Read the Bible in 2023 ◊ Week 32: Thursday

Thursday’s Bible reading is Proverbs 16. This chapter is in the third section of Proverbs: “The first book of Solomon.”¹ It’s rich in content as the heart and life of the righteous is compared with that of the wicked.

Pride is mentioned as in the above verses. “Pride goes before a fall,” is a proverb that is commonly known in our society even by those unfamiliar with the Bible. Here’s another proverb on pride:

Derek Kidner has these comments on pride in Proverbs 16:5 and 16:18–19.

“The proud man is placed in the very worst company in Proverbs, heading the ‘seven abominations’ in 6:17, and assured of judgment, in company with the adulterer (6:29), the perjuror (19:5), and similar scarlet sinners whom he doubtless thanks God he does not resemble…

“The special evil of pride is that it opposes the first principle of wisdom (the fear of the Lord) and the two great commandments. The proud man is therefore at odds with himself (8:36), his neighbour (13:10) and the Lord (16:5). Destruction may appropriately come from any quarter. See also 18:12.”²

There’s a great deal about speech in this chapter. As you read, remember Gleason Archer’s comments on the contrasts in Proverbs that I quoted in Proverbs 2–3: Wisdom & My Son:

“The term for “proverb” is māšāl, which comes from the root idea meaning “parallel” or “similar” and hence signifies a “description by way of comparison.”…

“It should be noted that the characteristic type of māshāl or proverb in this book is the balanced antithesis which incisively contrasts the wise man and the fool, the good man and the wicked, true value and false, in such a way as to set forth the two sides of the truth in clearest opposition to each other and thus perform an incisive didactic func­tion. The constant preoccupation of the book is with the elemental antagonisms of obedience versus rebellion, industry versus laziness, prudence versus presumption, and so on. These are so presented as to put before the reader a clear-cut choice, leaving him no ground for wretched compromise or vacillating indecision.”³

Honey and healing are descriptive of the speech of a person with a wise heart:

A few verses later, here’s a stark contrast:

There’s one other proverb I want to mention from this chapter, because it’s the antithesis to our culture—not just in society at large, but within the church as well:

Many times it seems there is a dearth of both those who are young who seek wisdom from older Christians as well as older Christians who are wise. As I wrote two weeks ago in Proverbs 13: Listen & Be Wise, while some only become more rigid with age or frozen in immaturity, the Bible teaches that those who are truly godly will grow in wisdom. You can greatly benefit from those who learned wisdom in their earlier years. Their experience of years of knowing the Lord, of knowing other people and going through the ups and downs of life can be of great value to you. If your attitude toward those who are older than you is marked by impatience or contempt, then you need to recognize any belittling or unwillingness to learn comes out of pride within your heart.

Of course, age doesn’t always indicate wisdom. In his letter James describes those with true wisdom. He also addresses arrogance.

Ask God to help you and give you wisdom, and look for those older wise people who point you to God and not to themselves. They can share their insights into people and relationships and difficult situations. They can share what they’ve learned over the years during good times and hard times. They can offer encouragement and help you discern wise choices.

In July 2011, at the Grace to You blog, John MacArthur began a series of posts, “Grow Up, Settle Down, and Keep Reforming,” addressed to young men. His insights and wisdom came from decades of experience in the preaching of God’s Word and the pastoring of a church. Much of what he says is applicable to women as well. I especially liked The Marks of Immaturity, and How To Keep Growing. Some of the responses prompted Travis Allen to write: “Growing Up: How to Listen Like a Man,” in which he also addresses women.

“If we return to Scripture, the biblical pattern—which is the assumption throughout most of human history—is that it’s incumbent on the young to understand the old. Young people should make every effort to understand the aged, not the other way around. That’s the message of the Proverbs…

“Older people, by virtue of God’s predetermined birth order, have the right of priority over us younger people. If you don’t think that’s fair, you’ll have to take that up with God; He’s the one who chose to put them on the planet ahead of us.”⁴

You’ll certainly find some who are older who are lacking in wisdom and unable to teach you, nevertheless there’s a pattern throughout the Bible of honoring those who are older than you.

As Proverbs makes clear, not only do your words reveal your heart, but your attitude towards receiving words from those who are wise does as well.

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For a brief overview of the main divisions of Proverbs see my post, The Book of Proverbs.
Silvesterzug Laterne: Bk muc. (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Leatherwood Honey: Tasmanianbeekeepers. (CC BY-SA 4.0).
¹A. F. Walls, “Proverbs,” The New Bible Commentary: Revised, D. Guthrie, J. A. Motyer, eds., A. M. Stibbs, D. J. Wiseman, contributing eds., (Inter-Varsity Press, Downers Grove IL: 1970) 550.
²Derek Kidner, Proverbs: An Introduction and Commentary (Inter-Varsity Press, Downers Grove IL: 1965) 118, 120.
³Gleason L. Archer, Jr., “The Books of Wisdom: Job and Proverbs,” A Survey of Old Testament Introduction (Moody Press, Chicago IL: 1974) 465, 468.
⁴Travis Allen, Copyright 2011, Grace to You. All rights reserved.  Used by permission. This Grace to You blog post, “Growing Up: How to Listen Like a Man,” originally appeared here.

I’m using Michael Coley’s Bible reading plan (one page PDF to print) to read through the Bible in 2023. Each day my posts are on different books because he divides Bible readings into seven categories, one for each day of the week: Epistles, The Law, History, Psalms, Poetry, Prophecy and Gospels. There’s more information on his plan and other ones at Read the Bible in 2023.

Copyright ©2011–2023 Iwana Carpenter