April 11th, 2022

Hello friends, I'm a bit late today in posting the daily Proverb. Today we are looking at Proverbs Ch. 11. Go ahead and read it, then look over my comments at the end. God Bless,
Pastor Erik.
1 A false balance is an abomination to the Lord, But a just weight is His delight. 2 When pride comes, then comes dishonor, But with the humble is wisdom. 3 The integrity of the upright will guide them, But the crookedness of the treacherous will destroy them. 4 Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, But righteousness delivers from death. 5 The righteousness of the blameless will smooth his way, But the wicked will fall by his own wickedness. 6 The righteousness of the upright will deliver them, But the treacherous will be caught by their own greed. 7 When a wicked man dies, his expectation will perish, And the hope of strong men perishes. 8 The righteous is delivered from trouble, But the wicked [a]takes his place. 9 With his mouth the godless man destroys his neighbor, But through knowledge the righteous will be delivered. 10 When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices, And when the wicked perish, there is joyful shouting. 11 By the blessing of the upright a city is exalted, But by the mouth of the wicked it is torn down. 12 He who despises his neighbor lacks [b]sense, But a man of understanding keeps silent. 13 He who goes about as a talebearer reveals secrets, But he who is [c]trustworthy conceals a matter. 14 Where there is no guidance the people fall, But in abundance of counselors there is [d]victory. 15 He who is guarantor for a stranger will surely suffer for it, But he who hates [e]being a guarantor is secure. 16 A gracious woman attains honor, And ruthless men attain riches. 17 The merciful man does [f]himself good, But the cruel man [g]does himself harm. 18 The wicked earns deceptive wages, But he who sows righteousness gets a true reward. 19 He who is steadfast in righteousness will attain to life, And he who pursues evil will bring about his own death. 20 The perverse in heart are an abomination to the Lord, But the blameless in their [h]walk are His delight. 21 [i]Assuredly, the evil man will not go unpunished, But the [j]descendants of the righteous will be delivered. 22 As a ring of gold in a swine’s snout So is a beautiful woman who lacks [k]discretion. 23 The desire of the righteous is only good, But the expectation of the wicked is wrath. 24 There is one who scatters, and yet increases all the more, And there is one who withholds what is justly due, and yet it results only in want.
25 The [l]generous man will be [m]prosperous, And he who waters will himself be watered.
26 He who withholds grain, the people will curse him, But blessing will be on the head of him who sells it. 27 He who diligently seeks good seeks favor, But he who seeks evil, evil will come to him. 28 He who trusts in his riches will fall, But the righteous will flourish like the green leaf. 29 He who troubles his own house will inherit wind, And the foolish will be servant to the wise hearted. 30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, And he who is wise [n]wins souls. 31 If the righteous will be rewarded in the earth, How much more the wicked and the sinner!
There is something to keep in mind when we are reading the poetry books in the O.T.. The principles laid out in the book of Psalms and Proverbs are exactly that: principles, not necessarily promises. For example, in Proverbs 6 we read:
6 Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it.
Generally speaking, this is true, but there are always  exceptions to these principles. If they were "promises", we would never see variations, because God's promises are without exception or revocation. That said, these principles are a "handbook for living." If we follow the principles laid out in these books, more often than not, we can expect a certain outcome...but now always.
Proverbs 11 is comparing and contrasting the righteous vs. the wicked-or those who follow after the Lord with a pure heart vs. those who only seek gain for themselves. Once again, this series of Proverbs is believed to be written by Solomon. The overall message in Ch. 11 is that there is a HUGE difference between those who live life, guided by the idea that we are to love others, as much as we love ourself; juxtaposed to those who only live for personal gain, and are willing to do anything to achieve that end.
"Lord, allow us to live righteously, considering others needs before our own, to have purity of heart and non-selfish motives for the things we do." AMEN.