us His purpose for our lives. We cannot ignore what He says. We cannot turn our backs on His Work on the cross and ignore what He did. We cannot ignore its implications for our lives here and now or eternally. Why? Our proverb tells us. It would be the utmost pride to do that. It would only lead to our destruction. Or, as Hebrews 2 frames it for their scenario, there would be no escape from that.
The early Christians were being tempted to ignore God’s Word, God’s revelation to them—or at least parts of it! That has always been the temptation. In the garden of Eden Satan tried to tempt and deceive Adam and Eve to not believe what God had said. He gave them partial truths and twisted the rest. He has continued doing that with his lies throughout history. He tempts us to pick and choose what we want to believe, to ignore what might seem to be the hard parts, to ignore what might be culturally offensive in our day and age.
Instead of doing that God tells us to treasure His Word. He tells us not to allow our pride to cause us to put ourselves over God’s Word as the arbiter and judge of what is right and good. Rather, we must come to it humbly and by faith, surrendering to its wisdom. We must guard ourselves to not let pride to get us off the highway of the upright. We must continue to depart from evil and treasure God’s Word.
Pride can thus be seen to be the attitude which causes us to stop treasuring God’s Word and to stop walking on the pathway of righteousness. It gets us to disregard God’s Word, to stop paying close attention to it, and to drift away.
Against that both Proverbs and Hebrews warn us. Pride will only lead to destruction and stumbling. We must remain humble before God. The almighty, sovereign, holy God has amazingly revealed to us His wisdom through His Word and ultimately in Jesus Christ. Daily and moment by moment that needs to sink in so that we come to Him with the appropriate reverence, thanks, humility, and teachability.
Proverb in Comparison: When we compare this proverb with the rest of Scripture 1 Corinthians 1:20-24 stands out. Here, God rejects our pride as absolute foolishness and declares where true wisdom is found. If any are wise they will humble themselves before God and receive His wisdom. They will not trust the wisdom of this world.
1 Corinthians 1:20-24 Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. 22 For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; 23 but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, 24 but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. If we exalt ourselves above or against Him in any way we doom ourselves either to destruction, or, if we are a believer and temporarily doing it, to stumbling and discipline. We must humble ourselves before the wisdom of God, before Jesus Christ. We must remember that it is our own sin and pride which has caused the evil, destruction, and death that is in this world. He is not to blame. Our so-called wisdom is what has made this world the way it is. We do not ever know better than God. We must remember who Jesus is—God almighty, our creator, the one who is eternally good, the one who has brought salvation and redemption to this world, the one who has always existed, who made everything, and who will outlast our world and judge all sin. We have no cause whatsoever to exalt ourselves in pride against Him or anything that He says or does! What He says and does is eternally right. He is the only way of salvation. He is the only way we can be made righteous. His wisdom and guidance is the only perfect, righteous way of life day by day. We will not always understand why He does specific things that He does, but we need to listen to and trust His wisdom. All else only leads to evil, sin, death, and destruction. It is this attitude of humility that we must have as a prerequisite as we come to God’s Word. It is this attitude of need for God’s Word, this attitude of trust in God’s Word, this high evaluation of its worth that we ought to have as we come to study and apply these proverbs—and all of Scripture—to our lives.
Truth in Connection: The question to ask ourselves then is, are we humbly treasuring God’s Word above all else? The only alternative is that we are proudly picking and choosing what we want to hear and follow. We are denying what God says is best and right. That is a proud and dangerous place to be. Pride will only lead to our ruin. We must determine in our hearts to treasure God’s Word, to depart from evil, and to humbly trust and follow all that God says in His Word. It must become more important to us than what we think. It must be more important than what we feel or want. What we think, feel, and want can be very deceptive. We need the truth of God’s Word more than anything else.
May we walk humbly before God and trust Him for everything. May we trust and treasure His Word beyond all gold or worldly treasures and even life itself. May we yearn for and desire to know Him and His Word better. May we guard our souls, watch our way of life carefully, and follow His way of righteousness. As we do, then we will wholeheartedly be able to say what our next proverb does.
19 It is better to be humble in spirit with the lowly Than to divide the spoil with the proud.
Humility is better than pride no matter what disadvantages or advantages are thrown in to try to balance the equation. It is better to be humble and poor than proud and rich.
This is God’s prognosis on reality. It goes directly against our culture and world. Our world tells us that we deserve to be praised. It tells us that being low is bad, that we should exalt ourselves. It tells us that what we need is money. That it will solve all our problems and give us all the joys and pleasures that we want. All of that is a lie.
God deserves to be praised, exalted, and glorified. Being humble is good. It makes us teachable. It keeps us ready to listen to what God has to say. It keeps us from exalting ourselves over what He says or over others. It causes us to go to God to fix our sin problem—which we can never fix on our own. It causes us to go to God for true lasting joy—which cannot be had any other way.
Dividing the spoil with the proud may give an immediate pleasure, but defying God’s righteous way of life always come with the cost of reaping the consequences of those actions.
Scriptural Example: In Scripture we see an example of this in the parable of Lazarus and the rich man which is recorded in Luke 16:19-31.
Luke 16:19-31 “Now there was a rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, joyously living in splendor every day. 20 “And a poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores, 21 and longing to be fed with the crumbs which were falling from the rich man’s table; besides, even the dogs were coming and licking his sores. 22 “Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried. 23 “In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom. 24 “And he cried out and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.’ 25 “But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony. 26 ‘And besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, so that those who wish to come over from here to you will not be able, and that none may cross over from there to us.’ 27 “And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, that you send him to my father’s house— 28 for I have five brothers—in order that he may warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’ 29 “But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ 30 “But he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!’ 31 “But he said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’”
At first in this parable all that is contrasted is the poverty and pain of Lazarus with the riches and splendor of the rich man. After death their positions were reversed and Lazarus received comfort while the formerly rich man received torment and agony. It could almost seem like the afterlife was just some kind of experience equalizer. But that is not what is going on at all. At the end of this parable we see the real reason the rich man was in torment. He had not listened to God’s Word. He had done what was right in his own eyes. Now, experiencing the consequences of that sinful, proud life which he had lived, he wanted someone to go and warn his brothers who were still alive. He did not want them to experience the same judgment that he was experiencing.
Truly it was better to be humble in spirit with the lowly than to divide the spoil with the proud. Now, what is quite interesting here is that this is the only parable that actually includes a name. That name is also a rather unique one. It is mentioned in reference to only one other person in Scripture. He is not mentioned here in the book of Luke, but he was a rather famous person in Israel. John 11 and 12 record what happened to a man named Lazarus. He was a close friend of Jesus who became sick and died. But, guess what? After four days being dead, Jesus raised Lazarus back to life! He did come back.
He was a living testimony to Israel and all generations that we must not walk in our sinful pride ignoring God. Lazarus was a living testimony to Israel and all generations of who Jesus was. Guess what? Even with Lazarus rising from the dead and being a living warning to the people and religious leaders to listen to Jesus, they would not. Instead in their sin and pride they even plotted to kill Lazarus alongside of Jesus as John 12:9-11 records. Now, we do not know if they did kill him or what exactly became of him, but the reality stated at the end of the parable was proved. If people become proud and will not listen to Moses and the Prophets, if they will not listen to God’s written Word, if they will not listen to God’s Wisdom, then a miracle would not even really persuade them. Some excuse would be found to ignore it and to continue to walk in their sinful pride. This is how dangerous pride is. It blinds us to the truth. It pushes us to willfully accept and pursue evil. It leads us to our own destruction and we go willfully and joyfully.
Proverb in Comparison: When we compare this with the rest of Scripture we see that there is more than one way for our pride to get between us and God and lead to our destruction. It definitely comes by those who blatantly defy God’s righteous standards, but it can also come in a more subtle way that even seems to embrace God’s Word. Jesus told a parable about this in Luke 18:9-14.
Luke 18:9-14 And He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt: 10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 “The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 ‘I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’ 13 “But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’ 14 “I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
There is a way that one can seem to treasure and follow God’s Word without truly trusting in Jesus as Lord and Savior. There is a way to seemingly treasure God’s Word while still not departing from evil and not walking in true righteousness. If we are attempting to earn God’s favor, be righteous on our own works or merit, or add anything to the work of Jesus to try to contribute to our salvation we are walking in a deadly pride which will do us no good. If we think that we are good enough for God, or can get to heaven through our own way we only deceive ourselves. God hates that kind of pride which perverts His Word, elevates ourselves, and denies the depth and reality of our own sin.
As verse 14 says, this pride will also be humbled. It is only those who humble themselves who will be exalted. We have to see the humbling reality of our sin and trust in God’s way of salvation alone. He did it all. We have nothing in which to boast. We deserve God’s judgment, not His mercy, grace, and love. None of us are righteous. None of us are good, “not even one,” as Romans 3:10-12 says. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” as Romans 3:23 says. It is only when we truly believe these truths that we can come to God and cry out to Him: “God, be merciful to me, the sinner!” As long as we are hanging on to our pride and our own righteousness we will not really trust in Jesus as our Lord and Savior.
We must come to God without exalting ourselves before Him. When we do, then we will truly experience how much better it is to be humble in spirit with the lowly than to divide the spoil with the proud. The ill-gotten gains and treasures of this world will not last. But salvation in Jesus is an eternal blessing which cannot be taken away.
And yet it does not stop there. We must be sure that with this amazing undeserved gift and life from God that we always remember who God is, what He has saved us from, and to whom we owe everything. It was our pride and sin which had us doomed on the way to destruction. It was Jesus’ mercy alone which has rescued us. Thus we have no room for pride before Him. We must not ever go back to a prideful way of thinking that we know better than God. Rather we need to remember that we need His continued wisdom every moment for how to live in this new redeemed way of life. We need His strength and enablement to overcome sin and temptation day by day. James 1:21-25 puts it this way:
James 1:21-25 Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls. 22 But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; 24 for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. 25 But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.
Since it is through the truth of God’s Word about Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection for our sins that we are saved from God’s judgment, we need to continue to treasure the Word of God for the truth that it has for the rest of our lives. We must put aside all filthiness and wickedness. We must continue to receive God’s Word humbly. We must put it into practice in our lives. We are not to read it and forget it. We are not to listen to a message and become a forgetful hearer. We are to be an effectual doer. We are to humbly allow the Word of God to be implanted into our lives and bear fruit in our actions. That will lead to true blessing from God.
Truth in Connection: Given all this, where are you in relation to pride and God’s Word? Have you humbled yourself and trusted in Jesus as your Lord and Savior? Anything else is pride and leads to destruction when God judges this world and your life. He made us. We are accountable to Him. He has given us His Word. He has revealed Himself to us in His Son. He has made purification for sins. There is no other way of salvation and true life. Trust Him and Him alone. Humble yourself before Him. Do not make any more excuses. Do not let pride blind you to your need. Trust in Jesus.
For those of us who have trusted in Jesus, we need to ask ourselves if we are continuing to walk in humility before God. The answer to that question is seen by whether we receive His Word, treasure it, and live by it. If we are not living in humility before God, we will end up tripping over our pride and reaping the consequences. The attitude of humility is the only way that we will continue to see our need for God’s Word and for its wisdom in everyday life. It is the only way we will continue to treasure God’s Word when the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the Devil attack us. True ongoing humility before God is the only way that we will be able to guard our souls, watch our way, and be protected as we walk on the highway of the upright. Are you treasuring God’s Word as worth more than gold? Are you walking on the highway of the upright and departing from evil? Are you living with an attitude of humility before God and His Word?
May we continue to be overwhelmed by God’s amazing undeserved mercy, grace, and love that He has shown to us in Jesus Christ. As we truly know the love of God it will humble us and make us want to know, treasure, and obey Him more and more.
Conclusion
If you have any questions on any of this or want help in coming to know Jesus as your Lord and Savior please come talk with us. We are available. Let’s pray.
© 2023, Kevin A. Dodge, All rights reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible® (NASB),Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.Lockman.org
English (US) · 