Lesson 16 of 28
28. SALVATION OF THE LORD
We have seen that God is strong and wise. He is the perfect Saviour for those who put their trust in Him.
Proverbs14.27 - The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death. To fear the Lord is to respect Him as God and to worship Him. Sinful men should indeed be afraid of a holy God, but this is not the faith that brings salvation, James 2.19 - Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, a nd tremble. We know God as our Father, but we must always have proper respect for Him as God. In this proverb fearing the Lord brings life and delivers us from Satan’s traps which only lead to death. A fountain gives out plenty of water, and this is like the life which the Lord Jesus gives, John 4.14 - But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
Proverbs 14.26 - In the fear of the Lord is strong confidence: and his children shall have a place of refuge. Faith in the Lord gives us full confidence because He is so strong and can never fail. We can know that we are safe forever, 1 John 5.13 - These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. All God’s children have a safe place of refuge, Psalm 46.1 - God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Proverbs 19.23 - The fear of the Lord tendeth to life: and he that hath it shall abide satisfied; he shall no t be visited with evil. Faith in the Lord leads to eternal life and total satisfaction. Jeremiah 31.14 - And I will satiate the soul of the priests with fatness, and my people shall be satisfied with my go odness, saith the Lord. The Lord will keep us from sin if we trust Him, and He will allow evil things to happen only if they are really for our good, Romans 8.28 - And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
Proverbs 29.25 - The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe. We should not be afraid of men, Hebrews 13.6 - So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me. Trusting the Lord brings joy as well as safety, Proverbs 16.20 - He that handleth a matter wisely shall find good: and whoso trusteth in the Lord, happy is he. Do not put your trust in any man, not even in yourself, Proverbs 28.26 - He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered.
Proverbs 18.10 - The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe. In time of war people would run into a tower to be safe from their enemies, Judges 9.51 - But there was a strong tower within the city, and thither fled all the men and women, and all they of the city, and shut it to them, and ga t them up to the top of the tower. Believers can call on the name of the Lord and be safe. One name of the Lord Jesus Christ is Son of God. He has all the power and wisdom of Jehovah.
Proverbs 21.31 - The horse is prepared agains t the d ay of battle: but safety is of the LORD. The horse was a great help to soldiers long ago. Solomon built stables for forty thousand horses which he bought
in Egypt, 1 Kings 4.26 - And Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen; 1 Kings 10.28 - And Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt, and linen yarn: the king's merchants received the linen yarn at a price. This was breaking the law of Moses, Deuteronomy 17.16 - But he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he should multiply horses: forasmuch as the Lord hath said unto you, Ye shall henceforth return no more that way, and David, Solomon’s father, knew that he should not trust in horses for victory, Psalm 20.7 - Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the Lord our God. Solomon prepared many horses but he still trusted in the Lord.
Proverbs 16.7 - When a man's ways please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him. Fearing the Lord, means pleasing the Lord in all that we do and say. God is supreme over all, and He can make our enemies leave us alone. He commanded the men of Israel to bring sacrifices three times a year, and promised that enemies would not attack them at that time, Exodus 34.24 - For I will cast out the nations before thee, and enlarge thy borders: neither shall any man desire thy land, when thou shalt go up to appear before the Lord thy God thrice in the year.
Our enemies are spiritual, and the Lord gives us victory over them, Ephesians 6.12 - For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places; 1 Corinthians 15.57 - But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ; 2 Corinthians 3.14 - But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ.
29. BLESSINGS FROM THE LORD
Besides salvation there are many blessings for those who fear and trust the Lord. We are blessed with all spiritual blessings, Ephesians 1.3 - Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. Here we have five proverbs on this subject.
Proverbs 22.4 - By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches, and honour, and life. No proud person can fear and trust the Lord, so humility and faith go together. This proverb promises three blessings: riches, honour and life. We have seen that eternal life comes through faith, Proverbs 14.27 - The fea r of the Lord is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death. In the Old Testament the righteous man was often given honour by his neighbours. Job was the greatest man in the east , Job 1.3 - His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east.
God’s honour is more important than men’s, and He has promised to honour those who honour Him, 1 Samuel 2.30 - Wherefore the Lord God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the Lord saith, Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed. Psalm 91.15 - He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. However, the people of Jeremiah’s home town wanted to kill him, Jeremiah 11.21 - Therefore thus saith the Lord of the men of Anathoth, that seek thy life, saying, Prophesy not in the name of the Lord, that thou die not by our hand, and in this world the Lord Jesus promised we would have trouble, not honour, John 16.33 - These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. In heaven we will receive crowns of glory if we serve the Lord here, 1 Peter 5.4 - And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.
The Lord also promised to bless His people with riches in this world, for example,
Abraham, Genesis 24.35 - And the Lord hath blessed my master greatly; and he is become great: and he hath given him flocks, and herds, and silver, and gold, and menservants, and maidservants, and camels, and asses.
Isaac, Genesis 26.12 - Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the Lord blessed him.
However, today God has promised only to supply our needs.
Proverbs 15.33 - The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom; and before honour is humility. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge and wisdom, Proverbs 1.7 - The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction; Proverbs 9.10 - The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding, and it also helps us to keep on learning more about Him. He promised honour in Proverbs 22:4 - By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches, and honour, and life, if we keep humble and trust Him. Here we learn that humility must come before honour, Matthew 23.12 - And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.
Proverbs 10.22 - The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it. The blessing of the Lord is better than riches in this world because His blessing is pure without any sorrow. Later Solomon wrote that rich people often cannot sleep well, Ecclesiastes 5.12 - The sleep of a labouring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much: but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep; and in Proverbs 11.4 - Riches profit not in the day of wrath: but righteousness delivereth from death, we see that riches will not help a person when God is angry with him. Also read Luke 16.25 - But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented; Luke 18.25 - For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God; James 1.11 - For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth: so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways; James 5.1 - Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
Proverbs 16.20 - He that handleth a matter wisely shall find good: and whoso trusteth in the Lord, happy is he. The Word of God says we should seek wisdom, Proverbs 4.7 - Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding and we find this in the Bible itself. We must obey God’s commands and use His wisdom in facing the problems of life, our own and others’ also. If we do, we will find good. But we must trust in the Lord even if we have the wisdom of God’s Word. This alone brings true joy.
Proverbs 16.3 - Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established. We should roll our problems, great and small, on the Lord, as David advised, Psalm 37.5 - Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. If we really want to follow the Lord, He will guide us in making plans and in all that we do or say or think.
30. THE WAY OF LIFE
The Lord Jesus said, “ I Am the Way and the Life” and Peter confessed that He alone had the words of eternal life, John 6.68 - Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life. Only God can show us the true way of life, His greatest blessing. In this section we have ten proverbs, one of which is repeated. We will look first at five which tell the right
way; then, the wrong way.
1. The right way
Proverbs 12.28 - In the way of righteousness is life; and in the pathway thereof there is no death. Walking in the way of righteousness is living a righteous life and doing what is right. In the Old Testament God promised life to those who kept His laws, but no one was able to do so, Romans 2.7 - To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life; Romans 3.10 - As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one. So now God offers eternal life as a free gift to all who believe. Even believers will die, but they will be saved from the second death, Revelation 20.14 - And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
Proverbs 15.24 - The way of life is above to the wise, that he may depart from hell beneath. Wise people wanted to have eternal life so they chose God’s way. They would go to Sheol, the place of dead people when they died, but not to the lake of fire. Today Christians go right to heaven, Philippians 1.23 - For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:
Proverbs 16.17 - The highway of the upright is to depart from evil: he that keepeth his way preserveth his soul. - The road to life is narrow and most people never find it, Matthew 7.14 - Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. But here righteous people walk on the highway of life and they give up their wicked habits. Stay on the right way and you will be safe.
Proverbs 20.24 - Man's goings are of the Lord; how can a man then understand his own way? - It is important to remember that God is over all. I cannot fully understand the problems of my life, Jeremiah 10.23 - O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps, because God controls my circumstances. How wonderful then to know that God is all-loving, all-powerful and all-wise.
Proverbs 21.2 - Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the Lord pondereth the hearts. Naturally I try to do what I think is best, but I often make mistakes. The people of Israel did whatever they pleased before they had a king, Judges 17.6 - In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes. I may do what is right outwardly, yet with a selfish motive, trying to appear holy before men. God knows the heart and He will judge according to our motives. We must act in love, 1 Corinthians 13.3 - And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.
2. The wrong way
Proverbs 14.12 - There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. The wrong way may seem right; surely no one would choose a way which he knew was wrong. Satan has many servants who teach people to follow a wrong way. The Bible says the end of that way is eternal death. This truth is so important that the Holy Spirit gives it to us again in Proverbs 16.25 - There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
Proverbs 19.3 - The foolishness of man perverteth his way: and his heart fretteth against the Lord. In their foolishness many people follow the wrong way and end up in ruin. Then they blame the Lord for their trouble. Even in hell there will be gnashing of teeth, which means people will be angry with God, Matthew 8.12 - But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Proverbs 19.27 - Cease, my son, to hear the instruction that causeth to err from the words of knowledge. So the wise father tells his son to stop listening to wrong or false teaching, and to keep on learning more about the truth. Our loving Father in heaven wants us to study His Word every day. It is necessary to follow the right way if you wish to arrive. Why take one step in the direction in which you do not want to go?
Proverbs 21.16 - The man that wandereth out of the way of understanding shall remain in the congregation of the dead. Some people start out on the right road but later they begin to listen to false teachers. They never reach the way of life; they will be with many others, lost forever.
Proverbs 27.8 - As a bird that wandereth from her nest, so is a man that wandereth from his place. They are like a bird that flies away from its nest. Man’s true home is in heaven with God the Father. The Lord Jesus went to prepare a place for us, and He is the only Way to God.
Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God...(Acts 20:26,27). “Come now, let us reason together...” (Isaiah 1:18).
