Proverbs 19:11-20

TEXT Proverbs 19:11-20

11.

The discretion of a man maketh him slow to anger; And it is his glory to pass over a transgression.

12.

The king's wrath is as the roaring of a lion; But his favor is as dew upon the grass.

13.

A foolish son is the calamity of his father;

And the contentions of a wife are a continual dropping.

14.

House and riches are an inheritance from fathers; But a prudent wife is from Jehovah.

15.

Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep; And the idle soul shall suffer hunger.

16.

He that keepeth the commandment keepeth his soul; But he that is careless of his ways shall die.

17.

He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto Jehovah, And his good deed will he pay him again.

18.

Chasten thy son, seeing there is hope; And set not thy heart on his destruction.

19.

A man of great wrath shall bear the penalty;

For if thou deliver him, thou must do it yet again.

20.

Hear counsel, and receive instruction,

That thou mayest be wise in thy latter end.

STUDY QUESTIONS OVER 19:11-20

1.

What does it mean to pass over a transgression (Proverbs 19:11)?

2.

Find the contrasts in Proverbs 19:12.

3.

What two sources of trouble can a man have in his own home (Proverbs 19:13)?

4.

How does a prudent wife act (Proverbs 19:14)?

5.

What is slothfulness (Proverbs 19:15)?

6.

Comment on he that is careless of his ways shall die (Proverbs 19:16).

7.

How and when will God repay him (Proverbs 19:17)?

8.

How does one chasten his child (Proverbs 19:18)?

9.

How would one set his heart on his child's destruction (Proverbs 19:18)?

10.

Why do some people get angry so easily (Proverbs 19:19)?

11.

How would you relate Rehoboam's case to Proverbs 19:20?

PARAPHRASE OF 19:11-20

11.

A wise man restrains his anger and overlooks insults. This is to his credit.

12.

The king's anger is as dangerous as a lion'S. But his approval is as refreshing as the dew on grass.

13.

A rebellious son is a calamity to his father, and a nagging wife annoys like constant dripping.

14.

A father can give his sons homes and riches, but only the Lord can give them understanding wives.

15.

A lazy man sleeps soundlyand goes hungry!

16.

Keep the commandments and keep your life; despising them means death.

17.

When you help the poor you are lending to the Lordand He pays wonderful interest on your loan!

18.

Discipline your son in his early years while there is hope. If you don-'t you will ruin his life.

19.

A short-tempered man must bear his own penalty; you can-'t do much to help him. If you try once you must try a dozen times.

20.

Get all the advice you can and be wise the rest of your life.

COMMENTS ON 19:11-20

Proverbs 19:11. Proverbs 14:29 says, He that is slow to anger is of great understanding, very similar to this verse that credits it to his discretion. Proverbs 16:32 credits it to ruling his spirit (self-control). It takes both wisdom and self-control to remain calm and collected and Christian under fire and under pressure. It is this ability that enables him to pass over a transgression of another, which is said to be a glory to him. To lose one's temper is not a glory to him but a shame. When one passes over a transgression, he is like God: Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth over the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? (Micah 7:18).

Proverbs 19:12. Numerous passages compare a king's wrath to a roaring lion: Proverbs 20:2; Proverbs 16:14; Proverbs 28:15. Proverbs 16:25 also compares a king's favor to refreshing moisture. Geike: The secret of the luxuriant fertility of many parts of Palestine lies in the rich supply of moisture afforded by the sea-winds which blow inland each night and water the face of the whole land...From May till October rain is unknown, the sun shining with unclouded brightness day after day. The heat becomes intense, the ground hard; and vegetation would perish but for the moist west winds that come each night from the sea. The bright skies cause the heat of the day to radiate very quickly into space so that the nights are as cold as day is the reverse...To this coldness of the night air the indispensable watering of all plant-life is due. The winds, loaded with moisture, are robbed of it as they pass over the land, the cold air condensing it into drops of water, which fall in a gracious rain of mist on every thirsty blade...The amount of moisture thus poured on the thirsty vegetation during the night is very great.

Dew seemed to the Israelites a mysterious gift of Heaven, as indeed it is. That the skies should be stayed from yielding it was a special sign of Divine wrath...The favor of an Oriental monarch could not be more beneficially conceived than by saying that while his wrath is like the roaring of a lion, his favor is as the dew upon the grass.

Proverbs 19:13. A man is in a bad way when his children are no good and his wife is a constant nagger. Concerning calamity Pulpit Commentary says, Calamity in the Hebrew is in the plural number, as if to mark the many and continued sorrows which a bad son brings upon his father, how he causes evil after evil to harass and distress; and of the contentions of a wife it says, The flat roofs of Eastern houses, formed of planks loosely joined and covered with a coating of clay or plaster, were always subject to leakage in heavy rains. The irritating altercations and bickering of a cross-grained wife are compared to this continuous drip of water. A Scotch saying: A leaky house and a scolding wife are two bad companions. Other passages on the foolish son: Proverbs 10:1; Proverbs 15:20; Proverbs 17:21; Proverbs 17:25. Other passages on the contentious wife: Proverbs 21:9; Proverbs 27:15.

Proverbs 19:14. We may get material inheritances from our parents (2 Corinthians 12:14), but a wise wife is a gift from God (Proverbs 18:22). This saying is a bold contrast to Proverbs 19:13: in this verse many blessings come to us because of our families (inheritance from fathers and a prudent wife).

Proverbs 19:15. Slothfulness, idleness, excessive sleep, and poverty are connected in this and other passages in Proverbs (Proverbs 6:9-11; Proverbs 10:4; Proverbs 20:13; Proverbs 23:21). Two apt sayings: Idleness is a living man's tomb and Sloth is the mother of poverty.

Proverbs 19:16. A double contrast: He that keepeth the commandment vs. he that is careless of his ways and keepeth his soul vs. shall die. One who is obedient to God is careful about his ways, and God blesses him with the salvation of his soul, but one who is disobedient to God is careless about his ways, and the wages of sin is and has always been death (Genesis 2:17; Isaiah 1:19-20; Romans 6:21; Romans 6:23; Romans 8:6; Philippians 3:19; James 1:15.

Proverbs 19:17. The wording implies giving to the poor. To pity is to feel for, to make their burden your burden, to be touched enough about their situation to stop what you are doing and help them. This we are taught to do: Luke 11:41; Luke 12:33; Galatians 6:10; 1 John 3:17; James 1:27; Matthew 25:35-36. Cornelius (Acts 10:2; Acts 10:4; and Dorcas (Acts 9:36) were alms givers. Give to

the poor, and God has promised to pick up the debt (Luke 14:12-14). Notice the message of Proverbs 28:27.

Proverbs 19:18. Correction administered in time without which the child's mischief becomes meanness, and the character becomes set in wickedness. Other passages teaching parental correction: Proverbs 13:24; Proverbs 23:13-14; Proverbs 29:17. A German saying: It is better that the child weep than the father. Clarke: It is better that the child may be caused to cry, when the correction may be healthful to his soul, than that the parent should cry afterwards, when the child is grown to man's estate, and his evil habits are sealed for life. Non-chastening parents finally give up on their children and seem content to await the inevitable (whatever may result in life for them, which in Old Testament days would have been death by stoning: Deuteronomy 21:18-21). But this verse would condemn such parents.

Proverbs 19:19. A man given to wrath always turns to it when things don-'t go as he would have them. It is a sign of a character-weakness: the inability to cope with either one's situation or one's limitations. A man who loses his temper is like a man who gets drunk: it won-'t be the last time. Pulpit Commentary: While his disposition is unchanged, all your efforts will be useless, and the help which you have given him will only make him think that he may continue to indulge his anger with impunity.

Proverbs 19:20. One's wisdom is constituted of what one gains on his own and of what others seek to share. The more one has, the more apt he is to listen to what others would impart to him, and the less wisdom one has, the less apt he is to regard the good advice of others. Pulpit Commentary: Wisdom gathered and digested in youth is seen in the prudence and intelligence of manhood and of old age.

TEST QUESTIONS OVER 19:11-20

1.

What two qualities does it take to remain calm under pressure (Proverbs 19:11)?

2.

What is the significance of glory in Proverbs 19:11?

3.

Comment upon Palestine's dew (Proverbs 19:12).

4.

What is the significance of calamity being plural in Hebrew (Proverbs 19:13)?

5.

What is a wife's contentions compared to (Proverbs 19:13)?

6.

If one has a prudent wife, he should give ............... the credit (Proverbs 19:14).

7.

Find four things in Proverbs 19:15 that go together.

8.

What is the double contrast in Proverbs 19:16?

9.

What does it mean to pity the poor (Proverbs 19:17)?

10.

Name one Bible character commended for almsgiving (Proverbs 19:17).

11.

When should chastening be administered (Proverbs 19:18)?

12.

It is better for whom to weep (Proverbs 19:18)?

13.

What is periodic wrath a sign of (Proverbs 19:19)?

14.

Why should a young person especially listen to others (Proverbs 19:20)?