Proverbs 15:12-22

TEXT Proverbs 15:12-22

12.

A scoffer loveth not to be reproved;

He will not go unto the wise.

13.

A glad heart maketh a cheerful countenance;

But by sorrow of heart the spirit is broken.

14.

The heart of him that hath understanding seeketh knowledge;

But the mouth of fools feedeth on folly.

15.

All the days of the afflicted are evil;

But he that is of a cheerful heart hath a continual feast.

16.

Better is little, with the fear of Jehovah,

Than great treasure and trouble therewith.

17.

Better is a dinner of herbs, where love is,

Than a stalled ox and hatred therewith.

18.

A wrathful man stirreth up contention;

But he that is slow to anger appeaseth strife.

19.

The way of the sluggard is as a hedge of thorns;

But the path of the upright is made a highway.

20.

A wise son maketh a glad father;

But a foolish man despiseth his mother.

21.

Folly is joy to him that is void of wisdom;

But a man of understanding maketh straight his going.

22.

Where there is no counsel, purposes are disappointed;

But in the multitude of counsellors they are established.

STUDY QUESTIONS OVER 15:12-22

1.

Is there a relationship between a scoffer's not loving to be reproved and his not going to the wise (Proverbs 15:12)?

2.

What characterizes a cheerful countenance (Proverbs 15:13)?

3.

What characterizes a broken spirit (Proverbs 15:13)?

4.

Why does a man of understanding seek knowledge when people who are sadly deficient in understanding don-'t (Proverbs 15:14)?

5.

What is meant by the mouth of fools-' feeding on folly (Proverbs 15:14)?

6.

What does evil mean in Proverbs 15:15?

7.

A continual feast of what kind (Proverbs 15:15)?

8.

Find the double contrast in Proverbs 15:16.

9.

Find the double contrast in Proverbs 15:17.

10.

A wrathful man is contrasted with what kind of person in Proverbs 15:18?

11.

What does appeaseth mean (Proverbs 15:18)?

12.

How is the way of a sluggard like a hedge of thorns (Proverbs 15:19)?

13.

How is the path of the upright like a highway (Proverbs 15:19)?

14.

What earlier verse in Proverbs is much like Proverbs 15:20?

15.

What would you include under folly in Proverbs 15:21?

16.

What is meant by a man making straight his going (Proverbs 15:21)?

17.

Reword the thought found in Proverbs 15:22.

PARAPHRASE OF 15:12-22

12.

A mocker stays away from wise men because he hates to be scolded.

13.

A happy face means a glad heart; a sad face means a breaking heart.

14.

A wise man is hungry for truth, while the mocker feeds on trash.

15.

When a man is gloomy, everything seems to go wrong; when he is cheerful, everything seems right!

16.

Better a little with reverence for God, then great treasure and trouble with it.

17.

It is better to eat soup with someone you love than steak with someone you hate.

18.

A quick-tempered man starts fights; a cool-tempered man tries to stop them.

19.

A lazy fellow has trouble all through life; the good man's path is easy!

20.

A sensible son gladdens his father. A rebellious son saddens his mother.

21.

If a man enjoys folly, something is wrong! The sensible stay on the pathways of right.

22.

Plans go wrong with too few counselors; many counselors bring success,

COMMENTS ON 15:12-22

Proverbs 15:12. A scoffer is a proud, know-it-all person, self-willed, opinionated, and usually wrong. He will not go to the wise to ask or to learn, and he doesn-'t like people coming to him with their corrections of him. Many deplore being reproved (1 Kings 22:8; Amos 5:10; John 3:19-20). For hating and despising reproof see also Proverbs 15:5; Proverbs 15:10; Proverbs 15:32 of this chapter.

Proverbs 15:13. A glad heart (on the inside) makes a cheerful countenance (on the outside). The reverse is also true (a sad heart will show up in a sad countenanceNehemiah 1:1-4; Nehemiah 2:1-2). Pulpit Commentary: The face is the index of the condition of the mind. Septuagint translates: When the heart is glad, the face bloometh. See also Proverbs 17:22; Proverbs 12:25.

Proverbs 15:14. The person who has knowledge wants more, and he gets it. Solomon desired wisdom that he might rule God's great people and follow his famous father upon the throne of Israel (1 Kings 3:5-9). Note the vastness of his growing wisdom and understanding (1 Kings 4:29-34). Pulpit Commentary: The wise man...is always seeking to learn more...The fool is always gaping and devouring every silly, or slanderous, or wicked word that comes in his way, and in his turn utters and disseminates it.

Proverbs 15:15. To the person suffering, no day seems physically good: they are all evil (like those referred to in Ecclesiastes 12:1). To the healthy and the happy every day is good (a continual feast). Oh, the great blessing of good health and favorable conditions that make one happy!

Proverbs 15:16. Sometimes treasure and trouble go togetherare twins (1 Timothy 6:9-10). It is really better and the part of wisdom to take a lesser-paying job with which God is pleased than to take a big-paying job with which He is not pleased (Mark 8:36). What is great or true gain? See 1 Timothy 6:6. Other verses with much of the same truth in them are Proverbs 15:17 of this chapter; Psalms 37:16; Proverbs 16:8; Proverbs 17:1.

Proverbs 15:17. A dinner of herbs represents a meatless meal (a poor man's meal); stalled ox represents a luxurious meal. Note the double contrast: dinner of herbs vs. stalled ox and where love is vs. hatred. People can have a good fare of food and love at the same time just the same as people can have hatred with their dinner of herbs. This verse does teach that love in the home is better than luxury in the home if there is to be only one and not both.

Proverbs 15:18. A wrathful man stirs up contention because he wants things stirred up. What a perverted outlook! But men who are slow to anger try to keep things calm. And they are doing what they should. Hot heads and cold hearts often go together. See also Proverbs 26:21; Proverbs 29:22. Pulpit Commentary: It requires two to make a quarrel, and where one keeps his temper and will not be provoked, anger must subside.

Proverbs 15:19. Try to walk down an old road that has gotten grown over with thorn bushes. Progress is slow and difficult. Such is the way of the sluggard of lazy person (Proverbs 22:5). In contrast the path of the upright is clear and open (like a highway). Proverbs 4:18 also speaks of the path of the righteous.

Proverbs 15:20. Read Proverbs 10:1; Proverbs 29:3 also. Nothing makes a father happier than the good ways of his children (3 John 1:4). Despising one's mother is just the opposite of the Fifth Commandment (Exodus 20:12). A child who is brought up to honor his parents will usually grow up and bring honor and gladness to them.

Proverbs 15:21. Compare the first statement with the first statement in Proverbs 10:23. Putting the two together, folly (or wickedness) is joy (or sport) to the fool. And so it is. Many live this way (consider Titus 3:3). They may live in the same world, but the wise person lives so differently from the fool who is void of wisdom. The wise man makes his going straight (see Ephesians 5:15 also).

Proverbs 15:22. A double contrast: no counsel vs. multitude of counsellors and purposes are disappointed vs. they are established. Compare Proverbs 11:14. Counsel in Proverbs-' day had to do mostly with war (Proverbs 20:18).

TEST QUESTIONS OVER 15:12-22

1.

Describe a scoffer (Proverbs 15:12).

2.

How does a glad heart show up (Proverbs 15:13)?

3.

What does sorrow of heart do (Proverbs 15:13)?

4.

Who was a man of understanding who constantly sought more knowledge (Proverbs 15:14)?

5.

Contrast the day of the afflicted and the person with a cheerful heart (Proverbs 15:15).

6.

What often accompanies a quest for treasure (Proverbs 15:16)?

7.

What is better than great treasure and trouble (Proverbs 15:16)?

8.

What kind of home is better than one with the finest of fare if it has trouble (Proverbs 15:17)?-'

9.

What is the double contrast in Proverbs 15:18?

10.

How is the way of the wicked contrasted with the path of the upright (Proverbs 15:19)?

11.

What is it that makes a happy father (Proverbs 15:20)?

12.

What other verse in Proverbs is similar to the first part of Proverbs 15:21?

13.

When especially did they rely upon counselors in olden times (Proverbs 15:22)?