Proverbs 29:5-11 RA Heart-line Time-line

Bragging On Jesus

Proverbs 29:5 A man who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet. 6 An evil man is ensnared in his transgression, but a righteous man sings and rejoices. 7 A righteous man knows the rights of the poor; a wicked man does not understand such knowledge. 8 Scoffers set a city aflame, but the wise turn away wrath. 9 If a wise man has an argument with a fool, the fool only rages and laughs, and there is no quiet. 10 Bloodthirsty men hate one who is blameless and seek the life of the upright. 11 A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back. I believe there are a number of things we could gain from today's reading. However; there is a thread that runs through it all which is mentioned in verse 6. This I what I’d like us to consider today. ... So as always there are two paths mentioned here the path of the evil and the path of the righteous. Let’s look at a kind of time line or maybe a heart-line for the wicked person in these verses and then we’ll come back to the righteous man in verse 6. Verse 5 begins with an ungodly man… not singing… not rejoicing but rather something else is coming out of his mouth… It is flattery towards his neighbor… not for their good to build them up… but for his own benefit. Solomon says he is spreading a net for his own feet. Verse 6 says sin catches the evil person in a trap echoing verse 5. Verse 7 talks about how the wicked man lacks understanding of justice for the poor, (I suspect that is because he is consumed in his own self-centeredness) and in verse 8 we see the scoffer (also wicked) is full of wrath setting a city on fire. Next the fool (again also evil) when arguing rages and laughs… apparently in place of making a good case. Verse 10 speaks of bloodthirsty men hating the blameless seeking the life of the upright… Then finally verse 11 says how the fool gives full vent… It seems he lets out his frustrations on the world. Can you see the heart-line of the wicked man? He is not a happy person… not really. He’s looking for happiness in all the wrong places… He’s going about it his way and not Gods way. He’s using some and flattering others. He’s taking advantage of the poor, he’s scoffing and putting down some and burning the city to get peoples attention making his statement by destroying other peoples property. (No, he didn’t burn his own house)… He laughs and rages on and on giving full vent to the discontentment within his heart. That’s his heart-line. I love the second half of verse 6. 6 ...but a righteous man sings and rejoices. While the city is burning and Covid-19 is sweeping the globe the righteous man sings and rejoices. For one thing this one who is rejoicing… Something has radically changed his perspective on life… Proverbs 15:15 All the days of the afflicted are evil, but the cheerful of heart has a continual feast. What on earth can do that? What can cause the righteous to sing when others spread evil, false gossip about him? What can keep him smiling when he is sick or on his death bed or sitting in a prison cell like John Bunyan who wrote Pilgrims Progress or the Apostle Paul who wrote so much of the New Testament? Acts 16:25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, What’s the heart-line that runs through Paul and Silas and so many Believers around the globe who’s homes are being burned… who are being tortured and killed because they rejoice in Jesus? Acts 5:41 speaking of Peter and other Apostles after they were beaten says this: Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name. It’s because Jesus is the good news of great joy for the sinful soul. He’s the pearl of great price for the spiritually bankrupt, He is the great treasure worth leaving all for. He is our righteousness, peace, victory, inheritance our guaranteed hope and so much more now and for eternity.