Thursday, November 21, 2013 GraceDoctrine.org The Book of Proverbs, Pt. 177, Chapter 11:29-31 Vs. 27-31, Blessings or wrath related to motivation in business. Part 2 Verse 29 Prov 11:29, “He who troubles his own house will inherit wind, and the foolish will be servant to the wisehearted.” Here we have two analogies of different socio-economic positions: the head of a household and the servant of the household. It begins with the head of the house who brings “trouble” to it. “Trouble” is the Qal Active Verb AKHAR, עָכַר that means “to stir up, to trouble or to be disastrous.” It means that because of his cheating, stealing, gossiping, maligning in business it results in difficulties and disasters. We noted this verb in verse 17, for “does himself harm.” Cf. Prov 15:6; 27. Prov 15:6, “Great wealth is in the house of the righteous, but trouble is in the income of the wicked.” Prov 15:27, “He who profits illicitly troubles his own house, but he who hates bribes will live.” “His own house” BAYITH, used literally for buildings, but here and elsewhere figuratively for “extended family, household or clan.” So this means to cause problems and difficulties for yourself and for your own family as a result of your evil business practices. The discipline this reversionistic believer will receive is to “inherit wind” that means to reap the whirlwind, as previously noted. It is a metaphor for being left with nothing Eccl. 1:14, and means a storm or disaster will come upon your family and potentially subsequent generations, Prov 1:27: 10:25. Eccl 1:14, “I have seen all the works which have been done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and striving after wind.” The word “inherit” is used here as a metaphor for what the reversionistic believer will receive, more so than pass down, when he operates in evil business practices. Yet in fact, “to trouble one’s own house” is to walk so as to leave an evil example for succeeding generations that will negatively effect those subsequent generations too. The Correlation! “And the foolish will be servant to the wisehearted.” “Foolish” is EWIYL, אֱוִיל (evil) once again, and means “foolish” in the sense of “one who hates wisdom and walks in folly, despising wisdom and morality.” This type “will become a servant”, EBED (evedh), for servant or slave, to the “wisehearted”, CHAKAM LEB. This describes those whose foolish decisions ruin their business or property, cf. Prov 14:1, with the result of enslaving them to those who are wise, and take over their business and household as well, cf. Prov 17:2. Prov 17:2, “A servant who acts wisely will rule over a son who acts shamefully, and will share in the inheritance among brothers.” So the wicked believer will cause problems to themselves and their household which leads to being enslaved to others. “Instead of passing on the inherited business or property, Prov 19:14, and building it up by wisdom, Prov 24:3-4, 27, this foolish person reduces the family’s heritage to a fleeting nothing, and he himself becomes a slave, no longer a free man.” (Waltke) Verse 30 Prov 11:30, “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who is wise wins souls.” The agricultural analogy of verse 28, “Fall and Spring” continues now with the righteous being a “tree of life” bearing fruit. “The fruit of the righteous” is PERI TSADDIQ and is speaking once again of Divine good production, the fruit of the Holy Spirit, John 15:1-5. It is a metonymy for what characterizes everything that results from the words and lives of the righteous believer, in both their own lives and the lives of those who are affected by their business transactions. The blessing here is, “a tree of life”, ETS CHAYYIM, that refers to sharing the happiness of God with others. It is the benefits and abundant life that the righteous produce for their family and community by their words and deeds in business. They are a source of life and happiness to those around them. Interestingly, it was exactly one year ago this week (Nov, 20, 2012) that I taught on this regarding Prov 3:18, “She (wisdom) is a tree of life to those who take hold of her, and happy are all who hold her fast.” There our emphasis was on the wisdom of God, (Bible Doctrine), described as a “tree of life.” Here the emphasis is regarding the application of Bible Doctrine (righteousness) to our business transactions. In both cases, the “Tree of Life” represents sharing the Happiness of God, one of the 11 Problem Solving Devices. We will note the Doctrine of the Tree of Life after we conclude verse 31. But remember what Mat 13:32 tells us, “And this (the mustard seed that represents faith-resting) is smaller than all other seeds, but when it is full grown, it is larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that THE BIRDS OF THE AIR come and NEST IN ITS BRANCHES.” Cf. Mark 4:32; Luke 13:19. So we see that for the person who applies God’s Word (wisdom) to their business dealings they will be prosperous bringing sustenance and happiness to themselves and their families and communities. Therefore, the result of functioning with righteousness in our business transactions is that others are blessed by association. The Correlation! “And he who is wise (CHAKAM) wins souls.” This person because of their Divine good production are excelling in their Royal Ambassadorship with the result that they are “winning souls”, LAQACH for “to take, grasp or seize” with NEPHESH for “souls or lives.” Another way to say this is that he “takes away souls” from death. This is the result of our words, actions and deeds in relation to business transactions that are done in righteousness; they will win souls. In other words, by your actions and deeds of righteousness you will lead people to see Christ in you with the potential of bringing them to salvation. This is part of God’s blessing by association. God has blessed you with salvation, and when you walk in that light others will receive your light and salvation too. “Wisdom consists not in the knowledge of Scripture, precious as that is, but in the ability to live in the power of the Word. True wisdom is being able to so minister to men, women, and children that they will be won for Christ and His truth.” (H.A. Ironside Expository Commentary – Proverbs) “It is evident that soul-winning is not the slipshod business many would make it out to be—the mere hit-or-miss ministry that is so common today. On the contrary, it is a Divine science, requiring sincere preparation of the heart in the presence of God. It requires careful study of the need of mens souls and of the truth of the Scriptures that can meet that need. Of all human soul-winners, Paul is the great example made all things to all men, that (he) might by all means save some (1 Corinthians 9:19-23). This is the wisdom so much needed in turning men from the power of Satan unto God.” (H.A. Ironside Expository Commentary - Proverbs.) Verse 31 Prov 11:31, “If the righteous will be rewarded in the earth, how much more the wicked and the sinner!” This verse starts with the interrogative HEN for “see or if.” It establishes an “if - then” statement. The “if” is the “righteous (TSADDIQ) will be rewarded in the earth (ERETS, אֶרֶץ).” “Rewarded” is the intensive passive Pual Imperfect Verb SHALAM, שָׁלַם that comes from SHALOM, and means, “to be at peace, to be safe (in mind, body or estate); figuratively to be (causatively make) completed; by implication to be friendly; and by extension to reciprocate or recompensed (in various applications)” as is the case here, to be reciprocated for the righteous business transactions we have consistently applied. Notice the place of the reciprocated blessings, “in the earth.” This finalizes the agricultural analogy, as all plant life and fruit production comes from the earth of the ground and reminds us of John 15:1 that the Father is the vinedresser, (land owner). Therefore, our blessings come from the genesis of our life here on earth God Himself. That means that our blessings are based on the work we perform here on the earth that are reciprocated while we are still here on earth as “blessings in time.” So the “if” statement is what is called in the Greek a first class conditional if, that means, “if and you are” blessed here on earth. It is saying that the righteous business man or woman is blessed here on earth in this time. It is used to set up the contrast of the wicked believer. The Contrast! “How much more the wicked (RASHA) and the sinner (CHATA)!” CHATA, חָטָא means, “to sin, to miss the mark, go wrong, etc.” So wicked and sinner combined denotes their guilt before God for the wrongs against humanity. “How much more” begins the “then” statement with the Conjunction APH, “and, even, surely, etc.”, and the Conjunction KI, “because, that, etc.”, that combine for a comparison to the righteous above. Now we know that wickedness, sin and evil are not rewarded by blessings from God, so the comparison is by way of God’s judgment, in that the wicked believer is rewarded with Divine discipline. This reminds us that crime does not pay, and God’s discipline is sure to follow the evil business transactions of the reversionistic believer. So for the spiritually mature businessman there is recompense of blessings in time here on earth, and for the reversionistic businessman there is recompense of Divine discipline in time on earth. Grace Fellowship Church Pastor/Teacher, Jim Rickard Property of: Grace Fellowship Church, Pastor James H. Rickard James H. Rickard Bible Ministries Copyright 2013 - All Rights Reserved
Posted on: Fri, 22 Nov 2013 14:49:08 +0000
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