Thursday, October 25, 2018 – Proverbs 22:5

The Guardianship of Your Soul Through Humility 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsmwOkdzAhk

Grace Fellowship Church

Pastor/Teacher, Jim Rickard

www.GraceDoctrine.org

www.facebook.com/GraceDoctrine 

Proverbs 22

1. The wise discipline themselves to follow God in everything, vs. 1-16.

2. Wisdom tells us when to speak and when to be silent, vs. 17-21.

3. The wise ones care for and protect the poor, vs. 22-29.

In vs. 1, we are exhorted to have a good reputation; in vs. 2, to have good community relationships; in vs. 3, to have good avoidance of evil; in vs. 4, to have a good relationship with the Lord, and now in vs. 5, to guard our soul from sin through humility.

Vs. 5

Prov 22:5, “Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse; he who guards himself will be far from them.”

In contrast to vs. 4, the first half speaks of the way of the “perverse,” ‘IQQESH, עִקֵּשׁ that means, “perverse, crooked, or distorted” acts of sinful men. We have noted this word in Prov 2:15; 8:8; 11:20; 17:20; 19:1, and will see it again in Prov 28:6.

Prov 11:20, “The perverse in heart are an abomination to the LORD, but the blameless in their walk are His delight.”

Prov 17:20, “He who has a crooked mind finds no good, and he who is perverted in his language falls into evil.”

Prov 28:6, “Better is the poor who walks in his integrity than he who is crooked though he be rich.”

As a result of having a lack of humility and therefore being spiritually and morally corrupt, there will be “thorns,” TSEN, צֵן and “snares,” PACH, פַּח in the life of the sinner. TSEN is only used here and in Job 5:5; Amos 4:2. PACH is used 25 times in the OT.

Both of these words are used figuratively for undesirable places or locations that one can enter into, including undesirable thoughts and sins; for the sharp hooks used to lead away prisoners, in this case prisoners of sin and Satan’s cosmic system; and for the surprise trappings that others lay for you to enter into sin.

Prov 5:22, “His own iniquities will capture the wicked, and he will be held with the cords of his sin.”

Prov 29:6, “By transgression an evil man is ensnared, but the righteous sings and rejoices.”

Yet, in support of the “prudent” in vs. 4, the second half of this verse says, “He who guards himself will be far from them,” that tells us of the trouble we can avoid by guarding our hearts, Prov 4:23, by having genuine humility with our soul.

Prov 4:23, “Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life.”

“Guards” is the familiar word SHAMAR that means, “to observe, guard, keep, or protect.” This tells us of the responsibility of guardianship the believer has over “himself,” NEPHESH, נֶפֶשׁ, that means, “soul or life.” This guardianship comes from making good decisions from a place of strength and power called the Word of God. Without God’s Word in your soul, you would not be able to truly protect your soul as you should. There is some basic or minor protection that comes to all of mankind by abiding by God’s Divine establishment principles, but complete guardianship over our souls, over our lives, can be accomplished when we learn and apply God’s Word in humility.

Those who practice perversion, deceit, crookedness, i.e., sin, are blinded by their own way of thinking and so cannot avoid either the troubles of life or the problems created by others. Yet, with the Word of God resident within your soul by having genuine humility to learn and apply it, you can avoid or be “far from” or “separated from” RACHAQ, רָחַק‎, the thorns and snares of life inside of Satan’s cosmic system that will lead to you sinning and/or keep you in sin as well.

This verse also reinforces vs. 3, as well as its parallel in Prov 27:12, by exhorting us to apply humility in our lives so that we have the wisdom of God’s Word to see sin and its dangers, and then avoid them, cf. Prov 14:16; 15:19; 16:17.

Prov 14:16, “A wise man is cautious and turns away from evil, but a fool is arrogant and careless.”

So, we see that those who live in sin are trapped or gripped by it. It makes no difference who the person is or what he does. A man can be a king, yet a slave to his own sin. On the other hand, a slave can be free because he has sought Christ’s forgiveness and lives a godly life.

Therefore, through the intake and application of God’s Word, by means of humility within your soul, you have the prudence necessary, the wisdom necessary, the protection necessary, the armor necessary, Eph 6:13-18, to avoid the snares and thorns of sin inside of Satan’s cosmic system.

Remember that Humility:

• Is recognition and respect for legitimate authority in life.
• It is function under the Laws of Divine Establishment for both the believer and the unbeliever.
• It is recognition of authority delegated by God in the Christian way of life. The Bible is the authority, and the spiritual gift of Pastor-Teacher is the communicator of that doctrine.
• It is recognition of the authority of the Pastor-teacher to teach and communicate God’s Word to you.
• It is recognition of the authority of the content of the message taught by the Pastor who communicates doctrine.
• It is teachability which recognizes the Plan of God for your life.
• It is Divine viewpoint thinking, which means that humility is related to grace orientation and occupation with Christ.
• It is poise and courage when you are under pressure.
• It is capacity for life, love, and happiness.
• It is the basis for gratitude and appreciation in life.
• It is the function of establishing right priorities in life.
• It is the right function of self-determination and self-discipline in life related to God’s grace policy, right priorities, teachability, and self-determination related to spiritual growth.
• It is making right decisions from a position of strength.