Proverbs 12:1-5 (KJV) Whoso loveth instruction loveth knowledge: but he that hateth reproof is brutish. 2 A good man obtaineth favor of the Lord: but a man of wicked devices will he condemn. 3 A man shall not be established by wickedness: but the root of the righteous shall not be moved. 4 A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband: but she that maketh ashamed is as rottenness in his bones. 5 The thoughts of the righteous are right: but the counsels of the wicked are deceit.

Opening: I very rarely read Facebook – I just generally use it as a tool to spread the Gospel. But I recently read – and enjoyed – a post made by Jason Lowrance that I thought was very good. I’ll read it to you:

“The devil appeared to three Pastors and said to them: “If I gave you the power to change something in the past, what would you change?” The first of them, with great apostolic fervor, replied: “I would like to prevent you from leading Adam and Eve to sin, so that humanity does not separate from God.” The second, a man full of mercy, said to him: “I will prevent you from straying from God and condemning you forever.” The third of them was the simplest and instead of answering the tempter, he knelt down, bowed his head and prayed: “Lord, deliver me from the temptation of what might have been and what was not.” The demon, screaming and trembling with pain, fled. The other two were surprised and said to him: “Brother, why did you react like this?” And he answered them: “First, we should never talk to the enemy.” “Secondly, no one in the world has the power to change the past.” “Third: Satan’s interest was not to prove our virtue, but to trap us in the past, so that we neglect the present, the only time God gives us His grace and we can cooperate with Him to fulfill His will.” Of all the demons, the one that most holds men back and prevents them from being happy is “what could have been and was not.” The past is left to the mercy of God and the future to His providence. Only the present is in our hands. Live today loving God with all your heart.”

I like the response of that third Pastor. Our Lord Jesus spoke directly to the Devil when tempted in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11), but never used His own ideas or opinion. Jesus instead told the devil “It is written”. The Bible tells us about a battle between the devil and Michael the Archangel over the body of Moses. We don’t fully understand what that battle was about – perhaps the devil wanted to possess Moses’ body for some nefarious reason. We don’t know. But we do know what the Scripture says:

Jude 8-9 (KJV) Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities. 9 Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.

When battling evil neither Jesus nor Michael the Archangel used their own power, opinion, or desires – even though Jesus is God become flesh (John 1:14; 1 Timothy 3:16). The All Mighty in human form relied on the Word and power of God. The Archangel, more powerful than we can imagine, relied on the Word and power of God.

The power for abundant living is found in knowledge of God’s Word. To reject God’s Word is to become “brutish”.

The devil often comes to us and through our sincere emotions seeks to manipulate us into doing that which is contrary to God’s Will and God’s Word. Sincerity is no proof of truth. The truth is in God’s Word. Jesus said

John 17:17 (KJV) {Father,} Thy Word is TRUTH” (John 17:17).

The Psalmist wrote,

Psalm 119:160 (KJV) The sum of Your Word {O God} is TRUTH, and every one of Your righteous rules endures forever.

Our souls are only purified when we obey the truth of God’s Word. The Apostle wrote:

1 Peter 1:22-23 (ESV) Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again. …

And the stepbrother of Christ wrote:

James 1:21 (ESV) put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

The Wise Person Knows That The Instruction Of God’s Word Can Only Improve His Life

Proverbs 12:1 (KJV) Whoso loveth instruction loveth knowledge: but he that hateth reproof is brutish.

Word Study: We should – if we are born again – “LOVE INSTRUCTION”. The word rendered “INSTRUCTION” is the Hebrew mûsār (pro. Moo-sawr’), which means “chastening, discipline, correction”. The Bible says:

Job 5:17 (KJV) Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the CHASTENING {mûsār} of the Almighty …

God teaches us His Word through the Holy Spirit, and then calls on us to adhere to His Word through the trials of life. We have a tendency to hate pain and suffering. But God uses pain and suffering to strengthen us, to make us more like Jesus. Humans must learn obedience to God by heeding His Word and living by it. Jesus talked about the “wise man who built his house on the Rock” (Matthew 7:24), and the “foolish man who built his house on the sand” (Matthew 7:26). God allowed the “rains, the floods, and the wind” to hit both the wise man and the foolish man. When these trials came to the wise man, his house did not fall, but was proven strong because it was built “on the Rock that is Christ” (1 Corinthians 10:4). But for the foolish man who built on sand, his house fell under the same pressures and trials. His faith was in vain.

It never occurred to me until I worked on this study that both sand and rock are ROCKS. Sand is weaker rock that has broken down by trials. Sand is the destroyed foundations of humanity, the DEI, the willfulness of man, humanism, atheism, evolution, pagan religions, idolatry, et al. Some people build on the shattered rock of humanity and when trials come are dismayed that their lives fall apart. They shouldn’t be – but are blind!

Proverbs 12:1 (KJV)Whoso loveth instruction loveth knowledge: but he that hateth reproof is brutish.

Word Study: Two key words we need to look at in the last part of this verse is “REPROOF” and “BRUTISH”. The word rendered “REPROOF” is the Hebrew tôḵēḥâ (pro. To-kay-khaw’) which means “rebuke, correction, reproof, punishment, chastisement”. The word “BRUTISH” is the Hebrew baʿar (pro. bah’-ar) which means “foolish or stupid”. The Gesenius’ Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon notes:

Those who live by God’s Word and go through the trials of life relying on God’s Word are children of God becoming more like the Son of God. Those who reject God’s Word and build their lives on the word of man (sand) become like animals, stupid animals. Such people never find the abundant life that God wants to give to them through Christ.

It’s Not Karma. It’s God. There Are Benefits To Obedience

Proverbs 12:2 (KJV) A good man obtaineth favor of the Lord: but a man of wicked devices will he condemn.

When the Bible speaks of the “good man”, it is not talking of a morally right person. There are many people who walk through this life and are regarded as “good men or women” by society, by culture.

“Good” in the scripture is not what humans are born to, but is what we are born again to.

The Bible tells us that “there are none good, no, not one” (Psalm 14:3; Romans 3:10, 12), and that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23; 5:12). Apart from God our “righteous acts are as filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:5). The “good man” is the person who has found the Lord Jesus. God says:

Proverbs 8:35 (ESV) For whoever finds me finds life and obtains favor from the Lord …

Acts 11:24 (ESV) … {Barnabas} was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord.

It is God Who makes is “good” by His Grace. It is God Who gives us the power to do good. God blesses those who follow Him and do as He says. We who are obedient gain the “favor of the Lord”.

Proverbs 12:2 (KJV) … but a man of wicked devices will he condemn.

But to those who ignore the correction of God, who ignore His call to salvation, He will condemn them. They may seem to prosper on the earth, but they will eventually come before God for eternal condemnation.

Proverbs 12:3 (KJV) A man shall not be established by wickedness: but the root of the righteous shall not be moved.

There is no foundation to wickedness, to evil, to disobedience to the command of God. I am often asked if an eight year old child can be saved. My response is:

“If an eight year old can become an effective King by obeying God’s Word, then an eight year old can be saved by hearing and obeying the Gospel”.

I refer to the youngest King Israel ever had, King Josiah. He is found in:

2 Chronicles 34:1-7 (NKJV) Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. 2 And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the ways of his father David; he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. 3 For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, he began to seek the God of his father David; and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the wooden images, the carved images, and the molded images. 4 They broke down the altars of the Baals in his presence, and the incense altars which were above them he cut down; and the wooden images, the carved images, and the molded images he broke in pieces, and made dust of them and scattered it on the graves of those who had sacrificed to them. 5 He also burned the bones of the priests on their altars, and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem. 6 And so he did in the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, as far as Naphtali and all around, with axes. 7 When he had broken down the altars and the wooden images, had beaten the carved images into powder, and cut down all the incense altars throughout all the land of Israel, he returned to Jerusalem.

Josiah sought God when he was young – probably long before he was eight years old. Seeking God, Josiah used his throne to purge the idolatry out of the land of Judah. He took an active part in the destruction of the pagan altars. When he was eighteen years old Josiah ordered the “repair {of} the house of the Lord his God” (verse 8), the Temple which had fallen into disrepair. Once the Temple was repaired, the Bible says:

2 Chronicles 34:14 (NKJV) Hilkiah the priest found the Book of the Law of the Lord given by Moses …

Judah had gotten away from God’s Word. It was ignored, like the Bible on the shelf, or the King James on the coffee table. The previous King Manasseh, who took throne at 12 years old, was evil and idolatrous, without Christ (2 Chronicles 33:1-2). Because of his evil God caused the Army of Assyria to capture Jerusalem, and bind Manasseh with hooks and fetters, and carry him to Babylon (2 Chronicles 33:11). Intensely suffering, Manasseh repented, and God allowed him to once more ascend the Throne of David. The seed of disobedience and evil that Manasseh did was planted in his son King Amon, who assumed the throne at 22 years old (2 Chronicles 33:21). King Amon was assassinated after just two years – which brought Josiah to the throne.

Josiah had seen the evil of his grandfather and his father, so that even as a young boy he wanted none of it.

When the Law of Moses was found, Josiah mourned, ordering his staff:

2 Chronicles 34:21 (NKJV) Go, inquire of the Lord for me, and for those who are left in Israel and Judah, concerning the words of the book that is found; for great is the wrath of the Lord that is poured out on us, because our fathers have not kept the word of the Lord, to do according to all that is written in this book.

Because Josiah sought God’s Will and Word, the Lord promised him that he would have peace in his reign (2 Chronicles 34:27-28). Interestingly this was prophesied by a woman prophetess named Huldah (vs 22). When the men will not do God’s Will, the Lord will raise up women to do so. Hearing the prophecy of Huldah, Josiah continued pushing idolatry out of the land, and leading Judah to follow the Lord. The Bible says:

2 Chronicles 34:33 (NKJV) … Josiah removed all the abominations from all the country that belonged to the children of Israel, and made all who were present in Israel diligently serve the Lord their God. All his days they did not depart from following the Lord God of their fathers.

Josiah understood Proverbs 12:3 A man {nor a King, nor a nation} shall not be established by wickedness: but the root of the righteous shall not be moved. The place for abundant life is in the will and Word of God.

Not Just Men, But Women Are Called To Virtue

Proverbs 12:4 (KJV) A VIRTUOUS woman is a crown to her husband: but she that maketh ashamed is as rottenness in his bones.

Word Study: The word rendered “VIRTUOUS” is the Hebrew ḥayil (pro. khah’-yil), which is a very interesting word. It means “excellent, valiant, focused”. It refers to a woman who is “strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might” (Ephesians 6:10). The woman who is focused on the Will and the Word of God is a “crown to her husband”. She lifts him up toward God. She helps her husband as he serves the Lord. A crown brings glory to the wearer. The virtuous woman brings glory to her husband. She is like Huldah the Prophetess, who is described as:

2 Chronicles 34:22 (NKJV) … Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tokhath, the son of Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe. (She dwelt in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter.)

When Josiah told his staff “Go, inquire of the Lord for me”, without hesitation these men sought out Huldah. They did not seek her out because she had a title, but because they knew her as a virtuous woman. Though God has established the office of the Pastor to be filled by men (1 Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:6, “the husband of ONE WIFE”), God still uses women of virtue – especially when men will not step up to the plate. The Bible says that during the time of the Judges:

Judges 4:4-5 (KJV) Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time. 5 she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in mount Ephraim: and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment.

Deborah was known as a “virtuous woman”, a woman who loved the Lord. Her home was well known, “and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment”. Is it any wonder that God used her to spur Barak to lead the army of Israel against Canaanite hoards?

God raised up a virtuous woman named Ruth (Ruth 3:11), a Moabite who converted and gave her life to Christ. God chose Ruth to be in the lineage of our Lord Jesus (Matthew 1:5)when she married Boaz. Their son would be the father of Jesse, who was the father of King David.

Sarah the wife of Abraham was a virtuous woman, and is used as a model for Christian women today. The Apostle wrote:

1 Peter 3:1-6 (ESV) Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, 2 when they see your respectful and pure conduct. 3 Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— 4 but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious. 5 For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, 6 as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening.

The antithesis of the virtuous woman is Jezebel, the wife of King Ahab. It was Jezebel that introduced pagan worship of Baal into Israel, and who supported the evil reign of her husband. The Prophet Job was married to a shrew who, when he was in his greatest suffering, counseled her husband:

Job 2:9 (NKJV) …. Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!

Such a woman is not a crown to her husband, but a knife in his back. I know of a woman like this who, professing to be saved by grace, does all she can to insure that her lost husband stays lost. I’ll end with this:

Proverbs 12:5 The thoughts of the righteous are right: but the counsels of the wicked are deceit.

The righteous woman, the virtuous woman, will think Biblically. Her thoughts will be right, and she will counsel her husband and those around her to that which is right and righteous. The wicked, however, are prone to deceit. They use twisted logic. They play the “blame game”, and deflect Biblical teaching so that they might wallow in their sinful ways. Such a woman is not a crown to her husband, but a hindrance.

Let us all pursue the Will of God by studying the Word of God. For His glory. Amen and Amen.