Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Adult Sunday School Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/bb/bb20000702.htm

PROVERBS: ALIGNING TO GOD'S FIXED MORAL ORDER
Part III: Displaying God's Fixed Moral Order
E. Viewing Specific Proverbs Of God's Fixed Moral Order
(Proverbs 14:1-35)
  1. Introduction
    1. After motivating a young man to heed an observed fixed moral order, the literary genre of the Egyptian sboyet that the Book of Proverbs uses works to supply actual proverbs to reveal that order, cf. Bruce Waltke, "The Book of Proverbs and Ancient Wisdom Literature," Bibliotheca Sacra, 136:543, p. 221-238.
    2. Solomon reveals that order to be God's order for his son to heed. We continue our study of that order:
  2. Viewing Specific Proverbs Of God's Fixed Moral Order From Proverbs 14:1-35.
    1. A son should discern a godly from an ungodly potential wife by how well she functions in home life, 1.
    2. A son can be told to discern those who respect God by how well their lives conform to His uprightness, 2.
    3. A son must see the degree he adheres to God's morality with his speech affects how well it protects him, 3
    4. A son must learn to tolerate the necessary, undesirable costs of a venture to enjoy its intended success, 4.
    5. A son must look beyond a party's personality and evaluate what words he asserts to judge his honesty, 5.
    6. A son should learn that to the degree he humbly acts as a learner will he acquire invaluable insight, 14:6.
    7. A son must learn to avoid those not aligned to God's order as they offer no valuable insight, Prov. 14:7.
    8. A son must see that to the degree he critiques his own life's path will he prudently stay aligned to God, 8.
    9. A son should learn that to the degree he makes amends for his sins will he gain good will from others, 9.
    10. A son must learn to be a humble listener and not presumptuous to relate well with those who suffer, 10.
    11. A son must learn that to the degree he is upright, it will greatly affect his level of security in life, 14:11.
    12. A son should see that just because a path seems upright to some, if it is sinful, it will produce death, 12.
    13. A son must be told that emotions can deceive, so he should not make decisions based on them, 14:13.
    14. A son must learn to the degree he is loyal in human relationships will he be positively rewarded, 14:14.
    15. A son must be told not to assume all paths in life are wholesome, and thus to evaluate the one he uses, 15.
    16. A son must learn that to the degree he avoids being hotheaded will he avoid self-inflicted calamities, 16.
    17. A son must see that craftily inciting others to anger yields worse repercussions than losing his temper, 17.
    18. A son must learn that to the degree he sifts incoming ideas will he avoid failure and gain real insight, 18.
    19. A son should see that the degree he is upright will generally affect the degree of leadership he is given, 19
    20. A son must learn to try avoiding being poor as it often leaves him open to extra abuses from others, 14:20.
    21. Conversely, a son must learn that it is sin for him to despise the poor; rather, he must be kind to them, 21.
    22. A son must see that the degree he plans uprightly will he gain loyal love and faithfulness from others, 22.
    23. A son must learn that profit comes by implementing his plans rather than just talking about them, 14:23.
    24. A son must learn the degree he heeds God's moral order will he generally have a measure of wealth, 24.
    25. A son must learn to the degree he tells the truth in a court of law will he promote community justice, 25.
    26. A son must learn that to the degree he respects Jahweh will that respect protect even his children, 14:26.
    27. A son must see that his respecting Jahweh becomes itself a source of a long earthly life, Proverbs 14:27.
    28. A son must learn that to be a good leader, he must relate well to subjects and not glory in his title, 28.
    29. A son must learn that to the degree he faces trials with patience and not wrath displays uprightness, 29.
    30. A son should be told envying others only hurts himself; it is best to be at peace with one's lot in life, 30.
    31. A son must learn that even poor men reflect their divine Maker's image, so he should respect them, 31.
    32. A son should learn that to the degree he is upright he will find God's help in even life's worst trials, 32.
    33. A son must see that since God's wisdom is everywhere, only he is to blame if he doesn't heed it, 14:33.
    34. A son should learn that to the degree even a nation is upright will that nation be honored, Prov. 14:34.
    35. A son must see the degree he attends to his duties will he gain his superior's delight and not his anger, 35.
Lesson: It is clear from these proverbs that a youth is much better off learning from his parents that heeding God's ways is to his own distinct advantage in the adult world.

Application: (1) We as parents need to have the courage under God's leading to inform our maturing sons and daughters of the VALUE of heeding God's fixed moral order. (2) As maturing children or as adults ourselves, we can apply these truths to our own lives for eventual blessings.