9/22/2024
Turn with me to Proverbs 18:5-7. These are our verses to study and memorize this week.
Proverbs 18:5 To show partiality to the wicked is not good, Nor to thrust aside the righteous in judgment. 6 A fool’s lips bring strife, And his mouth calls for blows. 7 A fool’s mouth is his ruin, And his lips are the snare of his soul.
Introduction
Here in Proverbs 18 we are being given guidance on using our tongues. Our current section, going to verse 14, focuses on examples of negative uses of the tongue and the causes of evil there. In the first four verses of the chapter we saw how powerful desires, prideful self-esteem, wicked hearts, and the deceitful nature of people all result in dangerous, sinful words. Now, in Proverbs 18:5-7, we will see how injustice twists words and how violence and ruin are the result of the fool’s words.
Let’s take a look more closely now at what causes these dangerous uses of the tongue, and how to restrain ourselves from participating in these foolish ways of speaking which appear to be growing ever more visible in our social and news media, in politics, in our court systems, in our governments, and in our families.
5 To show partiality to the wicked is not good, Nor to thrust aside the righteous in judgment.
Exonerating the guilty by ignoring the righteous is a great evil. This proverb emphasizes the foolishness of partiality with one’s words in the legal court setting.
The words for showing partiality here have to do with being favorably disposed to someone. “Lifting the face” is the expression used. We do not really have a corresponding expression, so the foundational meaning was expressed in this translation. However, in other places in Scripture we do get a bit of the idea of this expression. A similar idea is seen in the incident where Pharaoh’s disgraced cupbearer was restored to his position. When he was in prison Joseph interpreted his dream and prophesied that Pharaoh will “lift up your head and restore you to your office” (Genesis 40:13). He received the Pharaoh’s favor. He looked at him favorably and lifted up his head. We also see this expression in the blessing of Numbers 6:26 which Aaron was supposed to bless the people with.
Numbers 6:23-26 “Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, ‘Thus you shall bless the sons of Israel. You shall say to them: 24 The LORD bless you, and keep you; 25 The LORD make His face shine on you, And be gracious to you; 26 The LORD lift up His countenance on you, And give you peace.’
There the expression is translated more directly “The Lord lift up his countenance on you.” This is a prayer that God would show the people His face, that He would give them His favor, His approval, and blessing. In the context of a court setting, to lift up someone’s face would be for the judge to give them a favorable verdict. It would mean that they would be exonerated and declared not guilty. They would receive a pardon. To give that to the wicked would not be good. That is a tongue in cheek understatement. It would be very bad. It would be horrible.
As a whole, this proverb also has a number of similarities with Proverbs 17:23 and 17:26. There we saw that:
Proverbs 17:23 A wicked man receives a bribe from the bosom To pervert the ways of justice.
Proverbs 17:26 It is also not good to fine the righteous, Nor to strike the noble for their uprightness.
In our current proverb we see these two things brought together. The guilty are being exonerated and the innocent are being thrust down. In the NASB translation the word “Nor” is in italics. That means it was added to try to clarify what is being said. The reason for this is because the second half of the proverb is not a full sentence. It hinges on the implied verb and ending statement of the first half of the proverb. There it says that partiality is not good. Thus it is an addition to the first part of the proverb to clarify it and expand it. It shows us the other side of showing partiality to the wicked. When the wicked are exonerated the righteous are ignored. They are thrust aside. Their pleas for justice are considered worthless. The evil action here is not just showing partiality to the wicked, it is showing partiality to the wicked by ignoring the righteous and thrusting them aside.
This is exactly what Israel was commanded not to do in Exodus 23:6.
Exodus 23:6 “You shall not pervert the justice due to your needy brother in his dispute.
The word for “pervert” there is the verb form of our word for “thrust aside” the righteous. It is a twisting of things from the way they should be. By doing this the truth is twisted and justice is ignored. The needs of the righteous are trampled by the wicked.
For all of this to happen, many wicked, deceitful, unjust words will be spoken. The words of the oppressors will declare their side of things and twist what is right to make it seem evil. Then what is wrong will be twisted to be portrayed as right. In the final, devastating blow the judges utter their verdict that exonerates the wicked and tramples on the righteous.
This is not the way words should be used. This is a horrible injustice. Yet it is what happens when wickedness is shown favor and righteousness is thrust aside.
Scriptural Example: In Scripture we see a very sad example of this in the treatment of Gideon’s children by the city of Shechem after he died. They showed favoritism to the one son of Gideon, Abimelech, who had connections to their city. They gave him money to hire worthless men and enabled him to kill 70 of Gideon’s other sons to try to wipe them all out. They did this to be able to exalt him solely as ruler over them. They showed partiality in this wicked way and thrust down the righteous at the same time.
Abimelech hatched the plot. With his wicked words he suggested the scheme first to his family, and then through them to the rest of the city leaders. They gave full assent, lifted his face, funded his wicked behavior, and made him their king (Judges 9). This partiality resulted in much evil. It was by no means a good thing to show favor to and exalt such a wicked man as ruler over them. What resulted was a horrible evil upon the innocent sons of Gideon. Eventually it destroyed Shechem and Abimelech.
Proverb in Comparison: When we compare this proverb with the rest of Scripture we see God’s view of the issue plainly stated in Isaiah 5:20.
Isaiah 5:20 Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!
This kind of partiality and injustice goes directly against the character of God. In Acts 10:34 Peter realized this and applied the truth of God’s character to the situation of the gentiles becoming part of the church. The first thing he said when he realized what God was doing was that “God is not one to show partiality.” Therefore the gentiles should be included into what had so far been a Jewish-only church family.
God’s character as holy and just has implications for the way that we are to live and treat people. We too are to be just and righteous in our treatment of people. God has no room for injustice in His kingdom. The wicked are not to be given approval and favored, nor are the righteous to be ignored and thrust aside. Paul was very strict about this in his commands to Timothy about the church in 1 Timothy 5:20-22.
1 Timothy 5:20-22 Those who continue in sin, rebuke in the presence of all, so that the rest also will be fearful of sinning. 21 I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of His chosen angels, to maintain these principles without bias, doing nothing in a spirit of partiality. 22 Do not lay hands upon anyone too hastily and thereby share responsibility for the sins of others; keep yourself free from sin.
God’s standards of right and wrong remain the same in every situation. God does not show partiality, and neither should his people. We should neither overlook sin, nor put people in leadership for wrong reasons.
Truth in Connection: As we continue to connect this to our lives, it remains true no matter whether it relates to our families, our churches, our businesses, our schools, our governments, or our courts. We are not to look to see what we can get out of people to then show them favoritism, or to excuse their sinful behavior. We are to base our decisions on what is right and best. We are to protect the innocent. We are to deal appropriately and righteously with all sin and injustice.
As we weigh situations if we allow partiality and a self-focus to enter into our hearts then our words will become tainted. We will manipulate the truth, twist it, pervert it, and end up pursuing evil. Partiality corrupts our words and our actions. Once we let unrighteous ideas and desires take hold they end up coming out in the injustices that we allow and promote. But make no mistake. It will not just be the wicked that are exonerated. The righteous will end up being hurt by it as well. Allowing evil to go unpunished will also end up thrusting aside the righteous and hurting them. When the wicked are favored it comes at the expense of the righteous.
To be able to guard ourselves from this pitfall of partiality with its dangerous, spiraling effect on our words we must hold onto God’s standards of right and wrong above all of our preferences and desires. We cannot let anything come between us and holding onto what is right. If we let our desires for money, power, convenience, friendship, or anything else become more important to us than what is right then we will be susceptible to temptations to cut corners, justify the wicked, and ignore injustices. We must view God’s holiness and His expectation for our own holiness to be higher and more important than our desires for the approval of other people, or for what we think they can do for us.
May we guard our hearts and allow God to transform our lives by the renewing of our minds in the truth of His wisdom. We need this renewing each and every day, and in every area of our lives. Will you commit to being just and righteous in your dealings with all people, and not just those that you like or that can help you? Will you be just and impartial with your family? With your neighbors? At work? In church? In any government or court settings that you encounter? That is God’s way of wisdom, and determining to live this way will help protect your words from entering into wickedness from this direction.
The next two proverbs form a cooperating pair which closely go together.
Proverbs 18:6-7 A fool’s lips bring strife, And his mouth calls for blows. 7 A fool’s mouth is his ruin, And his lips are the snare of his soul.
Notice the details here. The first part of each verse begins with the fool as the subject. Then, looking at them together, the two verses form a small chiasm pattern around the words for lip and mouth. The chiasm begins and ends with reference to lips (6a and 7b), and in the middle there are the two mentions of the mouth (6b and 7a). Thus we discover that by his words the fool works for discord and violence and ends up destroying himself. We will begin looking at verse 6, and then see how it flows into verse 7.
6 A fool’s lips bring strife, And his mouth calls for blows.
The fool’s words bring conflict and call for violence. In this proverb we see the foolishness of divisive, provoking words.
The fool here does not heed the proverb in Proverbs 17:14 which said that “The beginning of strife is like letting out water, So abandon the quarrel before it breaks out.” Instead, he revels in arguments, disagreements, debates, discord, strife, and drama. The fool brings division. It comes with him. How can it not? The fool is saying no to God and His way of righteousness (Psalm 14:1). He has exalted his own words, actions, and thoughts as better than God’s. So of course it is going to produce strife. If God’s ways are not sacred and are held in disdain, then no one else’s desires or perspective will be safe either. His selfish desires will necessarily disagree with other people’s desires and plans.
As a result the fool makes enemies of people by his words. He sows seeds of bitterness and disagreement. He manipulates and plots. He stokes the flames of anger between people to get his way. Taken to its conclusion in this behavior he calls for violence. He advocates for revenge, even sometimes in the name of justice. He inflames situations. He is a true war monger and riot inciter. That is the fool. He brings with him strife and escalates situations into violence. As a bully he uses might and intimidation to get what he wants. He brings strife and advocates for violence. The ways and extents that he does this may vary, but it is at the heart of what makes a fool a fool.
Interestingly enough, this proverb should also be seen from another angle. Not only does the fool produce strife in his behaviors, but his behaviors also call for blows upon himself. His behavior calls for discipline. His actions cry out for justice to come upon him. They summon the courts to try him and give him a flogging. With the terminology used, this is not just referring to him advocating for violence against others. In a fitting play on words his actions me are also calling for blows and discipline upon himself.
We see this occurring publicly more and more with social media. Threats of violence are being made and people are reaping the consequences. Locally, children are doing this in the school system and being arrested. Nationally people are doing this on the political scene and getting themselves into trouble. By encouraging violence, making threats, or attempting violence itself they are opening themselves up to the strong arm of the law and the court systems to bring punishment upon themselves.
Now, it might be a valid debate whether the court systems are actually bringing justice with the lack of parity that is sometimes seen in the judgments that are handed out between different crimes—and that partiality was indeed called out in our previous verse—but that is not the main point here. Here we see that the fool’s lips provoke and call for violence and end up reaping punishment themselves. They sow the wind and open themselves up to reap the whirlwind.
Scriptural Example: In Scripture we see an example of this with David’s son Absalom and the division that he brought between himself, his father, and others. First he stirred up a lot of strife when he took justice in his own hands. He commanded his servants to kill his treacherous half-brother Amnon for having raped his sister. He incited them to violence at a banquet he designed to enable the killing. He ended up exiled for a few years for that, but when things cooled down he came back. But his strife producing words and actions just kept growing worse. He had not learned his lesson.
When the king’s advisor Joab would not come to him to help him fully get back into the king’s good graces he burned down Joab’s grain fields. Then to make things even worse he spent years sowing division and strife between the people of Israel and king David. He would station himself at the city gate turning away those who had come to David with grievances saying that David was too busy. Then he would lament that if only he were king he would of course help them get their wrongs fixed. He stole the hearts of the people of Israel with these lies until he was able to stage a coup and take the kingdom. He succeeded for a time, but God’s justice caught up with him. In the end his advocating for violence and his inciting strife brought about his own ruin.
Proverb in Comparison: When we compare this proverb with the rest of Scripture we see that in Titus 3:9-11 we are called to avoid strife and to turn away from those who keep pursuing it.
Titus 3:9-11 But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and strife and disputes about the Law, for they are unprofitable and worthless. 10 Reject a factious man after a first and second warning, 11 knowing that such a man is perverted and is sinning, being self-condemned.
In Galatians 5:20 strife is listed among those things which are works of the flesh. It says those whose lives are characterized by them will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Galatians 5:19-21 Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, 21 envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Indeed, God has strong words for the fools whose lives are characterized by strife! Sowing strife and advocating for violence is not compatible with being a child of God whose sins have been forgiven and who have been indwelt by God’s spirit. In contrast, Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers” (Matt. 5:9).
Truth in Connection:
Having been saved from all that, how could we continue to make it our practice of life to stir up strife and violence against other people with our words? We ought instead to want to share God’s amazing love, forgiveness, reconciliation, redemption, peace, and hope with others. Is that what you desire? If not, then turn to Jesus from your sin and the strife that it brings before it is too late. Truly trust in Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Surrender to His transforming work of salvation. Then walk with Him day by day and have Him continue to renew your heart and mind. Then strife and violence will no longer characterize your life like they used to. Instead your life will produce the fruits of the spirit which the next verses in Galatians 5 talk about.
Galatians 5:22-24 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
If we do not do this, then the reality of the next proverb will set in.
7 A fool’s mouth is his ruin, And his lips are the snare of his soul.
The fool’s words bring his own destruction and set traps for himself. This proverb emphasizes the ruin that foolish words cause.
The strife that a fool’s mouth stirs up brings about his own ruin. The violence he advocates for ends up falling upon his own head. This verse confirms that it is right to take verse 6 as a double entendre referencing not only his stirring up strife and calling for violence, but also his calling down discipline and justice upon himself by his behaviors. Ruin is the result of his words. It is just as Proverbs 10:14 declared:
Proverbs 10:14 Wise men store up knowledge, But with the mouth of the foolish, ruin is at hand.
If the fool were wise he would keep his initial thoughts to himself and pursue knowledge. He would listen more and speak less. He would pursue peace and righteousness, not strife and evil. But since he does not pursue wisdom with his words then his divisive, violent ways will bring him to ruin.
The second part of the verse gives a vivid picture of how this occurs. His lips are the snare of his soul. He unwittingly sets the very traps that destroy him. He digs the pit. He shares the incriminating evidence. He even covers it over to hide it. Yet he himself causes the anger, violence, and wickedness that people end up wanting to get vengeance and justice for. He causes the reaction that ensnares him. His own mouth and actions betray him. Nothing is truly hidden. It all will come to light and receive what is deserved.
Notice, it is not just that his lips lead to injury or financial harm. They are the snare of his soul. His eternal soul is on the line. His very life and eternity hang in the balance. That is what he is destroying by his foolish words. From the previous verse we immediately think of the violence and strife that the fool stirs up. In those cases we can very easily see how one’s physical life would be on the line. But it by no means is limited to that cause or result.
Think about it. The fool’s mouth leads him to defy God, to say no to Him, or even to deny His existence. If we do this it will exhibit itself in all sorts of ways in one’s life. It can lead us to defy God’s standards on stealing, coveting, lusting, being faithful in marriage, obeying parents, obeying one’s government, forgiving, etc. That will lead to many ruinous effects in our life, our family, and our work. Yet worse than all that is that by continuing to defy God we condemn ourselves to the eternal judgment of our souls in the lake of fire after our physical death.
Scriptural Example: In Scripture we see an example of this proverb with Haman the Agagite in the book of Esther. He was so angry with Mordecai and the Jews that he used his manipulating words to get the king to sign a decree that would allow him to kill all the Jews and take their possessions. As you know, what he wanted to have happen to them ended up happening to himself and all the other enemies of the Jews. His violent words and pursuits ended up being his own undoing. He dug the pit that he fell into.
The same is true of the other leaders among the Medes and Persians who wanted to get Daniel out of the way. They had the king sign an unchangeable law that people could only pray to him for 30 days under pain of being cast into the lion’s den. Daniel, of course, would not budge. He would only pray to the one true God and he would continue to do it just like he always had done. After God’s miraculous protection of Daniel the king had all of those rulers and their families cast into the lions den themselves. Their envious, deceptive, violent words led to their own violent destruction.
Proverb in Comparison: As we compare this with the rest of Scripture there is another way that this is probably even more applicable to people today. We also see the reality of this proverb on the spiritual level with the rich young ruler. Most of us, like the rich young ruler, are not outwardly advocating violence. But that does not mean that our foolish words will not also still lead to our ruin. He came to Jesus asking what he needed to do to inherit eternal life. This is much like what many people essentially do by coming to church occasionally. Maybe you too are similarly here today because you have some element in you of wanting to be justified before God.
Yet, when Jesus confronted the rich young ruler with the reality that he needed to give up the sinful idols that he was really still holding onto and come and follow Jesus, he was not willing to do it. He went away sorrowfully. He said that he had kept all the commandments and was following God. But it was not true. He was deceived by his own foolish words and heart. Unfortunately, when Jesus revealed them to be empty words he would not stop holding onto them. He wanted to get to heaven and to follow God on his own terms. But it does not work that way. If we hold onto our own foolish words and our views about ourselves, sin, and the way to heaven our very own words will end up being the snare that leads to the ruin of our souls.
Our foolish words can come in many different forms. Being divisive and advocating for violence has the obvious result of bringing trouble upon ourselves. Yet, all the rest of our foolish words which defy God and exalt ourselves as the so-called god of our own lives will also lead to our ruin. They will pull us away from truth and lead our souls into the eternal judgment of the lake of fire.
There is only one way of salvation from this: faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. We must see our own sinfulness. We must see God’s holiness and judgment upon sin. We must trust in God’s way of redemption from that. None of our ways will actually work to remove our sins and reconcile us to God. Only Jesus living perfectly and becoming our righteous substitute on the cross can save us. We must turn from trusting in our sin and way of living and trust this free gift of God for our lives personally. As we do so, we recognize Him as the rightful king and sovereign over all things and over every area of our lives. We do not hold back that one secret sin that is actually controlling us. No. We recognize that that area is precisely where we need God to free us from our sins, rescue us, and transform us.
Are you trusting in Jesus? Have you turned from the foolishness of your words to the wisdom of His Word? If you have not, turn to Him today before it is too late. Turn to Him before your words become the very snare of your soul leading you to eternal judgment.
Truth in Connection: For those of us who have trusted in Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we must not forget the danger that our foolish words can lead us into. While our souls are saved from eternal judgment, we can still bring much ruin into our earthly lives by letting the foolishness of our sinful desires control our words and actions. Unless we walk with God’s Word and Spirit controlling us then our flesh will push us into responding in sinful, foolish ways. That will have a destructive effect on our life with our relationships with our family, coworkers, neighbors, friends, and other people. It will have a destructive effect on our witness to people about God’s grace, and it will ruin our fellowship with God. We have way too much to lose. We must not live this foolish way with a divisive, contentious spirit clouding our words. We must continue to immerse ourselves in the wisdom of God’s Word so that His wisdom, grace, truth, love, and kindness is what comes out of our mouths. Daily turn from any foolishness that may have been creeping into your words. Daily turn to taking up your cross and following Jesus.
Do not buy the lie that telling someone off is what you should do. It will hurt you spiritually (and maybe even physically) just as much or more than it hurts them. Do not let your mouth be the snare of your soul. And if your mouth does seem to have control over you and foolishness is your normal practice of speech, then remember the warnings of Galatians 5. Remember the self-deception that the rich young ruler had. You may think you have a salvation that you do not have. Allow the truth of the wisdom of God’s Word to pierce your heart. But do not turn away sorrowfully like the rich young ruler. Give everything to Jesus and trust Him entirely. Then daily walk in the newness of life He gives with His wisdom as your guide.
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.
© 2024, 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) · 