The wise who is instructed
[Proverbs 21:9-20]
Personally, when I think of our church members, I am hoping and praying that all of us can be raised up as the Word-centered Christian who stands firmly in the Word of God. If I express this prayer in Acts 17:11, I hope and pray that all members of our church will be raised up as ‘noble-minded Christians’: “Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.” Here, what does the word “noble-minded” mean? Mainly, “noble-minded” refers to an attitude and manner. It is a character that treats others with respect, gentle, honest manners. The literal meaning of the word is that a person was born from a good family (Sang-seop Yoo), that is, from a noble family (Park). In Acts 17:11, the word “noble-minded” means that the people in Berea had more noble spirit than those in Thessalonica (Park). Then, what is the ‘noble spirit’? It is an attitude of searching the Bible every day with all of their zeal (Park). Therefore, the saying that the Berea people were noble-minded means that they were people who searched the Bible with all their zeal every day. One of the characteristics of these noble-minded Christians is that they receive the word of God with “great eagerness” (v. 11). Here, the phrase “they received the word with great eagerness” means that the people in Berea received the word of God “with all zeal” (Park) or “with all willingness” (Yoo). When the apostle Paul preached the gospel of Jesus Christ, the people in Berea accepted the word of the gospel with full willingness (Yoo). Just as the roots of a tree planted by a stream suck in the water flowing by the stream, the noble-minded Christians have the capacity to accept the word of God. Just as if we press a sponge firmly and put it in a bucket, it sucks in water, so the noble-minded Christians yearn for God's word, read it hard, learn it, and plant it in their hearts. I hope and pray that we have this capacity to accept His word. Like a sponge, every time we read, study, or listen to the word of God, I hope and pray that His word comes into our ears and hearts like the sponge that sucks in water.
This is what Proverbs 21:11 says: “When the scoffer is punished, the naive becomes wise; But when the wise is instructed, he receives knowledge.” It means that when the wise is instructed, he receives knowledge. Focusing on this verse, I would like to receive a lesson given by thinking about five kinds of knowledge that the wise man who is instructed and receives knowledge under the heading “The wise who is instructed”.
First, the knowledge that the wise who is instructed receives is that reconciliation is better than quarrel.
Look at Proverbs 21:9, 10: “Better to live on a corner of the roof than share a house with a quarrelsome wife. … Better to live in a desert than with a quarrelsome and ill-tempered wife.” Do you want to live in a big house or do you want to live in a small house? A small house is uncomfortable in many ways, but a large house is comfortable in many ways. Then we all probably want to live in the large house that is comfortable in many ways. Isn't it? By the way, if you are comfortable living in a large house, but the marital relationship is not reconciled and your spouse often quarrels, while living in a small house is uncomfortable, but the marital relationship is harmonious, would you choose a large house with quarrels or a small house with reconciliation? Perhaps both you and I will choose “reconciliation” over “the big house”. The reason is because we all want a more harmonious home than a big house.
Among the words of Proverbs that we have already meditated on, we have received four lessons on how we can avoid quarrels and build a harmonious family based on Proverbs 17:1 under the title of “A peaceful family”. In review again, it looks like this: (1) A peaceful family covers each other's offense. In order to avoid quarrels in our family, we must not repeat each other’s offense (v. 9). (2) A peaceful family receives rebuke from each other. We must humbly receive each other's rebuke in order to avoid quarrels in our family (v. 10). (3) A peaceful family doesn’t pay back evil for good. We must pay back good for good in order to avoid quarrels in our family (v. 13). (4) A peace family drops the matter before a dispute breaks out. We must drop the matter before the dispute breaks out in order to avoid strife in our family (v. 14). As you think about these four lessons again, what about applying them to each of you in your home, especially in a marital relationship? Are you really covering each other's offense? Are you taking each other's rebuke? Are you paying for good with good? Are you dropping the matter before a dispute breaks out?
If we look at Proverbs 21:9, the Bible says “a quarrelsome wife”. But in verse 19 the Bible says “a quarrelsome and ill-tempered wife.” The reason for this is that the reason we quarrel is because we can control our anger and are angry. We know this because in Proverbs 15:18 the Bible says “A hot-tempered man stirs up dissension”. But the Bible says “a patient man calms a quarrel” (v. 18). In a marital relationship, if we are unable to manage our anger and are easily outraged, then we will inevitably cause contention. What is the reason? One of the reasons is because when we are angry, we speak a harsh word (v. 1). So when we meditate on “a quarrelsome wife” or “a quarrelsome and ill-tempered wife”, Proverbs 19:13 says, “a quarrelsome wife is like a constant dripping” (Ref.: 27:15). What does it mean? A wife who has a habit of quarreling with her husband often quarrels with her husband so that there are few days of peace. And when quarrels begin, she doesn’t stop talking like “a constant dripping” water (Park). How would her husband react if such a quarrelsome and angry wife pours out words in anger from the continuation? In Proverbs 21:9, 19, King Solomon says that it is better to live on a corner of the roof or in a desert than in a large house with a quarreling wife. What does it mean? It is better to live peacefully with your wife on the corner of the roof or in the desert even though it’s uncomfortable than in the comfortable big house with the quarreling wife. We must take this lesson. And we must put the lessons we receive into action. We must become wise who seek reconciliation rather than quarrel. The reason is because the Lord has given us the ministry of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:18). All of us should be peacemakers from home to church or wherever we go.
Second, the knowledge that the wise who is instructed receives is that the heart of the wicked desires evil.
Look at Proverbs 21:10 – “The wicked man craves evil; his neighbor gets no mercy from him.” Do you know what the heart of the wicked is saying? In Proverbs 12:12, the Bible says that the wicked man desires the plunder of evil mean. The reason is because the heart of the wicked chases fantasies (v. 11). Here, there is greed in the heart of the wicked man who chases fantasies, and that greed follows fantasies and vain things of no value. So, the wicked man plunders others' things even by using all the unrighteous methods. His thoughts are perverted (v. 8) and he doesn’t intend to work with his own hands (v. 11). But he only thinks of plundering someone else's. Also, in Proverbs 13:2, the Bible says that the desire of the treacherous is violence. It means that the desire of the wicked man is unfaithful and longs for violence. And the wicked man who longs for violence in his heart not only does violence, but also deceives with his lips. If we look at Proverbs 21:10, the Bible says that the heart of the wicked man craves evil. The English Bible translates the heart of the wicked as crave for evil, which is a better translation of the original Hebrew. It can be thought that the wicked man’s heart's longing for evil is almost addicted to evil (Walvoord). So Proverbs 4:16 says, “For they cannot sleep unless they do evil; And they are robbed of sleep unless they make someone stumble.” Isn't it like being addicted to evil that the wicked man can't sleep unless he does evil and unless he makes someone stumble? Why is the wicked man doing so much evil? The reason is said in Ecclesiastes 8:11 – “Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed quickly, therefore the hearts of the sons of men among them are given fully to do evil.” The reason why the wicked man yearns for evil and does evil is because punishment is not carried out quickly. Therefore, he is bold in doing evil. He is courageous to do evil and wants disaster for his neighbor. And he never shows mercy to his neighbor (Prov. 21:10). As a result, the Bible says that the righteous Lord who considers the houses of the wicked will turn the wicked to ruin (v. 12). Clearly, our just God will judge the wicked in His time and will destroy the wicked (14:11). And if we look at Proverbs 21:18, the Bible says that God makes the wicked a ransom for the righteous. What does it mean? It means that the wicked will try to kill the righteous, but instead he will be killed (Park). An example of this is a wicked man named Haman from Esther who tried to kill Mordecai the righteous, but he himself was killed (Esth. 6:1-7:10). This is what Dr. Yoon-sun Park said: ‘It is so evil for the wicked to make various schemes to kill the righteous. So God intervenes and judges the wicked in particular’ (Park).
Therefore, we should not crave evil like the heart of the wicked. Rather, we must yearn for righteousness as those who have become righteous in Jesus Christ. Here, the word that we yearn for righteousness means that we should show favor to our neighbors (Prov. 21:10) as those who were justified by Jesus' death on the cross and resurrection from the tomb (Rom. 4:25). The reason is because we are saved totally by God's grace and become righteous. Therefore, we must show favor to our neighbors. In a word, we must be committed to loving our neighbors as ourselves, like the commandment of Jesus.
Third, the knowledge that the wise who is instructed receives is that wisdom is gained through punishment.
Look at Proverbs 21:11 – “When the scoffer is punished, the naive becomes wise; But when the wise is instructed, he receives knowledge.” Among the things we will guard against in order to keep our hearts well, in addition to the 'quarrels' (v. 9) and ‘craving evil’ (v. 10), there is ‘mocking’ mentioned in Proverbs 21:11. In other words, we must be on the lookout for and be on the guard for our hearts to become arrogant. The reason is because when our hearts become arrogant, we become arrogant enough to despise God (Park). Look at Proverbs 29:1 – “A man who remains stiff-necked after many rebukes will suddenly be destroyed--without remedy.” We can know that our hearts are haughty by seeing that we don’t receive rebuke in love. Not only are we not rebuked, we are not rebuked by anyone, even a rebuke by God. Like Proverbs 15:12 says, “A mocker resents correction ….” That is why Proverbs 9:8 says, “Do not rebuke a mocker ….” The reason is because “he will hate you” (v. 8). As a result, we sin against God by disobeying His commandments. Even then, we are not only unrepentant of our sins, but we have no desire to repent. The reason is because if our hearts become haughty, not only we will not consider sin as sin, but we cannot do so. When we come to such a state, the only thing left for us is God's punishment.
If we look at Proverbs 21:11, the Bible says, “the simple gain wisdom” even when they are punished by God. Here, “the simple” are people with an open mind, who don’t know the truth well and follow a proud person. These are the ones who can become right if they receive the right guidance (Park). The problem is that these people don’t know the truth well, so they lack wise judgment (7:7; 9:4, 16). Therefore, they believe anything and don’t give thought to their steps (14:15). As a result, they fall into the temptation when a harlot tempts them and sin against God (9:4, 16). And the foolish people don’t hide and escape even when they see the disaster. Rather they go out and get hurt (22:3; 27:12). Therefore, these people gain wisdom by seeing the haughty ones they followed are punished. The similar to Proverbs 21:11 is Proverbs 19:25: “Flog a mocker, and the simple will learn prudence; rebuke a discerning man, and he will gain knowledge.” When we meditate on this passage, I think we are talking about 3 kinds of people in Proverbs 21:11. Those three kinds of people are the proud, the fool, and the wise. The proud man, even if he is punished, continues to harden his neck. The reason is because even though he seeks wisdom, he finds none (14:6). As a result, the proud man will eventually be broken beyond remedy (29:1). The foolish man who follows the proud man may at least see the proud man perishing and gain wisdom (right discernment) so that he no longer follows the proud man, and may turn and walk on the right path. However, the wise man not only receives instruction (21:11) but also reproofs (19:25) through the defeat of the proud man, and thus gains wisdom.
What kind of wisdom do you think the wise will get? In my opinion, the wisdom that the wise man acquires is the wisdom of repenting when he sins and when he is rebuked. A good example is King David in the Old Testament. When King David was rebuked by the prophet Nathan for the sin of taking Uriah's wife, he didn’t hesitate to confess and repent of his sin, saying, “I have sinned against the Lord” (2 Sam. 12:13). This repentant wisdom adds to the wise. What a great grace and blessing is this? Wouldn't you like to yearn for this wisdom? Wouldn't you like to ask God for wisdom to repent like David did? In addition to this wisdom, other wisdom is said in Proverbs 21:20 – “In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, but a foolish man devours all he has.” Here, “a foolish mean devours all he has” means that the fool wastes everything in his home, such as precious treasures and oil. The the fool wastes everything he has in his luxury life. On the other hand, the wise save his materials for the Lord. He generously devotes material things for the Lord, but doesn’t waste it for himself (Park). King Solomon compares the wise man with “ant” in Proverbs 6:6-8. He says, “Go to the ant, O sluggard, Observe her ways and be wise” (v. 6). And he says, the ant prepares her food in the summer and gathers her provision in the harvest (v. 8). In other words, the wise man works diligently at the time of harvest, like ants, in order to prepare and save material. So, in his house there is choice food and oil (21:20).
The Bible Proverbs 9:9 says that if a wise person receives instruction, he will become wiser. But the simple man, that is, he who follows the arrogant because he doesn’t know the truth well will gain wisdom by seeing the arrogant being punished (21:11). He not only gains the wisdom of repentance, but also the wisdom of ants, turning away from sin, walking on the right path, working diligently and preparing, saving materials wisely and well. May we also have this kind of wisdom.
Fourth, the knowledge that the wise who is instructed receives is that doing justice brings joy.
Look at Proverbs 21:15 – “When justice is done, it brings joy to the righteous but terror to evildoers.” The Bible Proverbs 21:7 says, “The violence of the wicked will drag them away, for they refuse to do what is right.” In other words, the wicked man refuses to do justice. What is the reason? Why does the wicked refuse to do justice and hate it? The reason for this is explained in the second half of Proverbs 19:28 – “… And the mouth of the wicked spreads iniquity.” In other words, because the mouth of the wicked man pursues sin with an insatiable desire, the wicked never loves nor does justice. The wicked man cannot do justice. Think about it. Would the wicked man who pursues insatiable desires like to do justice? It is not justice, but injustice that can satisfy the wicked's desire for sin. Actually, if we revised the Hebrew word of Proverbs 21:15, it’s like this: ‘To do justice is a joy to the righteous, but to the unrighteous it is destruction’ (Park). King Solomon is contrasting with 'those who do justice' and 'those who do injustice'. In relation to Proverbs 21:7 regarding those who practice injustice in this contrast, what can be concluded is that the unrighteous refuses to do justice because they hate to do justice. To some extent, the unrighteous people hate and refuse to do justice, and suffer as if doing righteousness leads to destruction (Park). Doesn’t it make sense to say that the unrighteous doing righteousness has afflictions like falling into destruction? After all, it means that the suffering of the unrighteous is to do justice. If we think about this in reverse, it means that the joy of the unrighteous is to do injustice. Look at Proverbs 10:23 – “Doing wickedness is like sport to a fool, And so is wisdom to a man of understanding.” On the contrary, it is joy for the righteous to do justice (21:15). And for the righteous, it is affliction to do injustice. As those who believe in Jesus and are justified, our joy should be doing justice. At the same time, doing injustice should be a pain for us. Why should our joy be doing justice? The reason is because doing justice is acceptable to God (21:3). Therefore, we should enjoy doing justice.
What is the justice we must do? First of all, we must think about the fourth blessing out of the Beatitudes that Jesus said in Matthew 5:6 – “"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” In other words, the first thing we must pursue is to become hungry and thirsty for righteousness. But we should not be those who pursue “self-righteousness” like the Pharisees at the time of Jesus. In other words, we must not live a life that pursues self-righteousness by deeds, which is our human effort. Rather, we must yearn for the righteousness of God. Longing for this righteousness of God on the basis of the redemption of Jesus Christ means that we must believe in the fact that we are forgiven and saved because Jesus shed blood on the cross and paid the price for our sins with His own life. When we believe in Jesus Christ, who is God's righteousness, we will enjoy the happiness of contentment. In such a situation, the righteousness (justice) we must pursue is the words of Matthew 6:33 – “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” We must first seek God's kingdom and His righteousness. We should enjoy seeking God's kingdom and doing His will. And, like Asa king of Judah in 2 Chronicles 15, we must do justice in the sight of God (vv. 2-5). Who is the King Asa? King Asa was the king who initiated the Reformation by listening to the prophecy of the prophet Isaiah (v. 8) in the time of trouble (v. 6) when the Israelites were afflicted with various afflictions (v. 8). He did good and righteousness in the sight of God, destroying the Gentile altars and high places, breaking down the columns, cutting down the Asherah table, and commanding the people of Judah to seek the LORD, the God of their ancestors, to fulfill his laws and commands, and to make high places and sun statues in all the cities of Judah (14:2-5). To what extent did King Asa make the people of Judah search for God? They made an oath to God (15:14) that “whoever would not seek the LORD God of Israel should be put to death, whether small or great, man or woman” (v. 13). Because they entered into the covenant to seek God with all their heart and soul, God let them find Him and gave them rest on every side (v. 15). Eventually, the kingdom of Judah was at peace under King Asa (14:5). Because God gave Asa peace, the land was peaceful and there were no war with him for many years (v. 6). In this way, in the days of King Asa, his land was peaceful for 10 years (v. 1). For peace in this country in which we live, and for peace in this society, church, and family, we must seek God earnestly like King Asa and the Israelites. We must get rid of sinful things in our home, church, society, and nation. We Christians must repent and turn to God. I hope and pray that all of us may practice justice in this way.
Firth and last, the knowledge that the wise who is instructed receives is the ending of those who stray from the path of understanding and who loves pleasure.
Look at Proverbs 21:16-17: “A man who strays from the path of understanding comes to rest in the company of the dead. He who loves pleasure will become poor; whoever loves wine and oil will never be rich.” What choices would we make when we knew some of the consequences of our choices? Let me give you an example. Have you ever saw such an advertisement in a TV commercial that a person who keeps smoking cigarettes has a hole in his neck? I've seen that advertisement many times and thought it was terrible. I even thought of how to put out such an advertisement on TV. But it turns out that the TV advertisement is effective. In other words, it is said that people who smoked quit smoking after seeing that advertisement. According to one study, about 200,000 smokers quit smoking in one and three months after the commercial appeared on TV in March 2012 (Internet). I didn't know that TV commercials worked this much. If we see 200,000 people quit smoking in three months, I think it's a worthwhile advertisement. If we look at Proverbs 21:16-17, the Bible speaks about the ending of two kinds of people. The first kind of people is those who stray from the path of understanding (v. 16). These are people who have deliberately turned their backs on the path of understanding, that is, the path of wisdom (Walvoord). Dr. Yoon-sun Park says that “A man who strays from the path of understanding” refer to apostates who have left the truth of God (Park). They have deliberately left the path of a godly life and say that the ending is to dwell in the “company of the dead”. Soon, their end is death. The second kind of people is those who love pleasure (v. 17). In short, they are lovers of worldly pleasures. In other words, these aren’t the degree to which they like pleasure, but those who are attached to it and don’t know how to detach from it (Park). To make it easier to understand, those who love pleasure can be thought of as those who are addicted to the worldly pleasures. The end of these people is that they will never become rich and will become poor. In 2 Timothy 3:4, the Bible says, when the last days of difficult times comes (v. 1) men will be “lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God” and we have faced such an age now. In this age where people love pleasures more than God, we must heart the voice of God saying that those who love pleasures will be in need. This is what Proverbs 28:19 says, “He who tills his land will have plenty of food, But he who follows empty pursuits will have poverty in plenty.” When we depart from the truth of God and refuse to live a godly life but follow worldly pleasure and debauchery, then we will be in need of a lot. Therefore, the wise people who receive instruction hear the word of God's truth and are guarded. However, the Bible Proverbs 13:18 says that poverty and shame will come to the fool people who neglect discipline. I hope and pray that we be wise to receive this instruction.
We must become Christians who receive the word of God with earnest heart (with zeal, willing heart) (Acts 17:11). We must become wise Christians who diligently receive instruction and get knowledge (Prov. 21:11). We must never stray from the words of knowledge (19:27). Today we have learned five things about what knowledge that the wise who is instructed receives: (1) It is the knowledge that reconciliation is better than quarrel. (2) It is the knowledge that the heart of the wicked desires evil. (3) It is the knowledge that wisdom is gained through punishment. (4) It is the knowledge that doing justice brings joy. (5) It is the knowledge that the ending of those who stray from the path of understanding and who loves pleasure. I hope and pray that this knowledge will become fuller in our life of faith.