Proverbs 16:21 The wise in heart shall be called prudent: and the sweetness of the lips increaseth learning.

Gentle, Then Harder Is More Effective

Our Lord Jesus Christ is a perfect example of One Who is “wise in heart” and yet “sweet of the lips”. Jesus knew that most people responded easier to gentler teaching, or as the Apostle said,

Ephesians 4:15 … speaking the TRUTH in LOVE …

When Jesus met the Samaritan woman at the well our Lord knew that she was living in adultery. Jesus would later tell her,

John 4:16-18 (NKJV) .. Go, call your husband, and come here. 17 The woman answered and said, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You have well said, ‘I have no husband,’ 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly.

Jesus did not begin with her sin, but with “Give Me some water from the well”. Intrigued, and knowing Jesus was a Jew, she said,

John 4:9 (NKJV) How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.

The Samaritans had become used to the Jews spitting at them, reminding them they were inferior, telling them they were unworthy when compared to a Hebrew. It surprised this woman that Jesus would even talk to her!

Jesus turned the conversation back to Himself, the living Water of God. He said “If you knew the Gift of God, and Who I am, you would have asked Me for water”. Jesus was not ugly with the woman, but Bible based. He did not try and win an argument with the woman, but stayed with the Wisdom of God, the Word.

Proverbs 16:21 the SWEETNESS of the lips increaseth learning

Word Study: The word rendered “SWEETNESS” is the Hebrew meṯeq (pro. meh’-thek). It doesn’t mean sugar coated, like honey, but instruction that comes from a heart filled with compassion and love. We previously read in:

Proverbs 15:1 A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

As Jesus did, we should seek to speak the truth without forcing confrontation. Jesus stood on the phrase, “it is written”. He referred to what the Scripture said. There were times when Jesus rebuked those who would not listen (such as the self-righteous Pharisees), but

Jesus’ intent was to lead others to the Word of God, the Wisdom of God. If He could teach others gently, He did so – but without compromising the Word of God.

Proverbs 16:24 Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.

The intent of teaching others the Word of God is not to prove ourselves right and others wrong, but to lead as many as possible to life. God’s Word is Life. When the Apostle preached, he focused on:

Philippians 2:16 (KJV) Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither labored in vain.

As believers we want to lead others to Christ, to the teachings of the Scripture. “Pleasant words are as honeycomb”.

Illustrate: In the ancient world, people considered honeycomb as we think of so called “energy drinks” today. God’s Word is

Psalm 19:10 (AP) More to be desired than gold, yes, more desired than fine gold: sweeter than honey and the honeycomb …

It is God’s Word that gives life and joy for living. Those without hope are without strength. The word of man cannot bring hope and joy that lasts. Only God’s Word blesses us – but we must eat it. It must become part of us. The Prophet said:

Jeremiah 15:16 (KJV) Thy Words were found, and I did eat them; and Thy Word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by Thy name, O LORD God of hosts.

Proverbs 16:22 (KJV) Understanding is a wellspring of life unto him that hath it: but the instruction of fools is folly.

The Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary comments on this verse: “As ‘understanding’ or intelligence is its own reward to its possessors, so ‘folly’ is its own punishment to fools. Or, taking the English version, All ‘the instruction (i.e., the wisdom) of fools is (nothing but) folly;’ it is ‘a well-spring’ of folly, and therefore of death (the opposite to ‘of life’). Water cannot rise above its level. Not only in serious concerns does the wise man’s ‘understanding’ well forth, but even in his moments of relaxation. The fool’s wisdom, not only in ordinary concerns, but even in serious ones; as, for instance, his efforts by way of ‘instruction’ betray his ‘folly.’ ”

Right after Jesus fed the 5000, He sent His men to Capernaum by boat while He went into the mountains to pray. As Jesus set up camp the next day, crowds began to come to Him not to hear the Word of God, but to fill their bellies as they had the day before. This is foolishness! “The instruction of fools is folly”.

I saw a Jeep wheel cover today that had on it “Not all wanderers are lost”. People choose to wander, to forsake God and His Word. They don’t know they are lost!

You cannot teach a fool! The fool wants the temporal, the easy. The fool stands in the very presence of God Incarnate, and desires a fish and bread dinner rather than the wisdom of God. Jesus told these people:

John 6:26-29 (ESV) “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. 27 Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.” 28 Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” 29 Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”

These people came to Jesus because He filled their bellies the day before, and they were hungry again. They wanted a free lunch. Jesus wanted to teach them, to give them the “wellspring of life” that understanding of God’s Word brings. They wanted to know what the work of God is, and Jesus told them:

“This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”

This is the well spring of life. To receive Jesus, to hear Jesus, to follow Jesus, to live for Jesus. His Kingdom is a Living Kingdom. And then these fools said this:

John 6:30-31 (ESV) “Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? 31 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”

Jesus, how do we KNOW You are the Messiah? We know that Moses was a Prophet of God because Moses gave us bread from Heaven to eat. This is the statement of a fool!

Moses did not give bread from Heaven.
Elijah did not bring fire from Heaven on Mount Carmel.
Mary did not make the Son of God in her womb.
John the Baptist did not bring the Holy Spirit down to Jesus.
God did those things!

God does the miraculous! Jesus Christ came into this world because God the Holy Spirit created His humanity through Mary, but the Eternal Son allowed the birth. Jesus told them:

John 6:32-33 “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

These people saw all the signs they needed to see the day before, when Jesus fed 5000 with a few biscuits and fish. They came to fill their bellies – but Jesus came to fill souls.

Jesus spoke harshly to the fools – and they departed, saying “This is a HARD SAYING – who can hear it?” (John 6:60). The foolish departed from Jesus, and never came back to walk with Him again. They came to Jesus for amusement, for selfish gain, but not to hear the Kingdom Gospel.

The Growing Christian Is A Disciple

Proverbs 16:23 (KJV) The heart of the wise TEACHETH his mouth, and ADDETH LEARNING to his lips.

Christians are called to be DISCIPLES, students, children of God who learn from His Word. Once we LEARN, we SPEAK what we have learned.

Jesus asked His disciples, “Will you leave Me as well?” They replied,

John 6:68-69 (ESV) “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, 69 and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”

The genuine believer in Christ (not the ones who just want to fill their bellies) will learn with the intent of telling others. Jesus’ commission is for us to MAKE DISCIPLES or STUDENTS (Matthew 28:19) – then to tell others.

The Bridges Commentary notes:

“ The excellency of a believer is, not that he hath a large apprehension of things; but that what he doth apprehend (which perhaps may be very little) he sees it in the light of the Spirit of God, in a saving, soul-transforming light. And this is that, which gives us communion with God.’”

The genuine Christian never fully understands all the truths of God, but as God is infinite, our learning is infinite. We will always be learning – even into eternity. We learn to stay near the Shepherd of our souls:

1 Peter 2:24-25 (KJV) {Jesus} his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. 25 For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.

The wise person is humble in the Presence of God. The wise person realizes that the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil belongs to God, not to us. We are truly ignorant – so we pursue learning through the Word of God.

The Christian Walks The Way Of Life, Of Christ

Proverbs 16:25 There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

This is a repeated Proverb, previously found in:

Proverbs 14:12 There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

Things may seem right to us, but we are not as God. God is OMNISCIENT, all knowing. We are told in:

Isaiah 46:9-10 I am God, and there is NONE LIKE ME. Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure.

We are limited by space and time, and sometimes something that seems a good idea will actually turn out to be a very bad idea. The Supreme Court upheld the right of marriage to same sex couples. The unintended consequence of this is that same sex couples are now legally able to adopt children, and raise them in homes where confusion reigns. When we depart from God’s design, people become confused about life.

Disease and sickness are spread by bad decisions. Death comes by by decisions. I remember years ago having to bury a child who, with his friends, went four wheeling on a farmer’s land. They were trespassing. At one point they ran into a barbed fence, and one child was garroted, killed by the wire.

The first murder ever committed in human history was when Cain killed his brother Abel. Why did Cain kill Abel? Because God accepted Abel’s sacrifice, but not Cain’s. God told Cain to repent, and to do the right thing. God told Cain:

Genesis 4:7-8 “If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.

When we do what God says not do, sin becomes our master. This is what happened with Cain. The Bible tells us that:

1 John 3:11-12 (ESV) For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. 12 We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous.

Those who follow evil are the slaves of evil. We are saved by the Grace of God to be freed from sin. Paul makes this point in:

Romans 6:12-18 (ESV) Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. 13 Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. 14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. 15 What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! 16 Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, 18 and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.

We who love Jesus are to be slaves of righteousness, not of sin. We are to follow HIS ways, not our ways. This is the Way of Life and Peace. Who are those who pursue evil rather than Christ?

The GREEDY person:

Proverbs 16:26 He that laboureth laboureth for himself; for his mouth craveth it of him.

The believer in Christ is told,

1 Corinthians 10:31 … whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

The selfish person lives for themselves. They destroy churches with their complaints. Beloved, “Whatever you do, do it HEARTILY, as to the LORD and not men” (Colossians 3:23, NKJV).

The GODLESS Person:

Proverbs 16:27 An ungodly man diggeth up evil: and in his lips there is as a burning fire.

The godless are always digging about, looking for new ways to blaspheme the Lord and to please their flesh. They use their lips to spread evil.

The PERVERSE Person:

Proverbs 16:28 A FROWARD {tahpukâh, perverse} man soweth strife: and a whisperer separateth chief friends.

The perverse person, the person who wants to twist God’s design, and the murmurer or complainer are thrown in together in this parable. The intent of both the perverse and the murmurer are to destroy Godly order, while sowing confusion. In this sense God equates the murmurer who sows discord with the sexual pervert who sows confusion.

The ANGRY or ACTIVIST Person:

Proverbs 16:29 A VIOLENT {ḥāmās} man enticeth his neighbour, and leadeth him into the way that is not good.

This person, much celebrated in America today, stirs up trouble, and destroys civil liberties. This type of crowd are found in ANTIFA, Black Lives Matter, and in rioters. Their way is not the way of Christ, but of disorder and disharmony.

May Christ lead us away from these evil ways! Come quickly Lord Jesus! Amen.