Author: Denis Gibson

1. The Heavenly Father: The attempt to deny the title Father to God and replace it with mother or goddess figures is well underway in liberal churches. They argue that it makes no difference what we call God. Father is only an idea drawn from human fatherhood. Fatherhood, therefore, is not essential to the nature of God. This, we contend, is a serious error. It is not just a matter of gender-correctness. It is a subtle attack on the Trinity, on the eternal Sonship of Christ, and the divine institution of fatherhood as well. True, some human fathers are abusive or abandon their families. The word father, for many, is not a pleasant one. Some cry, Can we expect such hurting people to pray, “Our Father”? The Fatherhood of God, however, is the source of all human fatherhood, not the reverse. There are human fathers only because there is the Heavenly Father.

Both proverbs refer to speech, good or bad. The wholesome (sound 14:30) tongue that is a tree of Life (4) parallels the lips of the wise that disperse knowledge (7). The perverseness that is a breach of the spirit (4) has its counterpart in the heart of the foolish [that] does not so (7), that is, disperse knowledge. Note the relation between the lips and the heart in v.7. A wholesome tongue is a healed tongue that produces life. It’s lips, therefore, are wise lips. The word perverse only appears twice in the Hebrew Bible, and both times in Proverbs (11:3). It means to be twisted, or crooked. It is something out of line or even treacherous. Thus the scene is set. Are your lips sound or sick?

The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good (15:3). “Thou God seest me.” It was Hagar, who, in her desperate plight, so named the God who found her by the well and asked her, Whither wilt thou go?

The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding… (15:3). “Secret sins, services and sorrows, are under His eye. This speaks comfort to saints, but terror to sinners” (Henry). God will judge men by the sight of His eyes (Ps.1:6; 11:4).

How many calamities flow from the abuse of words? You have noted the frequent references to words or speech recurring in these proverbs. This emphasises the importance of words. In Pr. 12:23 and 13:16 the fool spouts off with nothing to say. The contrast is between the gentle stream flowing within its proper channels, the tongue of the wise, and the destruction caused by a raging flood that bursts its banks, out of control, like the mouth of fools! “The tongue shows the man. The wise commands his tongue. The fool – his tongue commands him” (Bridges).

Before we leave this proverb, there is another thought implicit here that should be brought out, especially in these days of widespread compromise among professing Christians. “Equivocation is half-way to lying, and lying is the whole way to hell!” To this Spurgeon added, “but by a carefully constructed equivocation truth is murdered.”

Proverbs 15:1, 2, 4 all deal with good and bad use of words. Proverb 15:11 is well known because often quoted. If this writer had more often heeded its advice many heartaches might never have been!

To honour the King is the duty of all subjects, as well as the command of God. To honour the King of Kings is the highest and best duty of all. The former brings temporal praise, the other eternal peace. This proverb also applies to every day life. One who pleases his master, his boss, will receive recognition now, but the one who pleases THE KING receives an hundredfold now, and in the world to come eternal life.

The meaning of this proverb requires little explanation. Preachers have often used it as a sermon text. Still, it carries an imperative warning for our day.

What is it that in the midst of fools is made known? Is it folly or wisdom? The word wisdom and both verbs are feminine. It is thus that most modern versions contradict one another, depending on which option they choose. RSV says, but it (wisdom) is not known in the heart of fools. The RSV footnote shows it followed the Greek (LXX), but adds “Heb. lacks not.” The NRSV, reflecting the very latest scholarship, still inserts not known, while adding a note that not only the Hebrew lacks not, but also Greek and Syriac versions! NASV reads, but in the bosom of fools it (wisdom) is made known. Yet, the NAV (with Apocrypha) reads, but in the bosom of fools it is unknown! Surely Bibles that contradict one another cannot be the Word of God! Since folly is also feminine (14:24), there is no problem with the verb. The simple contrast in this proverb must be between the wise person who shows wisdom, and fools, who only display their folly!