Tuesday, November 6, 2018 – Proverbs 22:11-12

God Desires & Upholds Truth

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

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.

Vs. 11

Prov 22:11, “He who loves purity of heart and whose speech is gracious, the king is his friend.”

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; in vs. 5, to have good in our soul by guarding it from sin through humility; in vs. 6, to have good training in the precepts of God; in vs. 7, we are to have good management of our finances, in vs. 8, we are to have a good temperament wielding our authority, in vs. 9, we are to have goodness in our giving; in vs. 10, we to rightly drive out those who are abusing the legal system; and now in vs. 11, we are to have good honesty and integrity in our speech inside our legal system, which finds favor with those who run it.

Here, we are given some advice on how to win friends and influence people, particularly with important people like the king.

First off, there is quite a disparity between the Hebrew and the Greek of the Septuagint for this verse. The Septuagint reads “The Lord loves holy hearts (the pure in heart), acceptable to Him are all the blameless; [the] king rules with [his] lips.” Some believe the original text for this verse is beyond recovery. The disparity of this passage is between the emphases being on a person, as the Hebrew reads, versus God, as the Septuagint reads. For our study, we will stick to the Hebrew version.

Even though there is little agreement among commentators on which translation, (the Hebrew or Greek) is more accurate, the general sense may parallel, Prov 16:13, and commend honest and gracious speech as the best policy in court and, by implication, throughout life.

Prov 16:13, “Righteous lips are the delight of kings, and he who speaks right is loved.” Cf. Prov 15:1.

Our verse, as many others do in Proverbs, commends gracious and truthful words or speech, especially in a court of law, when for the Israelites they were applying and interpreting God’s Law. Therefore, we also see application for the use and interpretation of God’s Word for the Church Age believer.

The Hebrew of this verse is fairly straight forward compared to the English translations, without a lot of poetical license. It reads, AHAB, “he who loves,” TAHOR, “purity or clean,” LEB, “of heart,” CHEN, “grace or gracious” SAPHAH, “lips or speech,” REA, “friend or relative,” MELEK, “king.”

Here we have the heart coming first and then speech. This is the right order, as when we speak in truth and honesty, it is a reflection of what is in the heart (right lobe) of the soul. Just as when we speak in lies and corruption, it reflects the lie and corruption within our souls.

It also tells us that those whose heart is pure, love the pureness of heart in others. It means they love to see honesty and integrity played out in the lives of others. They love to see the application of Bible Doctrine in the lives of others.

Therefore, heart purity, which belongs to the regenerated person, not the natural man, cf. Mat 12:33f., is given first to protect holy and righteous speech from being a mere façade that is in the heart of the liar, hater, maligner, scoffer, or mocker, cf. Prov 26:25.

Prov 26:25, “When he speaks graciously, do not believe him, for there are seven abominations in his heart.”

It is the pure in heart who see and know God. And, those who are pure in heart will be blessed by God, Mat 5:8; Psa 24:4-5.

Mat 5:8, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”

Psa 24:4-5, “He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood and has not sworn deceitfully. ⁵He shall receive a blessing from the LORD And righteousness from the God of his salvation.”

Those who truly are pure / righteous in heart will demonstrate it by obedience to God’s Word, Col 4:6, “Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt.” Yet, a bitter, acrimonious, and fault-finding tongue does not belong to the pure-hearted man of God, but is generally the evidence that one is far from being right with Him.

So, we see that the person who practices wise and good speech, who is right and accurate in apply the law, who functions in righteousness with integrity applying God’s Word, is not driven out like the mocker, vs. 10, but is welcomed by the king. The king would want a friend or counselor with qualities such as these.

In the context of the rest of this chapter, if the rod of discipline drives folly far away from the youth’s “heart,” Prov 22:15, it does so to nurture the love of a “pure heart” that will win over the king, ruler, or leaders, especially within the court system.

Here the king’s or ruler’s love for purity, honesty, integrity, righteousness, etc., is like that of YHWH, who watches over knowledge, Prov 22:12. Therefore, the discipline of correction will save the youth from the path of the wicked, Prov 22:5, and make a way for responsible service to king and community.

Therefore, we see from Prov 22:10-11, speech that mocks in pride is not the gracious speech that wins the king. And, as we will see, faithless words and lazy excuses will not please YHWH, Prov 22:12-13. Those who turn from God’s way will be vulnerable to what is most dangerous of all, words of seduction, symbolized throughout Proverbs by the mouth of the adulteress, a pit, thorns and snares, and a trap that destroys. The way we speak also says a great deal about the way we think, especially about the people in our community, the riches or powerful and the poor or weak.

“The person who loves a pure heart, who has honest intentions, and has gracious, considerate speech will find a friendly response from the king. The king will be his friend. Good kings respect integrity and character. A person of integrity and character is a valuable asset to the ruler who is looking for people who have wisdom, who have the best interest of the king at heart, and can be a help to him.” (Mattoon’s Treasures from Proverbs, Volume 2).

We are to become people who love purity of heart and who can speak graciously at the same time, because effective speech without integrity makes one a manipulative hypocrite; integrity without effective speech makes one’s influence ineffective.

Vs. 12

Prov 22:12, “The eyes of the LORD preserve knowledge, but He overthrows the words of the treacherous man.”

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; in vs. 5, to have good in our soul by guarding it from sin through humility; in vs. 6, to have good training in the precepts of God; in vs. 7, we are to have good management of our finances, in vs. 8, we are to have a good temperament wielding our authority, in vs. 9, we are to have goodness in our giving; in vs. 10, we to rightly drive out those who are abusing the legal system; in vs. 11, we are to have good honesty and integrity in our heart and speech, especially inside our legal system, which finds favor with those who run it; and now in vs. 12, The Lord desires truth in the court system.

As in vs. 9, we have AYIN for “eyes,” but this time it is not speaking of the graciousness in man, but the omniscience “of the Lord,” YHWH, that “preserves,” NATSAR, “knowledge,” DA’ATH.

The anthropomorphism, “eyes of the Lord” refers to the Omniscience, (all knowing) of God, Prov 15:3.

Prov 15:3, “The eyes of the LORD are in every place, watching the evil and the good.”

This is one of the attributes of God’s essence. He is all knowing. And with His omniscience, He preserves “knowledge,” DA’ATH, דַּעַת that means “knowledge, skill, or perception.” The noun is used in the sense of discernment, of being able to understand circumstances correctly.

In the context of vs. 10-11, that continues here, it is speaking about the knowledge of a situation that has been brought before a court of law. Therefore, it is referring to “the truth” of a situation, especially the truthfulness of a witness of a crime who has knowledge of it. The context carries forward from vs. 10-11, of the court of law and politics. So, we understand that this “knowledge” is the truth of a situation that has occurred. And, to rightly decide a case, to uphold the law, and to uphold justice, the truth or knowledge of the situation must be made known.

We also see in this section that God’s omniscience has an impact on knowledge or the truth in that it “preserves” it. “Preserve,” is the Verb NATSAR, נָצַר that means, “to guard, to keep watch over, to observe, to preserve, etc.” Here, it is in the Qal Perfect for a completed action by God. It goes along with the omniscience of God, which is absolute and eternal. In other words, God has known the truth of a situation from eternity past. And the truth is the truth, whether the truth of a situation is made known to man or not.

Preserving knowledge or the truth means that we may be able to get away with something before man, but we never get away with it before God, because He knows the absolute truth of every situation, and it cannot be changed.

This verse says, “The omniscience of the Lord guards truth,” in the sense of “the truth is the truth,” and it cannot be changed.

Interestingly, NATSAR is also used in Scripture to refer to keeping speech under control, Psa 34:13; 141:3, which is also the context in our passage in that in a court of law, witnesses are summoned and asked to tell the truth. Yet, if that witnessed is bribed or blackmailed to tell a lie, the truth is perverted. That is the topic of the second half of this passage.

Therefore, given the context of a court room, D. Winton Thomas suggests a change of meaning for DA”ATH here from “knowledge” to “lawsuit” based on an Arabic cognate, (“A Note on ‏דַּעַה‎ in Proverbs 22:12,” JTS NS 14 [1963]: 93-94), as quoted in the “Expositor's Bible Commentary”). But, we will keep it as “knowledge” with the understanding of a “truthful witness in a court of law.”

Prov 5:2, “That you may observe discretion and your lips may reserve knowledge (truth).”

We have also seen in Prov 1:7, that “the Fear of YHWH is the beginning of knowledge.” When we have the truth, we have an intimate experience with the Lord, which paves the way for knowledge in the moral realm. The mark of the righteous is that they are characterized by having DAʿATH, Prov 14:18.

Prov 14:18, “The naive inherit foolishness, but the sensible are crowned with knowledge.”

Since “knowledge” derives from the Lord, Prov 2:5f., His eyes guard what belongs to Him. To protect his knowledge he subverts, Prov 13:6, the words, cf. Prov 10:19, of the treacherous and brings them to a dead end, so that His truth alone endures.

Prov 13:6, “Righteousness guards the one whose way is blameless, but wickedness subverts the sinner.”

Prov 10:19, “When there are many words, transgression is unavoidable, but he who restrains his lips is wise.”

In the second half of this passage we have, “But He overthrows the words of the treacherous man.”

“But He overthrows” is the Piel, (intensive active), Imperfect, (habitual or customary continuous action), of the Article WA and the Verb SALAPH, סָלַף‎ that means “to twist, ruin, distort, pervert, subvert, overturn, etc.”

Most of the time, this word is used is in regard to the wicked who distort, twist, or pervert the Law, Word, and ways of God. It is used for those who pervert justice, as God warns them to not do things like take a bribe that will distort justice, Ex 23:8; Deut 16:16; Prov 13:6; 19:3.

Ex 23:8, “You shall not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and subverts the cause of the just.”

Therefore, in the context of vs. 10-11, we see that God is absolutely and continuously turning it around on them; ruining their perversions of justice, so that they do not revel in the fruits of their wicked labor. As such, the Lord will overturn a seemingly prosperous fool in his treachery and turn his way to ruin, Prov 21:12.

Prov 21:12, “The righteous one considers the house of the wicked, turning the wicked to ruin.”

The thing God is turning around is “the words of the treacherous man,” which is the Noun DAVAR, דָּבָר‎ that means, “word; matter, event or affair,” and the Verb BAGAD, בָּגַד‎ that means, “to act deceitfully, faithlessly, treacherously; to be traitorous, to act unfaithfully, or to betray.”

It conveys the concept of a person acting in an unstable or unfaithful manner with reference to an existing established regulation, for example, a contractual, covenantal, or marital commitment. In other words, they are breaking the law. It is used to give the sense that a person has dishonored or intends to dishonor an agreement; in this case, an agreement with God and society to tell the truth about a situation.

BAGAD shows us a vivid contrast between the act of the wicked in their deceitful lying and YHWH’s trustworthiness in preserving knowledge / truth.

So, we see that a bribe undermines the words of the innocent in a trial and subverts a just cause, so God watches over the plans of the human heart and subverts lying words. Overall, The Lord ensures that truth, and not deception, succeeds.

Prov 2:22, “But the wicked will be cut off from the land and the treacherous will be uprooted from it.”

Prov 11:3, “The integrity of the upright will guide them, but the crookedness of the treacherous will destroy them.”

The false words of the unfaithful will accomplish nothing. The Lord Himself will overthrow them. Error cannot always prosper. It may seem to thrive for the moment, but it will be destroyed eventually.

God keeps the evil which is done in His eyes, and hinders its success. He “frustrates” the words of the “traitor,” but He keeps “watch over knowledge.” Here knowledge equates to truth!!! And, the Lord acts to vindicate the truth.

By asserting He subverts treacherous words, vs. 12b, it forms a transition to the treacherous words of the sluggard, vs. 13, and unchaste wives, vs. 14.