[Study Aired June 29, 2026]

Our study for today can be categorized into four sections. The first one relates to David rescuing Keilah from the Philistines. The second part deals with the Lord’s warning and escape from Keilah. The third section of the study is about Jonathan coming to encourage David. Finally, the study concludes with the Ziphites informing Saul about David and David’s narrow escape. This study therefore illustrates the principle that many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers us out of them all.

Psa 34:19  Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all. 
Psa 34:20  He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken. 

David Rescued Keilah from the Philistines

1Sa 23:1  Then they told David, saying, Behold, the Philistines fight against Keilah, and they rob the threshing floors. 
1Sa 23:2  Therefore David enquired of the LORD, saying, Shall I go and smite these Philistines? And the LORD said unto David, Go, and smite the Philistines, and save Keilah. 

Here in verse 1, David was told that the Philistines were fighting against Keilah and that they were robbing their threshing floors. Keilah means ‘fortress.’ Therefore, what verse 1 signifies is that taking refuge in Christ as our fortress involves being at war against our flesh, denoted by the Philistines. In the Bible, a threshing floor is a flat, hard surface used to separate edible grain from inedible husks and chaff. Because of the intense labor and wind-swept separation involved, it serves as a powerful biblical metaphor for the Lord’s judgment. The threshing floor therefore represents the suffering we go through from the hand of the Lord or the judgment of the Lord. This implies that the Philistines robbing the threshing floor of those in Keilah that when we are of the flesh, we are robbed of the need to go through the Lord’s judgment.

We all, naturally, do not want to suffer. This means that living according to the flesh (Philistines) robs us of the need to suffer. However, if we have taken refuge in Christ, then we are enjoined to suffer, just as our Lord suffered for our sake.

Php 1:29  For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake;

Rom 8:17  And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. 

1Pe 4:13  But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. 

In verse 2, David enquired of the Lord whether to go to the rescue of the Israelites in Keilah or not. The Lord responded that David should go and destroy the Philistines to save those in Keilah. Verse 2 signifies that it is through enquiring of the Lord through His word we come to know that we must fight the fight of faith against our flesh to save our lives. We must also realize that it is not all those who come to enquire of the Lord who are given to know what the Lord is saying. It is only the Lord’s elect, signified by David, who are given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. 

Mat 13:10  And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? 
Mat 13:11  He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.  

1Sa 23:3  And David’s men said unto him, Behold, we be afraid here in Judah: how much more then if we come to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines? 
1Sa 23:4  Then David enquired of the LORD yet again. And the LORD answered him and said, Arise, go down to Keilah; for I will deliver the Philistines into thine hand. 

As we can see in verse 3, David’s men were afraid of confronting the Philistines in Keilah. This implies that they were not spiritually matured like David. These men were new to the church of the Lord’s elect and were as we were still holding to the mentality that we cannot win the war against our flesh (Philistines). 

Rev 13:4  And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? 

For the sake of these immature believers, David enquired of the Lord again and came to the same conclusion that the Lord would grant them victory over the Philistines or their flesh. He did not rebuke them for their unbelief, but was very patient with them. We must therefore be patient with our brothers and sisters in the faith. 

1Th 5:14  Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men. 

David enquiring from the Lord again also shows us one of the principles that helps us to be guided when studying the word of the Lord. The number two means a ‘witness’, and therefore David enquiring from the Lord for the second time implies that we must have a witness when we study the word of the Lord. In other words, we are to have at least a second scriptural witness to establish a Scriptural truth or doctrine.

Mat 18:16  But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. 

2Co 13:1  This is the third time I am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established. 

1Sa 23:5  So David and his men went to Keilah, and fought with the Philistines, and brought away their cattle, and smote them with a great slaughter. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah.  

Through faith in the word of the Lord, David and his men went to Keilah and defeated the Philistines, thus, delivering the inhabitants of Keilah from the hands of the Philistines. What this is showing us is that through faith in the word of the Lord, we shall overcome our flesh.

Heb 11:32  And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets: 
Heb 11:33  Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 
Heb 11:34  Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. 

1Sa 23:6  And it came to pass, when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech fled to David to Keilah, that he came down with an ephod in his hand. 

As indicated in the previous study, Abiathar, which means ‘my father is great’, was the only one who escaped from the slaughter of the priests at Nob, to join David and those with him. His escape represents our escape from the church system of this world or Babylon, to join the church of the Lord’s elect or the Heavenly Jerusalem. 

An ephod, on a positive note, signifies the sacred priestly garment. As we are aware, garments in the Bible represent our righteousness, which is of the Lord. In other words, our righteousness is the Lord’s righteousness. 

Exo 28:4  And these are the garments which they shall make; a breastplate, and an ephod, and a robe, and a broidered coat, a mitre, and a girdle: and they shall make holy garments for Aaron thy brother, and his sons, that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office. 

Exo 28:6  And they shall make the ephod of gold, of blue, and of purple, of scarlet, and fine twined linen, with cunning work. 

Isa 54:17  No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD. 

Jer 33:16  In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely: and this is the name wherewith she shall be called, The LORD our righteousness. 

On a negative note, the ephod represents an idol. This indicates that self-righteousness is an idol of our hearts, which prevents us from knowing the Lord.

Jdg 8:27  And Gideon made an ephod thereof, and put it in his city, even in Ophrah: and all Israel went thither a whoring after it: which thing became a snare unto Gideon, and to his house. 

Jdg 17:5  And the man Micah had an house of gods, and made an ephod, and teraphim, and consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest. 

Going back to verse 6, we can see that Abiathar had not put on the ephod yet after his escape from Nob. This implies that when we came to the church of the Lord’s elect, we were not yet clothed in Christ’s righteousness, since in Babylon, we believed in our own righteousness. However, Abiathar having the ephod in his hand when he came to Keilah in verse 6, signifies that coming to the assembly of the Lord’s elect brings us closer to Christ’s righteousness or it is at hand. In other words, Christ’s righteousness is within our reach through faith. 

Php 3:9  And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: 

Divine Warning and Escape from Keilah

1Sa 23:7  And it was told Saul that David was come to Keilah. And Saul said, God hath delivered him into mine hand; for he is shut in, by entering into a town that hath gates and bars. 
1Sa 23:8  And Saul called all the people together to war, to go down to Keilah, to besiege David and his men. 

As we can see, the Lord had raised Saul and his men as His instrument of judgment of David and his men. Saul and his men symbolize the people of this world, including our brothers and sisters in Babylon, whom the Lord uses sometimes as His instrument of judgment against the Lord’s elect. In the Bible, the Lord, on some occasions, used some foreign nations to judge His people as shown in the following verses:

Isa 10:5  O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation.
Isa 10:6  I will send him against an hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.  

In the mind of Saul and his men, they thought they had cornered David and his men and that there was no way of escape. Sometimes we come to situations that we cannot figure out how we can get out of them. In our desperation, we forget that it is the Lord who is in charge. The Lord has given us assurance through His word that we should not fear whatever comes our way in this life, because He is the one in charge.

Isa 54:17  No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD. 

Luk 10:19  Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. 

1Sa 23:9  And David knew that Saul secretly practised mischief against him; and he said to Abiathar the priest, Bring hither the ephod. 
1Sa 23:10  Then said David, O LORD God of Israel, thy servant hath certainly heard that Saul seeketh to come to Keilah, to destroy the city for my sake. 
1Sa 23:11  Will the men of Keilah deliver me up into his hand? will Saul come down, as thy servant hath heard? O LORD God of Israel, I beseech thee, tell thy servant. And the LORD said, He will come down. 
1Sa 23:12  Then said David, Will the men of Keilah deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul? And the LORD said, They will deliver thee up. 
1Sa 23:13  Then David and his men, which were about six hundred, arose and departed out of Keilah, and went whithersoever they could go. And it was told Saul that David was escaped from Keilah; and he forbare to go forth. 

As indicated earlier, the ephod represents the Lord’s righteousness which is imputed on us, His elect. David asking Abiathar the priest to bring the ephod in verse 9 means David appealed to the righteousness of the Lord to show him the way forward. 

Verses 10 to 13 show us that as we come before the Lord in our desperation, the Lord hears us and shows us a way out, such that we are able to bear whatever trouble we find ourselves in. 

1Co 10:11  Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. 
1Co 10:12  Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. 
1Co 10:13  There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. 

Comparing scripture with scripture, we can see that verses 10–13 of this study are the same as Psalm 109 where we find ourselves in trouble such that we have no way out. In our desperation, we cry out to the Lord, and in His mercy, the Lord brings us to our safe haven. 

Psa 107:25  For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof. 
Psa 107:26  They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble. 
Psa 107:27  They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits’ end. 
Psa 107:28  Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses. 
Psa 107:29  He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still. 
Psa 107:30  Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven. 
Psa 107:31  Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! 

Jonathan Encourages David

1Sa 23:14  And David abode in the wilderness in strong holds, and remained in a mountain in the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul sought him every day, but God delivered him not into his hand. 
1Sa 23:15  And David saw that Saul was come out to seek his life: and David was in the wilderness of Ziph in a wood. 
1Sa 23:16  And Jonathan Saul’s son arose, and went to David into the wood, and strengthened his hand in God. 
1Sa 23:17  And he said unto him, Fear not: for the hand of Saul my father shall not find thee; and thou shalt be king over Israel, and I shall be next unto thee; and that also Saul my father knoweth. 
1Sa 23:18  And they two made a covenant before the LORD: and David abode in the wood, and Jonathan went to his house.

In our time of trial, we need to be strengthened by our brothers and sisters in the Lord as we see Jonathan coming to Ziph to encourage David’s hand in God. This walk with Christ is a lonely journey, and therefore we need to be strengthened in Christ. When Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane before His arrest, He was in deep agony as He prayed and was strengthened by an angel. This angel represents us, His elect, as we encourage one another in the Lord especially during times when we are under the judgment of the Lord.

Luk 22:43  And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. 
Luk 22:44  And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground. 

Our Lord Jesus specifically told Peter that after he is converted, he should strengthen his brothers, which emphasizes the fact that we are to strengthen one another in the Lord. 

Luk 22:31  And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: 
Luk 22:32  But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.  

The fact that David and Jonathan made a covenant in verse 18 before the Lord, signifies that we are in a covenant relationship with each other as the Lord’s elect, to strengthen one another both in good times and in bad times. 

1Th 5:11  Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing. (ESV)

Heb 10:24  And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 
Heb 10:25  not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. (ESV)

In essence, what every joint supplies in the body of Christ is to build each other up.

Eph 4:16  From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love. 

The Ziphites Inform Saul and David’s Narrow Escape

1Sa 23:19  Then came up the Ziphites to Saul to Gibeah, saying, Doth not David hide himself with us in strong holds in the wood, in the hill of Hachilah, which is on the south of Jeshimon? 
1Sa 23:20  Now therefore, O king, come down according to all the desire of thy soul to come down; and our part shall be to deliver him into the king’s hand. 
1Sa 23:21  And Saul said, Blessed be ye of the LORD; for ye have compassion on me. 
1Sa 23:22  Go, I pray you, prepare yet, and know and see his place where his haunt is, and who hath seen him there: for it is told me that he dealeth very subtilly. 
1Sa 23:23  See therefore, and take knowledge of all the lurking places where he hideth himself, and come ye again to me with the certainty, and I will go with you: and it shall come to pass, if he be in the land, that I will search him out throughout all the thousands of Judah. 

Ziphites means ‘smelters.’ Hence they represent all those that the Lord uses as instruments of His judgment. As instruments of the Lord’s judgment, it is no wonder that these Ziphites went to report to Saul the hiding place of David and his men, to put more fire under David and his men. 

These Ziphites are likened to us when we were in Babylon where we were more interested in pleasing our leaders and persecuting the Lord’s elect.    

Act 5:29  Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men. 

Col 3:22  Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God: 

Here in verse 21, Saul was blessing the Lord for His compassion toward him for being told by the Ziphites where David and his men were. This signifies that there are many who please the Lord with their mouth, but their hearts are far away from Him. 

Isa 29:13  Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men: 
Isa 29:14  Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid. 

1Sa 23:24  And they arose, and went to Ziph before Saul: but David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon, in the plain on the south of Jeshimon. 
1Sa 23:25  Saul also and his men went to seek him. And they told David: wherefore he came down into a rock, and abode in the wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heard that, he pursued after David in the wilderness of Maon.

Although David and his men did not know that the Ziphites were looking for him and his men to hand them over to Saul, the Lord guided the steps of David and his men to lead them out of Ziph to the wilderness of Maon. Through the guidance of the Lord, our steps are ordered, such that we are kept from being harmed by anyone.

Psa 37:23  The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way. 
Psa 37:24  Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand.   

We must remember that when Cain killed his brother Abel, the Lord came and told him that as part of his punishment, he shall be a fugitive and a vagabond or wanderer. In response, Cain told the Lord that his punishment was too much and that anyone who finds him would kill him. To this end, the Lord put a mark on Cain such that no one could harm him as he wanders from place to place. If the Lord could protect Cain through a mark on his forehead, how much more would the Lord protect us, His beloved, who cry to Him day and night? He would surely take care of us, just as he protected David from the hand of Saul and his men.  

Gen 4:12  When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.
Gen 4:13  And Cain said unto the LORD, My punishment is greater than I can bear. 
Gen 4:14  Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me. 
Gen 4:15  And the LORD said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the LORD set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him. 

As the Lord’s elect, we also carry on our forehead a mark by the Lord such that no one can harm us in this life.

Eze 9:3  And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub, whereupon he was, to the threshold of the house. And he called to the man clothed with linen, which had the writer’s inkhorn by his side; 
Eze 9:4  And the LORD said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof. 
Eze 9:5  And to the others he said in mine hearing, Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity:

1Sa 23:26  And Saul went on this side of the mountain, and David and his men on that side of the mountain: and David made haste to get away for fear of Saul; for Saul and his men compassed David and his men round about to take them. 
1Sa 23:27  But there came a messenger unto Saul, saying, Haste thee, and come; for the Philistines have invaded the land. 
1Sa 23:28  Wherefore Saul returned from pursuing after David, and went against the Philistines: therefore they called that place Selahammahlekoth. 
1Sa 23:29  And David went up from thence, and dwelt in strong holds at Engedi. 

In verse 26, we see Saul and his men on one side of the mountain and David and his men on the other side of the mountain. It demonstrates the gulf between the Lord’s elect and our brothers and sisters in the church system of this world or Babylon. Coming from Babylon to the church of the firstborn requires climbing a mountain. This mountain is the false doctrines in our heavens which acts as a blockade which separates the Lord’s children from the children of the devil. As we can see from the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, there is a great gulf between the Lord’s elect and the people of this world, including our brothers and sisters of this world.  

Luk 16:22  And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;
Luk 16:23  And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 
Luk 16:24  And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. 
Luk 16:25  But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. 
Luk 16:26  And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. 

Verses 27-29 also show us how the Lord diverted the attention of Saul and his men to pursue after the Philistines instead of David and his men. It emphasizes the fact that Lord knows how to take care of His own and has assured us in His word that none can pluck us out of His hand. 

Joh 10:28  And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. 
Joh 10:29  My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. 
Joh 10:30  I and my Father are one. 

We thank the Lord for involving us in His wonderful plan of His salvation. May His name be praised. Amen!!

“The king by judgment establisheth the land”

(Pro 29:1-9)

[Study Aired May 14, 2026]

Pro 29:1  He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.
Pro 29:2  When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.
Pro 29:3  Whoso loveth wisdom rejoiceth his father: but he that keepeth company with harlots spendeth his substance.
Pro 29:4  The king by judgment establisheth the land: but he that receiveth gifts overthroweth it.
Pro 29:5  A man that flattereth his neighbour spreadeth a net for his feet.
Pro 29:6  In the transgression of an evil man there is a snare: but the righteous doth sing and rejoice.
Pro 29:7  The righteous considereth the cause of the poor: but the wicked regardeth not to know it.
Pro 29:8  Scornful men bring a city into a snare: but wise men turn away wrath.
Pro 29:9  If a wise man contendeth with a foolish man, whether he rage or laugh, there is no rest.

The true pattern of a Christian life that God’s elect are called to recognize is one of judgement that is upon the household of God (1Pe 4:17). The first thing we learn of in the churches of this world that we are first drawn into, to then come out of, is that we need only confess our sins one time and voila, you are a shoe-in for the first resurrection, giving license to a potential lifetime of licentious behaviour because Christ did everything on the cross for us (1Co 2:2, 1Co 3:1), leaving us nothing to fill up of what is behind of His afflictions (Col 1:24).

The truth is that the elect are represented by the few (Mat 22:14) typified by the scapegoat that must go through a wilderness experience at the hand of Christ the fit man, or author and finisher of our faith who will make us ready to be saviours that come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau with Christ (Oba 1:21, Lev 16:10)

Lev 16:10  But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness.

Apprehension of this blessed gift of being in the first resurrection is on our fleshly terms at first, and denies the need for a lifelong process of overcoming, and dying daily, and enduring to the end (1Co 15:31, Mat 24:13).

These opening proverbs of chapter 29 struck me as being very clear on the point that only Christ can establish our kingship and potential future rulership under Him (Rev 5:10).

Rev 5:10  And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

In order for that to happen we must be convinced that we are of the generation who have no confidence in the flesh and then we can be found with His righteousness within us if God permit (Php 3:3, Php 3:9) having been apprehended by Christ to that end (Php 3:11-14), which is just another way of saying that we have been sealed by the holy spirit of God and no one can take us out of our Father’s hands (Eph 1:13).

Php 3:11  If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.
Php 3:12  Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. (Christ is the means to the end, He is the one who apprehends us as the author and finisher of our faith Php 2:12-13)
Php 3:13  Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
Php 3:14  I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Eph 1:13  In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,

There will come a time as it did in Paul’s life and all those who the Lord is working with, where our confidence in what God can do in us will cause us to abound with the faith that Christ prayed for the elect to have (Rev 22:11, 1Ti 1:15-16, Luk 17:10, Php 2:12-13, Luk 22:32). There is an outward and inward application that speaks to the points in these verses (Rev 22:11, and 1Ti 1:15-16) and as we mature in Christ we will see more clearly how we have nothing to offer to God and that trials and judgement will be upon us until our last breath as it was upon Christ’s flesh (1Jn 4:17). This realization should be a great encouragement for us, knowing that He who has begun this work in us will finish it through Christ (Rom 5:10).

Rev 22:11  He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.

1Ti 1:15  This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.
1Ti 1:16  Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy (Rom 11:30-32), that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.

Rom 5:10  For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.

When we clearly see that we bring nothing to the altar, we are acknowledging by those convictions that my unjust flesh is going to remain unjust still and filthy to my last breath, but God’s elect will also be blessed to acknowledge and recognize that His righteousness within us has remained still, and His holiness has remained still, in us to our last breath (Rev 22:11). That conviction is what grows in our lives despite our shortcomings, that only need to be confessed and they will be forgiven (1Jn 2:1-2).

It is because of the judgement, the fiery trials of our life (1Pe 4:12-13), that we cease from sinning (1Pe 4:1-2, Tit 2:12-13) and continue on fulfilling the will of God, and all of that is only possible because of our hope of glory within, Jesus Christ (our hope by which we are saved is tied into the tokens of our afflictions, our filling up what is behind of the afflictions of Christ Col 1:24, Col 1:27).

Paul came to a point where he was persuaded that nothing could separate him from the love of God and because of a lifetime of suffering, and not otherwise, his confidence soared regarding the faith of Christ within him that convicted him that he could be more that a conqueror through Him (2Ti 4:7, Col 1:24, Mat 16:2-3).

2Ti 4:7  I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:
2Ti 4:8  Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.

In the early stages of our walk we experience ‘red skies in the morning’ and are told to ‘take warning’, this taking warning means, arm yourself with the mind of Christ (1Pe 4:1, Mat 24:6) because we are in a spiritual battle that is going to require fiery trials (1Pe 4:12), and Psalm 107 storms that will bring us to our wits’ end, but God will be faithful to bring us to our safe haven Jesus Christ every time (Joh 6:44).

1Pe 4:1  Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin;

Mat 24:6  And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

The latter part of our life is the second part of that proverb or parable found in (Mat 16:2-3) that we’re discussing, where Christ says ‘red sky at night is a sailor’s delight’. Yes we delight ourselves in the Lord (Php 4:4) because we know that although we are promised red skies at night, meaning wars in our heavens, and rumours thereof (Mat 24:6), we have at this point matured enough to realize and rejoice in the faithful Creator in whose life we have committed our souls, regardless of the trials and thorns in our flesh which we now know are needful and necessary to grow and go unto maturity in this life. They are a token for us of His working in our lives (1Pe 4:18-19, 2Th 1:5).

Php 4:4  Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.

1Pe 4:18  And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?
1Pe 4:19  Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.

2Th 1:5  Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer:

Let’s look at these proverbs with the thought that we are more than conquerors through Christ (Rom 8:37) who is in charge of the whole process of our salvation, and is giving us the power to be set free from sin (Joh 8:36), as we lose whatever fleshly attributes that have to be put off (Mat 18:9) in order to gain this great prize of being in that blessed and holy first resurrection (Rev 20:6).

Pro 29:1  He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.

We all are like hardened criminals at first, whose repentance is insincere because we still haven’t been set free from the sin in question (Joh 8:36), and that being proved or made evident by the ongoing need to be reproved for any particular giant in our land that continues to keep showing up.

The hope of our calling is in Christ, who at the appointed time, will bring sudden destruction upon the man of perdition within our members (2Th 2:3-8), truly setting us free from the sin, so that there is remedy, healing, which is the means by which this sin will not come back to dominate our lives as it did for an appointed time (Gen 6:3-4). That’s the true gospel that is hidden from the world, and is the deepest lesson that God is going to teach all of humanity starting with His children first typified by Joseph (Gen 45:5).

2Th 2:3  Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

Gen 6:3  And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.
Gen 6:4  There were giants in the earth in those days;(1Co 10:13) and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.

Gen 45:5  Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.

Pro 29:2  When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.

Inwardly we mourn, we sigh and cry because of wickedness that bears rule for a season in our heavens, and God causes those conditions for His people today so that we have contrast drawn in our hearts to compare against the fruit of the spirit that gives us victory over those unprofitable works of darkness that must be exposed by the brightness of Christ’s coming into our lives (Eph 5:11-12, Rom 6:21).

Eph 5:11  And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.
Eph 5:12  For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret.

Rom 6:21  What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.

Pro 29:3  Whoso loveth wisdom rejoiceth his father: but he that keepeth company with harlots spendeth his substance.

Again we need to think of the fruit of our lives in times past, our former conversation to understand how we kept company with harlots, meaning the churches of Babylon who rejected the wisdom of Christ. Our Father was not rejoicing in our Babylonian captivity but knew it was necessary to draw the needed contrast between that time in our lives when we spent all our inheritance from our Father upon the harlot systems of this church world (Luk 15:13). It takes a miracle to come out of her my people and then to begin to rejoiceth our Father with the acceptance that we now have with Christ within us and His wisdom that He gives us so that we can give back to Him that which was his all along (1Ch 29:14).

Luk 15:13  And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living.

1Ch 29:14  But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? for all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee.

Pro 29:4  The king by judgment establisheth the land: but he that receiveth gifts overthroweth it.

Christ is our king and he will establish our land which is our bodies in the “acceptable year of the Lord” (Luk 4:18-19). ‘Receiving gifts’ in this proverb is what overthrows the faith of some, and those gifts come in the form of the vain babblings of Babylon that promise liberty when there is none to be had (2Ti 2:16-19, 2Pe 2:18-19, Luk 4:18).

Luk 4:18  The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
Luk 4:19  To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

2Ti 2:16  But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness.
2Ti 2:17  And their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus;
2Ti 2:18  Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some.
2Ti 2:19  Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.(2Th 2:7, Eze 33:13)

2Pe 2:18  For when they speak great swelling words of vanity [self righteous iniquity 2Th 2:7, Eze 33:13], they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error.
2Pe 2:19  While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.

Pro 29:5  A man that flattereth his neighbour spreadeth a net for his feet.

We can connect the word flattery, “flattereth”, with these two verses (Pro 6:24, Job 17:5), to give us a greater sense of what is being discussed. It’s the flattery of a “strange woman”, the churches of this world that preach smooth things that seduces the flesh into believing another Jesus, and another gospel. The “the eyes of his children shall fail” of the one who speaks flattery to friends, is a reminder that our doctrines, which are likened unto children, are going to fail us and cause spiritual blindness to only deepen in Babylon (Mat 6:23, Mat 23:15).

Pro 6:24  To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman.

Job 17:5  He that speaketh flattery to his friends, even the eyes of his children shall fail.

Mat 6:23  But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!

Pro 29:6  In the transgression of an evil man there is a snare: but the righteous doth sing and rejoice.

A sinful life brings with it a spirit that ensnares the one who is a slave to sin (Joh 8:34-36), and a snare to the one who is not discerning of the other life that is in bondage (Jud 1:23-25).

Jud 1:23  And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.
Jud 1:24  Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,
Jud 1:25  To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.

Where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty (2Co 3:17), as long as we don’t use that liberty as an occasion to sin (Gal 5:13), and so we must be ever vigilant in examining ourselves whether we are in the faith or not (2Co 13:5). This daily examination is being accomplished by our hope of glory within (Php 2:12-13, Col 1:27), which is what will bring us to “sing and rejoice”(Php 4:4)

2Co 3:17  Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

Gal 5:13  For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.

Php 4:4  Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.

Pro 29:7  The righteous considereth the cause of the poor: but the wicked regardeth not to know it.

Christ in us brings us to be genuinely concerned for one another as a joint that supplies in love (Rom 5:5-6, Eph 4:16).

We can still be looking only to our own needs and not that of others, “the wicked regardeth not to know”, and when we do that, we are robbing ourselves of tithes and offerings, meaning we are robbing ourselves of the opportunity to do good unto all men and especially unto the household of faith who we must be provoking unto love and good works (Heb 10:24-25).

Heb 10:24  And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:
Heb 10:25  Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

God’s compassion working within us motivates us and gives us the desire to do what is right and to overcome what is wrong, “The righteous considereth the cause of the poor”. Without his spirit shed abroad in our hearts (Rom 5:5-6), our lives remain very spiritually unfulfilled because they are focused on self and not laying down our life for one another as Christ our example did (Act 20:35).

Rom 5:5  And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.
Rom 5:6  For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.

Heb 10:24  And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:
Heb 10:25  Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

Act 20:35  I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.

Pro 29:8  Scornful men bring a city into a snare: but wise men turn away wrath.

The ‘city brought into a snare’ represents the church, and these verses that use that word “scornful” establish this point, (Isa 28:14, Pro 1:22). Wise men turn away wrath that comes from a scornful person by disassociating ourselves with them (Psa 1:1).

Isa 28:14  Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem.

Pro 1:22  How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?

Psa 1:1  Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

Pro 29:9  If a wise man contendeth with a foolish man, whether he rage or laugh, there is no rest.

If you find yourself in this situation it is somewhat of a diverse temptation that God has given you to exercise patience (Jas 1:2-3). With God’s help, with the holy spirit leading, us we can be ready to give an answer in these situations or not give an answer (Pro 26:4-5, Pro 26:11-12), which is in itself an answer to a foolish man, and “whether he rage or laugh, there is no rest”. So don’t expect to change that person, but rather let God do the dragging and converting after you have sown the mandatory two witnesses to that person (Tit 3:10).

Jas 1:2  My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;
Jas 1:3  Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.

Pro 26:4  Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him.
Pro 26:5  Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit.

Pro 26:11  As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly.
Pro 26:12  Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit? there is more hope of a fool than of him.

Tit 3:10  A man that is an heretick after the first and second admonition reject;

The inward application of this verse applies to the way that we can overcome the powers and principalities that we war against in our heavens and that Christ is far higher than. The solution against the fiery darts of Satan is to quench them with the faith of Christ (Eph 6:16), and when we do this God will give us the power to follow these commands that we take into battle every day (Mat 5:25).

Eph 6:16  Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

Mat 5:25  Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison.

1 Samuel 17:31–58 David and Goliath, Part 2

[Study Aired May 11, 2026]

As indicated in the previous study, chapter 17 is divided into two parts. We dealt with the first part last week. The second part, which is the study today, highlights how David came to the battlefield where Goliath was defying the armies of Israel, and his victory over Goliath. 

David’s enquiry about the reward for the one who was able to defeat Goliath brought him before Saul, where he demonstrated his bravery to Saul because of his past dealing with a lion and a bear. The study ends with David’s victory over Goliath and its impact on the people of Israel.   

Saul Sends for David

1Sa 17:31  And when the words were heard which David spake, they rehearsed them before Saul: and he sent for him. 
1Sa 17:32  And David said to Saul, Let no man’s heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine. 
1Sa 17:33  And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth. 

In the previous study, we looked at David enquiring from the people gathered for battle about the reward for conquering Goliath. David’s enquiry somehow came before Saul who requested David to be sent to him. Verse 31 therefore brings to the fore the providence of the Lord, which entails God’s sovereign, wise and loving governance over all creation, upholding and directing every detail to fulfill His purposes.

Eph 1:11  In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: 

David represents the Lord’s elect. David assuring Saul in verse 32 that no Israelites should be worried but that he was ready to fight Goliath is to let us know that it is the Lord’s elect who are destined to fight and overcome the flesh in this age. The fact that David said that Israel should not be worried about Goliath means that our victory will ultimately become the victory of our brothers and sisters in the churches of this world and of the world. In other words, we are the saviors of the world. Our victory over the flesh is what will bring about victory over the flesh for the whole of the human race.

Oba 1:21  And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD’S.   

Saul saying to David in verse 33 that David could not fight the Philistines because he is young and that Goliath is a veteran in warfare is to let us know the false doctrine in the hearts and minds of our brothers and sisters in the churches of this world regarding the fact that we cannot win the war against our flesh. 

Rev 13:4  And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? 

Saul’s assertion that Goliath is a veteran of war is valid because since creation, the flesh (Goliath) has dominated every human being except Jesus Christ and His Christ (the few chosen), who are given dominion over the flesh.

Rom 8:3  For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: 
Rom 8:4  That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 

1Sa 17:34  And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father’s sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock: 
1Sa 17:35  And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him.

The father’s sheep in verse 34 signifies the church system of this world or Babylon where the leaders are the lion and the bear which destroy the Lord’s people (sheep) through the false doctrines in their mouth.   

Pro 28:15  As a roaring lion, and a ranging bear; so is a wicked ruler over the poor people. 

Eze 22:25  There is a conspiracy of her prophets in the midst thereof, like a roaring lion ravening the prey; they have devoured souls; they have taken the treasure and precious things; they have made her many widows in the midst thereof.  

In verse 35, David went after the lion and the bear and delivered the sheep from their mouth. That is to say that as the Lord’s elect, represented by David, we are to deliver our brothers and sisters from the false doctrines from these false teachers and apostles (lions and bears) through the truth of the word of the Lord. As we are aware, the truth is like hail that destroys false doctrines propagated by these false teachers and apostles. 

Isa 28:17  Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.

1Sa 17:36  Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God. 
1Sa 17:37  David said moreover, The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the LORD be with thee.

In these verses, David was counting on his experience in dealing with the lion and the bear as a precursor to overcoming Goliath, the uncircumcised Philistine who had defied the armies of the living God. This shows us that the Lord prepares our hands to war through the experiences we go through, to make us overcomers of our flesh. These experiences signify the judgment or suffering we endure, which destroys our carnal minds and actions.

Psa 144:1  A Psalm of David. Blessed be the LORD my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight: 

Psa 18:34  He teacheth my hands to war, so that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms. 

David given the nod to fight Goliath, the Philistine, by Saul in verse 37, is the Lord creating circumstances for us to go through suffering with the purpose of destroying our flesh. 

1Pe 4:1  Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; 
1Pe 4:2  That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.

David Puts On Saul’s Armor

1Sa 17:38  And Saul armed David with his armour, and he put an helmet of brass upon his head; also he armed him with a coat of mail. 
1Sa 17:39  And David girded his sword upon his armour, and he assayed to go; for he had not proved it. And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these; for I have not proved them. And David put them off him. 

To understand these verses, we need to look at Saul’s armor in comparison with the armor of Goliath, the Philistines. It is instructive to note that both armor were the same in terms of the material used. Both had a helmet of brass for the protection of the head and a coat of mail for the chest. 

1Sa 17:5  And he (Goliath) had an helmet of brass upon his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass.  

As we have indicated, Goliath represents our flesh, and therefore his armor or the armor of Saul signifies our confidence in the flesh. As Paul showed us in the letter to the Philippians, our confidence in the flesh relates to our works in the law of Moses, which makes us have confidence in our own righteousness. In other words, we think our own righteousness will save us. 

Php 3:3  For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh. 
Php 3:4  Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more: 
Php 3:5  Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; 
Php 3:6  Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. 
Php 3:7  But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. 
Php 3:8  Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, 
Php 3:9  And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: 
Php 3:10  That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;
Php 3:11  If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.  

We must remember that Saul in this case, represents us, His elect, when we were in the church system of this world or Babylon where we had confidence in our own righteousness. In verse 39, David told Saul that he was not used to his armor and therefore could not use it, indicating that the law of Moses which we were used to in Babylon, cannot win us the war over our flesh.

For example, the Samaritan woman at the well with Jesus (she represents Babylon when Jesus met her) had confidence in the flesh or their way of worship on the mountain, but Jesus made her aware that it is those who worship the Lord in truth and in spirit who have no confidence in the flesh. 

Joh 4:20  Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. 
Joh 4:21  Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. 
Joh 4:22  Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. 
Joh 4:23  But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. 
Joh 4:24  God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. 

It is as we turn to the Lord to worship Him in truth and in spirit that demonstrates that we have no confidence in the flesh. 

David Arms Himself

1Sa 17:40  And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine. 
1Sa 17:41  And the Philistine came on and drew near unto David; and the man that bare the shield went before him. 

David armed himself with three weapons – the shepherd’s stick (the staff), five smooth stones from a stream, and a sling in his hand. David’s preparation to fight Goliath emphasizes how we are to put on the whole armor of God so that we may stand against the wiles of the devil, who empowers our flesh. 

Eph 6:10  Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 
Eph 6:11  Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 
Eph 6:12  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Eph 6:13  Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 

Let’s take a critical look at how David armed himself. Firstly, he took his staff. In a shepherd’s world, a staff is used to guide the sheep in the right direction. The staff is also what we lean on to help us to walk. In other words, the staff guides and helps us with our walk and what guides or helps with our walk is the word of the Lord. 

Exo 21:19  If he rise again, and walk abroad upon his staff, then shall he that smote him be quit: only he shall pay for the loss of his time, and shall cause him to be thoroughly healed.

Psa 119:105  Nun Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. 

The staff representing the word of the Lord also means that it signifies the Lord’s indignation or the fire of the word of the Lord which destroys our flesh. It is the most potent weapon to possess as it destroys the flesh (Goliath).

Isa 10:5  O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation.

The five stones chosen by David being made smooth by the brook is likened to gold, which refers to the word of the Lord. This emphasizes the importance of the truth of the word of the Lord in our victory over the flesh. The fact that there were five stones suggests that it is by grace through faith (the significance of the number 5) that we are given to understand the word of the Lord. 

Job 22:24  Then shalt thou lay up gold as dust, and the gold of Ophir as the stones of the brooks.   

Job 14:19  The waters wear the stones: thou washest away the things which grow out of the dust of the earth; and thou destroyest the hope of man. 

The sling is for the hurling of stones against Goliath. As indicated, the stones in the brook represent the word of the Lord which is the sword of the spirit.   

1Ch 12:2  They were armed with bows, and could use both the right hand and the left in hurling stones and shooting arrows out of a bow, even of Saul’s brethren of Benjamin. 

Jdg 20:16  Among all this people there were seven hundred chosen men lefthanded; every one could sling stones at an hair breadth, and not miss. 

David drawing near to the Philistine after arming himself means that our understanding of the word of the Lord is what makes us ready to wage war against our flesh.  

1Sa 17:42  And when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained him: for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and of a fair countenance. 
1Sa 17:43  And the Philistine said unto David, Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 
1Sa 17:44  And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field. 

Goliath having disdain for David, teasing him for coming to him with a stave as if he was a dog, cursing and intimidating him, is to reveal how our flesh is puffed up with pride.

1Jn 2:16  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

The pride of our flesh is the result of the healing of our deadly wound, making the whole world wonder after the flesh and thinking that no man can make war against it. 

Rev 13:3  And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. 
Rev 13:4  And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? 

The Battle is the Lord’s

1Sa 17:45  Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.
1Sa 17:46  This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. 
1Sa 17:47  And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD’S, and he will give you into our hands. 

We see that while confronting Goliath, the Philistine, David spoke the word of the Lord to the effect that he comes to Goliath in the name of the Lord. The Lord enjoins us to speak the word, because His word will accomplish what it is sent out to do. 

Isa 55:11 “So shall My Word be which goes out of My mouth; it will not return to me void (useless, without result) without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it”. (AMP) 

2 Co 4:13: “And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, ‘I believed and therefore I spoke,’ we also believe and therefore speak”. (NKJV) 

We can see in verse 46 that David demonstrated his faith in the fact that he was certain that the Lord would grant him victory over Goliath as he mentioned to Goliath that he would feed his carcass to the fowls of the air and wild beasts. We must realize that the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds of our flesh, casting down every imagination and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.

2Co 10:4  (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 
2Co 10:5  Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; 

Our faith is the shield that protects us from the fiery darts of the devil, who empowers our flesh. We are to put on the full armor of the Lord daily in our walk with Christ. It is not the physical armor that saves us. It is the Lord fighting our battles for us that brings us victory.  This is the Lord’s armor for us to put on daily:

Eph 6:13  Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 
Eph 6:14  Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; 
Eph 6:15  And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 
Eph 6:16  Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 
Eph 6:17  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: 
Eph 6:18  Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

The Slaying of Goliath

1Sa 17:48  And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came and drew nigh to meet David, that David hasted, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine. 
1Sa 17:49  And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth. 
1Sa 17:50  So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David. 
1Sa 17:51  Therefore David ran, and stood upon the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut off his head therewith. And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled. 

As indicated, the stone, which represents the word of the Lord, is what grants us the victory through faith. It is instructive to note that the stone smote Goliath, the Philistine, in his forehead. The forehead here signifies the carnal mind of our flesh, which is destroyed through the truth of the word of the Lord. The fact that it was mentioned in verse 50 that there was no sword in the hand of David is to demonstrate to us that our victory is wholly the work of the Lord. That is why David said that the battle is the Lord’s. 

1Co 15:57  But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 

The cutting off of the head of Goliath by David is to emphasize the destruction of the carnal mind of our flesh, which is enmity against the Lord. The fleeing of the Philistines when they saw that Goliath had been killed is to let us know that as we overcome the sin which easily besets us in our lives, it becomes  easier to overcome other sins of our flesh. 

Heb 12:1  Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,  

Rom 8:6  For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 
Rom 8:7  Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. 
Rom 8:8  So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. 

Whose Son is this?

1Sa 17:52  And the men of Israel and of Judah arose, and shouted, and pursued the Philistines, until thou come to the valley, and to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell down by the way to Shaaraim, even unto Gath, and unto Ekron. 
1Sa 17:53  And the children of Israel returned from chasing after the Philistines, and they spoiled their tents. 
1Sa 17:54  And David took the head of the Philistine, and brought it to Jerusalem; but he put his armour in his tent. 
1Sa 17:55  And when Saul saw David go forth against the Philistine, he said unto Abner, the captain of the host, Abner, whose son is this youth? And Abner said, As thy soul liveth, O king, I cannot tell. 
1Sa 17:56  And the king said, Enquire thou whose son the stripling is. 
1Sa 17:57  And as David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, Abner took him, and brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand. 
1Sa 17:58  And Saul said to him, Whose son art thou, thou young man? And David answered, I am the son of thy servant Jesse the Bethlehemite. 

These verses show us our role as saviors of the world. The victory of David resulted in the Israelites gaining significant victory over the Philistines as they chased them to the gates of Ekron. Ekron means ‘eradication’ and therefore what we are being told is that during the lake of fire age, the whole of humanity, represented by the Israelites, shall be saved as they all put to death or eradicate the carnal minds of their flesh. David, through Abner, showed the head of Goliath to Saul, which prompted Saul to ask about whose son David was. This implies that in the fullness of time, the victory of the Lord’s elect will prompt many to ask, whose sons are we? That will be the time that all humanity will know our father’s name, which is written in our foreheads.

Rev 14:1  And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads. 
Rev 14:2  And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps: 
Rev 14:3  And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth. 
Rev 14:4  These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb. 
Rev 14:5  And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God.  

May the Lord continue to help us to become overcomers in this age. Amen!!

“The Righteous are Bold as a Lion”

(Pro 28:1-11)

[Study Aired April 23, 2026]

Pro 28:1  The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.
Pro 28:2  For the transgression of a land many are the princes thereof: but by a man of understanding and knowledge the state thereof shall be prolonged.
Pro 28:3  A poor man that oppresseth the poor is like a sweeping rain which leaveth no food.
Pro 28:4  They that forsake the law praise the wicked: but such as keep the law contend with them.
Pro 28:5  Evil men understand not judgment: but they that seek the LORD understand all things.
Pro 28:6  Better is the poor that walketh in his uprightness, than he that is perverse in his ways, though he be rich.
Pro 28:7  Whoso keepeth the law is a wise son: but he that is a companion of riotous men shameth his father.
Pro 28:8  He that by usury and unjust gain increaseth his substance, he shall gather it for him that will pity the poor.
Pro 28:9  He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination.
Pro 28:10  Whoso causeth the righteous to go astray in an evil way, he shall fall himself into his own pit: but the upright shall have good things in possession.
Pro 28:11  The rich man is wise in his own conceit; but the poor that hath understanding searcheth him out.

In this section of (Pro 28:1-11), we’re shown a clear contrast between two ways of living. The righteous are “bold as a lion,” walking in integrity and understanding, while those who pursue wickedness or unjust gain ultimately bring harm—to others and to themselves, taking on a mindset of fearing men and not God, “The wicked flee when no man pursueth”.

Wealth, when pursued without righteousness, is shown to be unstable and even destructive as it draws us away from our Father. Putting our confidence in those things which are temporal is what will destroy our confidence in God, but if we are granted to look to, and believe and work toward attaining those things which are not temporal, and not seen (Heb 11:27), it will be by the grace and faith of Christ that this is accomplished (2Co 4:17-18, Eph 2:8).

2Co 4:17  For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; (Mar 10:29-31)
2Co 4:18  While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen:(Mat 6:33) for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

Eph 2:8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:9  Not of works, lest any man should boast.

In (1Ti 6:6-13), where we’re reminded that “godliness with contentment is great gain,” and we are admonished that “they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare.” Paul adds that “the love of money is the root of all evil,” and urges us to “flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.” This aligns perfectly with what Jesus teaches in (Mat 6:33), “seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”

Together, these passages remind us that the issue is not simply wealth, but what we are pursuing first. Are we chasing gain, or are we seeking God’s righteousness above all? This brings us to a most instructive parable that the world gives no regard to as far as what its spiritual meaning is, found in (Mar 10:17-27).

Mar 10:20  And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth.
Mar 10:21  Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.(Mat 16:25)
Mar 10:22  And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions. (Php 3:9)
Mar 10:23  And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!
Mar 10:24  And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches (Php 3:9) to enter into the kingdom of God!
Mar 10:25  It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle,[the narrow way] than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
Mar 10:26  And they were astonished out of measure, saying among themselves, Who then can be saved?
Mar 10:27  And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.

This really is where ‘the rubber meets the road’, as we say, and it was written for our admonition to remind us that this narrow way that leads to life can only be found with Christ’s righteousness, which happens as a result of our being miraculously dragged to Him in this age, so we can lose our life (Php 3:9, Joh 6:44, Mat 16:25).

Right after describing this parable to His disciples, Peter then says this, “Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee”. This journey God’s elect are on separates us from the rich young ruler, and brings us to eventually see the need to give our whole lives a living sacrifice to our Creator (Rom 12:1-2), going in a direction that He has ordained for the bride of Christ (Rev 14:4, Rev 19:7, Rom 8:14-16, 2Co 3:17). And what was Christ’s answer to Peter who represents us? (Mar 10:29-31). This answer of Christ is why the redeemed of  the Lord (Psa 107:2) ought to “Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice”(Php 4:4).

Mar 10:29  And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel’s,
Mar 10:30  But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.
Mar 10:31  But many that are first shall be last; and the last first.

Pro 28:1  The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.

This faintness of heart, “The wicked flee when no man pursueth”, is a curse from God that comes upon us when we are not doing the right thing in His service (Lev 26:36).

Lev 26:36  And upon them that are left alive of you I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies;[the enemy of unbelief within us] and the sound of a shaken leaf shall chase them; and they shall flee, as fleeing from a sword; and they shall fall when none pursueth.

It is possible to have Godly fear and boldness at the same time, which comes as a result of the Lion of the tribe of Judah abiding in us (Col 1:27, Rev 5:5), and when we labour for the meat that does not perish (Joh 6:27) our hearts are strengthened by that bread of life (Psa 104:15).

Joh 6:27  Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.

Psa 104:15  And wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengtheneth man’s heart.

When we don’t neglect so great a salvation by crying out to God, as Christ did with fear (Heb 2:3, Heb 5:7, Eph 5:30), those prayers will avail much and cause us to not faint and lose heart (Luk 18:1). If we seek God with all our heart he will be found (Jer 29:13, Heb 11:6), and the strength will be given to stand our spiritual ground, which is on His Word (Eph 6:13), not fleeing under any circumstance. “The wicked flee” but the righteousness of Christ makes us “bold as a lion”(Rev 2:10, Rev 5:5)

Luk 18:1  And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;

Rev 2:10  Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.

Pro 28:2  For the transgression of a land many are the princes thereof: but by a man of understanding and knowledge the state thereof shall be prolonged.

Our bodies are likened unto the land, and the many princes represents power that yet rules over our bodies causing us to transgress. It is only with spiritual understanding that comes from Christ that we will be able to have lives that will be prolonged, as we’re given dominion over those powers and principalities that are likened unto princes (Eph 6:12). The “man of understanding” represents Christ in us and when we honour our olam Father Christ, and the church Jerusalem above, our days shall be prolonged by being in that blessed and holy first resurrection, which is what this first commandment of promise is all about (Eph 6:1-3, Rev 20:6).

Eph 6:1  Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.
Eph 6:2  Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;)
Eph 6:3  That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.

Rev 20:6  Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

Pro 28:3  A poor man that oppresseth the poor is like a sweeping rain which leaveth no food.

This statement, “A poor man that oppresseth the poor is like a sweeping rain which leaveth no food”, is true both physically and spiritually. It’s the gentle consistent rain of God’s word, meat given in due season, that benefits the body of Christ, not a driving or sweeping rain that would make things worse, which is symbolic of the Nicolaitan spirit that wants to rule over the laity with its damaging rain that promises liberty but does not deliver (2Pe 2:18-19).

2Pe 2:18  For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error.
2Pe 2:19  While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.

In Babylon there is a Nicolaitan spirit which rules over the laity with false doctrines, and those false doctrines are like “a sweeping rain which leaveth no food”. We were definitely poor in Babylon, with no stay of bread and water (Isa 3:1) and though our intentions were good, because of our blindness at that time we were the poor man who was oppressing the poor with a myriad of false doctrines that as we read is likened unto “a sweeping rain which leaveth no food.”

Pro 28:4  They that forsake the law praise the wicked: but such as keep the law contend with them.

This proverb is showing us that our response to evil reveals where we stand. If we drift from what is right, or leave our first estate as it is described in Jude (Jud 1:6), we would start to tolerate and even approve wrong doing as the blinded church of Corinth did, both physically and spiritually (1Co 5:1-3).

1Co 5:1  It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father’s wife
1Co 5:2  And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you.
1Co 5:3  For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed,

It is by standing on the word of God that we can contend with that spirit that was in the Corinthian church of Paul’s day. It was the physical event of fornication that revealed the spiritual fornication that was in the hearts of the Corinthians who were tolerating not just a little leaven, but a lot in their midst (1Co 5:4-7).

1Co 5:4  In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,
1Co 5:5  To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
1Co 5:6  Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?
1Co 5:7  Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:

Pro 28:5  Evil men understand not judgment: but they that seek the LORD understand all things.

Our labours are not in vain in the Lord, and it is in the seeking of Him that we will “understand all” (Php 3:14-16, 1Jn 1:7-9). We won’t understand judgement if our actions are evil and we are relying on our own righteousness to deliver us in this life (Php 3:8-9).

Php 3:14  I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Php 3:15  Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.
Php 3:16  Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing.

1Jn 1:7  But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
1Jn 1:8  If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
1Jn 1:9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Pro 28:6  Better is the poor that walketh in his uprightness, than he that is perverse in his ways, though he be rich.

Being poor in spirit (Mat 5:3), whether your wealthy by the world’s standards or if you don’t have a lot in this life, is infinitely more valuable than a rich person who is perverse in his ways (Php 4:11-12). It is those who have the Kingdom of God within them (Luk 17:20-21) who have the true riches, that is to say the life of Christ within us (Col 1:27, Rom 8:9), which gives us the ability to “walketh in his uprightness”. The rich person who is “perverse in his ways” represents our time when we were the rich young ruler, confident in our Babylonian doctrines and confidence in our own flesh, our own righteousness (Joh 1:17, Luk 16:16, our last proverb Pro 28:11), which is where we all start until were given the power to come out of her my people and live by the faith of Christ (Gal 2:20).

Mat 5:3  Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Php 4:11  Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.
Php 4:12  I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.

Pro 28:7  Whoso keepeth the law is a wise son: but he that is a companion of riotousH2151 men shameth his father.
Pro 28:8  He that by usury and unjust gain increaseth his substance, he shall gather it for him that will pity the poor.
Pro 28:9  He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination.
Pro 28:10  Whoso causeth the righteous to go astray in an evil way, he shall fall himself into his own pit: but the upright shall have good things in possession.

Keeping the law of Christ is a blessing (Psa 119:2), and the one who does not keep the law is considered riotous^H2151 in this proverb and is contrasted with the law-abiding “wise son”. The riotous man is described as a prodigal son, someone who is squandering his father’s inheritance in Babylon, which we all do at first. The parable of the prodigal is not about us being on the physical skids as a result of poor money choices, but rather about taking God’s fair jewels of my gold and of my silver [the inheritance from his father Luk 15:12] and wrapping it around the idols of our hearts which is what the prodigal son does, and we do when we are in Babylon (Eze 16:17). Consequently if God is working with us in this age, we are brought to our wits’ end and come to see by God’s grace that we are spiritually starving to death (Luk 15:11-32).

Eze 16:17  Thou hast also taken thy fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and madest to thyself images of men, and didst commit whoredom with them,

Riotous H2151 zâlal zaw-lal’
A primitive root (compare H2107); to shake (as in the wind), that is, to quake; figuratively to be loose morally, worthless or prodigal: – blow down, glutton, riotous (eater), vile.
Total KJV occurrences: 9

The “usury and unjust gain [that] increaseth our substance” represents our labour of building our own house that is all done in vain, and “he shall gather it for him that will pity the poor” means that even that which we think we have will be taken and given to those who were blessed to have the Lord build their spiritual house in this age (Psa 127:1, Mat 25:29).

Psa 127:1  A Song of degrees for Solomon. Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.

Mat 25:29  For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.

The verse, “He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination”, is telling us that not everyone that says “Lord, Lord…” will be heard of God (Mat 7:21, Luk 6:46). If we turn from hearing the law of God we will reap what we sow, but as Paul said, ‘I am persuaded better things of the body of Christ (Heb 6:9) who God is causing to have a broken and contrite heart so that He looks to us and our prayers are heard, in that we fear Him’ (Isa 66:2, Rom 9:22-23, Heb 5:7, Eph 5:30, 1Jn 4:17).

Heb 6:9  But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak.

Isa 66:2  For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.

Rom 9:22  What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction:
Rom 9:23  And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,

We all caused the righteous to go astray in an evil way when we were in Babylon, and consequently fell into our own pit of self-righteousness, thinking that we were right before God in our spiritually hedged state. It is only when that insidious spirit of self-righteousness is exposed from the pit of our being that we will cry out by the grace of God and be amongst the upright that “shall have good things in possession”, with the “good” being the life of Christ now abiding in us, who said ‘there is none good but one’ (Mar 10:18, Luk 17:10).

Mar 10:18  And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.

Luk 17:10  So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.

Pro 28:11  The rich man is wise in his own conceit; but the poor that hath understanding searcheth him out.

This last proverb we will look at is an admonition to not let knowledge puff us up and become conceited, as if we had attain anything of our own selves, “The rich man is wise in his own conceit”. This high-mindedness that we must avoid at all costs, is addressed in the book of Romans, (Rom 11:18-21), and “the poor that hath understanding searcheth him out” is symbollic of the poor and contrite spirit of our Lord who became poor for us (2Co 8:9) and with God’s spirit within us searches out all that conceit within us, or any root of bitterness (1Co 2:10, Pro 20:27), and destroys it so that it cannot gain victory over our lives in Him (Rom 8:37).

Rom 11:18  Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee.
Rom 11:19  Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be graffed in.
Rom 11:20  Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear:
Rom 11:21  For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.

2Co 8:9  For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich (1Jn 4:17).

1Co 2:10  But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

Pro 20:27  The spirit of man is the candle of the LORD, searching all the inward parts of the belly.(Rom 2:4)

Rom 8:37  Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

Christ is the Lion of the tribe of Judah (Rev 5:5), who, if He is dwelling within us, will cleanse this temple that we are (1Co 3:16), driving out everything that does not belong there our whole life (Joh 2:15) so that we can continue to worship our Father in spirit and truth (Joh 4:23), coming boldly before “the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb 4:16, Eph 1:16).

Spiritual Significance of Numbers – The Number 18

[Study Aired March 15, 2026]

We have already learned that the multiplication of any number simply amplifies or matures that number’s meaning. For example, if the number six signifies incomplete mankind, created on the sixth day, then the number 666 amplifies and matures that concept of an incomplete mankind. If twelve signifies foundations, then 144,000 would amplify and mature that concept.

Our study today is concerned with the number eighteen, which is a multiple of the number nine. The number nine is unlike any other number in that no matter which number you multiply it with, the product of that number will always reduce back to nine when added together. If we multiply 9×2=18, and the sum of the numbers which make up that product will always equal 9 because 1+8=9. 3×9=27, and when you add 2+7 it equals 9. 4×9=36 and 3+6=9… 5×9=45 and 4+5=9, etc. etc.

The spiritual significance of the number 9 is judgment which leads to salvation as demonstrated by this verse of scripture:

Isa 26:9  With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

Here is an in depth study on what the scriptures reveal the number nine signifies spiritually: https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/numbers_nine/

If indeed the number nine signifies the Lord’s judgments, leading to repentance and deliverance, and knowing that multiples of any number amplify and mature that number, we should expect to find that principle being demonstrated throughout the scriptures, and indeed in the first two places when this number eighteen appears in scripture that is exactly what we see:

Jdg 3:14  So the children of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years.
Jdg 3:15  But when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, the LORD raised them up a deliverer, Ehud the son of Gera, a Benjamite, a man lefthanded: and by him the children of Israel sent a present unto Eglon the king of Moab.

Israel’s subjection and enslavement by Eglon the king of Moab, is the Lord’s judgment upon them for their sins. It was their judgment which led to their repentance and their deliverance. ‘When your judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.’(Isa 26:9)

The next time we see this number 18 is in:

Jdg 10:7  And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he sold them into the hands of the Philistines, and into the hands of the children of Ammon.
Jdg 10:8  And that year they vexed and oppressed the children of Israel: eighteen years, all the children of Israel that were on the other side Jordan in the land of the Amorites, which is in Gilead.
Jdg 10:9  Moreover the children of Ammon passed over Jordan to fight also against Judah, and against Benjamin, and against the house of Ephraim; so that Israel was sore distressed.

What is the result of the Lord’s judgment of our sins and our repentance for those sins?

Jdg 10:10  And the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, saying, We have sinned against thee, both because we have forsaken our God, and also served Baalim.
Jdg 10:11  And the LORD said unto the children of Israel,  Did not I deliver you from the Egyptians, and from the Amorites, from the children of Ammon, and from the Philistines?
Jdg 10:12  The Zidonians also, and the Amalekites, and the Maonites, did oppress you; and ye cried to me, and I delivered you out of their hand.
Jdg 10:13  Yet ye have forsaken me, and served other gods: wherefore I will deliver you no more.
Jdg 10:14  Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation.
Jdg 10:15  And the children of Israel said unto the LORD, We have sinned: do thou unto us whatsoever seemeth good unto thee; deliver us only, we pray thee, this day.
Jdg 10:16  And they put away the strange gods from among them, and served the LORD: and his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel.
Jdg 10:17  Then the children of Ammon were gathered together, and encamped in Gilead. And the children of Israel assembled themselves together, and encamped in Mizpeh.

Once again, the Lord’s judgments of our sins produces the repentance of those sins and the deliverance we all so desperately need:

Jdg 11:32  So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon to fight against them; and the LORD delivered them into his hands.
Jdg 11:33  And he smote them from Aroer, even till thou come to Minnith, even twenty cities, and unto the plain of the vineyards, with a very great slaughter. Thus the children of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel.

The sins and the judgment of those sins of Israel, leading to the repentance and deliverance from those sins, is signified by this number 18. That was the number of years Israel was oppressed by her enemies. Paul tells us that all these things happened to Israel and they are written for our admonition:

1Co 10:11  Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

The ‘Israel’ of the Old Testament signifies those who are now claiming the name and character of Jesus Christ. It is now we who must come to see our sins and repent of those sins before we can be delivered from our bondage of desiring to be as the nations and the people around us.

The next time we see this number 18 is in the story of the destruction of the tribe of Benjamin for raping to death the concubine of a Levite who had spent the night in Gibeah, a city of Benjamin, in the home of a man of that city who had invited him to his house for the night. We will see in this story that both Israel and Benjamin lose 18,000 men each in two separate battles.

The men of Gibeah had demanded that the host send his Levite guest out to them so they could do to him what the men of Sodom had wanted to do to the two angels who had been invited into Lot’s home. The Levite gave the men his concubine and the men of Gibeah raped her to death. The next day the Levite cut her body into twelve pieces and sent a piece to each tribe of Israel hoping for revenge for the loss of his concubine who had given her life for him. The story of what had been done to the Levite’s concubine outraged the entire nation, and they determined to discipline Gibeah for this atrocity:

Jdg 20:11  So all the men of Israel were gathered against the city, knit together as one man.
Jdg 20:12  And the tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe of Benjamin, saying, What wickedness is this that is done among you?
Jdg 20:13  Now therefore deliver us the men, the children of Belial, which are in Gibeah, that we may put them to death, and put away evil from Israel. But the children of Benjamin would not hearken to the voice of their brethren the children of Israel:
Jdg 20:14  But the children of Benjamin gathered themselves together out of the cities unto Gibeah, to go out to battle against the children of Israel.

Israel wanted only the guilty men, but all of Benjamin refused to punish these perverts among themselves. Benjamin was of Israel, and what had been manifested at Gibeah was lying dormant in all Israel and is dormant in all flesh. The Lord used this occasion to punish both Israel and Benjamin even though Israel inquired of the Lord daily before going to war.

Jdg 20:14  But the children of Benjamin gathered themselves together out of the cities unto Gibeah, to go out to battle against the children of Israel.
Jdg 20:15  And the children of Benjamin were numbered at that time out of the cities twenty and six thousand men that drew sword, beside the inhabitants of Gibeah, which were numbered seven hundred chosen men.
Jdg 20:16  Among all this people there were seven hundred chosen men lefthanded; every one could sling stones at an hair breadth, and not miss.
Jdg 20:17  And the men of Israel, beside Benjamin, were numbered four hundred thousand men that drew sword: all these were men of war.
Jdg 20:18  And the children of Israel arose, and went up to the house of God, and asked counsel of God, and said, Which of us shall go up first to the battle against the children of Benjamin? And the LORD said, Judah shall go up first.

It is in this situation amidst the loss of thousands on both sides that both Israel and Benjamin lost 18,000 men in two separate battles:

Jdg 20:25  And Benjamin went forth against them out of Gibeah the second day, and destroyed down to the ground of the children of Israel again eighteen thousand men; all these drew the sword.

These “eighteen thousand” were just on “the second day.” Israel lost many more on the first day:

Jdg 20:19  And the children of Israel rose up in the morning, and encamped against Gibeah.
Jdg 20:20  And the men of Israel went out to battle against Benjamin; and the men of Israel put themselves in array to fight against them at Gibeah.
Jdg 20:21  And the children of Benjamin came forth out of Gibeah, and destroyed down to the ground of the Israelites that day twenty and two thousand men.

Eighteen plus twenty two equals a loss of 40,000 men of Israel in just two days with apparently very few of Benjamin being slain. It is plain for all to see the Lord was not happy with either side. Nevertheless, He did give Israel the final victory over Benjamin for the atrocities committed by the men of Gibeah against the concubine of a Levite.

Jdg 20:26  Then all the children of Israel, and all the people, went up, and came unto the house of God, and wept, and sat there before the LORD, and fasted that day until even, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD.
Jdg 20:27  And the children of Israel enquired of the LORD, (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days,
Jdg 20:28  And Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, stood before it in those days,) saying, Shall I yet again go out to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother, or shall I cease? And the LORD said, Go up; for to morrow I will deliver them into thine hand.

Israel was given to exercise a much better strategy on the third day acting as if they had come to fight in the same manner as they had the first two days. Then they intentionally fled before the men of Benjamin while “liers in wait” came out of the fields and burned the city behind the Benjamite soldiers causing them to flee for their lives:

Jdg 20:29  And Israel set liers in wait round about Gibeah.
Jdg 20:30  And the children of Israel went up against the children of Benjamin on the third day, and put themselves in array against Gibeah, as at other times.
Jdg 20:31  And the children of Benjamin went out against the people, and were drawn away from the city; and they began to smite of the people, and kill, as at other times, in the highways, of which one goeth up to the house of God, and the other to Gibeah in the field, about thirty men of Israel.
Jdg 20:32  And the children of Benjamin said, They are smitten down before us, as at the first. But the children of Israel said, Let us flee, and draw them from the city unto the highways.
Jdg 20:33  And all the men of Israel rose up out of their place, and put themselves in array at Baaltamar: and the liers in wait of Israel came forth out of their places, even out of the meadows of Gibeah.
Jdg 20:34  And there came against Gibeah ten thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and the battle was sore: but they knew not that evil was near them.
Jdg 20:35  And the LORD smote Benjamin before Israel: and the children of Israel destroyed of the Benjamites that day twenty and five thousand and an hundred men: all these drew the sword.
Jdg 20:36  So the children of Benjamin saw that they were smitten: for the men of Israel gave place to the Benjamites, because they trusted unto the liers in wait which they had set beside Gibeah.
Jdg 20:37  And the liers in wait hasted, and rushed upon Gibeah; and the liers in wait drew themselves along, and smote all the city with the edge of the sword.
Jdg 20:38  Now there was an appointed sign between the men of Israel and the liers in wait, that they should make a great flame with smoke rise up out of the city.
Jdg 20:39  And when the men of Israel retired in the battle, Benjamin began to smite and kill of the men of Israel about thirty persons: for they said, Surely they are smitten down before us, as in the first battle.
Jdg 20:40  But when the flame began to arise up out of the city with a pillar of smoke, the Benjamites looked behind them, and, behold, the flame of the city ascended up to heaven.
Jdg 20:41  And when the men of Israel turned again, the men of Benjamin were amazed: for they saw that evil was come upon them.
Jdg 20:42  Therefore they turned their backs before the men of Israel unto the way of the wilderness; but the battle overtook them; and them which came out of the cities they destroyed in the midst of them.
Jdg 20:43  Thus they inclosed the Benjamites round about, and chased them, and trode them down with ease over against Gibeah toward the sunrising.
Jdg 20:44  And there fell of Benjamin eighteen thousand men; all these were men of valour.
Jdg 20:45  And they turned and fled toward the wilderness unto the rock of Rimmon: and they gleaned of them in the highways five thousand men; and pursued hard after them unto Gidom, and slew two thousand men of them.
Jdg 20:46  So that all which fell that day of Benjamin were twenty and five thousand men that drew the sword; all these were men of valour.
Jdg 20:47  But six hundred men turned and fled to the wilderness unto the rock Rimmon, and abode in the rock Rimmon four months.
Jdg 20:48  And the men of Israel turned again upon the children of Benjamin, and smote them with the edge of the sword, as well the men of every city, as the beast, and all that came to hand: also they set on fire all the cities that they came to.

Israel was given deliverance from the sins of Gibeah while Benjamin was almost wiped out as a tribe.

Jdg 21:2  And the people came to the house of God, and abode there till even before God, and lifted up their voices, and wept sore;
Jdg 21:3  And said, O LORD God of Israel, why is this come to pass in Israel, that there should be to day one tribe lacking in Israel?

Israel was given to find a way to give wives to the six hundred Benjamites who had survived and were at the Rock Rimmon for four months. In the end they, too, were delivered and returned to rebuild their cities and the foundation of Israel was preserved in the twelve tribes.

The spiritual lesson in this story is the same as the story of the sin of Achan:

Jos 7:10  And the LORD said unto Joshua, Get thee up; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face?
Jos 7:11  Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them: for they have even taken of the accursed thing, and have also stolen, and dissembled also, and they have put it even among their own stuff.
Jos 7:12  Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they were accursed: neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you.
Jos 7:13  Up, sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow: for thus saith the LORD God of Israel, There is an accursed thing in the midst of thee, O Israel: thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye take away the accursed thing from among you.

Israel had just destroyed Jericho, and they were moving on to war against another very small city called Ai. For some strange reason they were defeated by this very small town:

Jos 7:5  And the men of Ai smote of them about thirty and six men: for they chased them from before the gate even unto Shebarim, and smote them in the going down: wherefore the hearts of the people melted, and became as water.
Jos 7:6  And Joshua rent his clothes, and fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of the LORD until the eventide, he and the elders of Israel, and put dust upon their heads.
Jos 7:7  And Joshua said, Alas, O Lord GOD, wherefore hast thou at all brought this people over Jordan, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? would to God we had been content, and dwelt on the other side Jordan!
Jos 7:8  O Lord, what shall I say, when Israel turneth their backs before their enemies!
Jos 7:9  For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land shall hear of it, and shall environ us round, and cut off our name from the earth: and what wilt thou do unto thy great name?

The Lord revealed to Joshua there was someone who had taken for himself what the Lord had forbidden, and for that reason a curse was upon the whole nation. That ‘someone’ was Achan, who confessed his sin and was put to death:

Jos 7:19  And Joshua said unto Achan, My son, give, I pray thee, glory to the LORD God of Israel, and make confession unto him; and tell me now what thou hast done; hide it not from me.
Jos 7:20  And Achan answered Joshua, and said, Indeed I have sinned against the LORD God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done:
Jos 7:21  When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it.
Jos 7:22  So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran unto the tent; and, behold, it was hid in his tent, and the silver under it.
Jos 7:23  And they took them out of the midst of the tent, and brought them unto Joshua, and unto all the children of Israel, and laid them out before the LORD.
Jos 7:24  And Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver, and the garment, and the wedge of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and his oxen, and his asses, and his sheep, and his tent, and all that he had: and they brought them unto the valley of Achor.
Jos 7:25  And Joshua said, Why hast thou troubled us? the LORD shall trouble thee this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire, after they had stoned them with stones.
Jos 7:26  And they raised over him a great heap of stones unto this day. So the LORD turned from the fierceness of his anger. Wherefore the name of that place was called, The valley of Achor, unto this day.

Once the sin was repented of and removed then the Lord delivered Ai into Israel’s hands, and Israel destroyed their enemy with the same strategy used by Israel to destroy Benjamin many years later:

Jos 8:10  And Joshua rose up early in the morning, and numbered the people, and went up, he and the elders of Israel, before the people to Ai.
Jos 8:11  And all the people, even the people of war that were with him, went up, and drew nigh, and came before the city, and pitched on the north side of Ai: now there was a valley between them and Ai.
Jos 8:12  And he took about five thousand men, and set them to lie in ambush between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of the city.
Jos 8:13  And when they had set the people, even all the host that was on the north of the city, and their liers in wait on the west of the city, Joshua went that night into the midst of the valley.
Jos 8:14  And it came to pass, when the king of Ai saw it, that they hasted and rose up early, and the men of the city went out against Israel to battle, he and all his people, at a time appointed, before the plain; but he wist not that there were liers in ambush against him behind the city.

While the number 18 is not mentioned in the story of the conquest of Ai, the principle of judgment leading to repentance followed by deliverance, signified by the number 18, is very evident.

The next appearance of this number eighteen is when King David was renowned for slaying 18,000 Syrians in the valley of salt. At that time the Lord delivered David from all his enemies:

2Sa 8:13  And David gat him a name when he returned from smiting of the Syrians in the valley of salt, being eighteen thousand men.
2Sa 8:14  And he put garrisons in Edom; throughout all Edom put he garrisons, and all they of Edom became David’s servants. And the LORD preserved David whithersoever he went.

This was following David’s trials and his judgment at the hands of wicked king Saul. At this time David was humble and was delivered from all of his enemies.

Another appearance of this number eighteen, is in giving us the measurements of the two huge copper pillars at the front of the temple of Solomon. Each pillar was eighteen cubits high. That is 27 feet or 8.23 meters high:

The placement of these two pillars, which were 18 cubits high, at the front of the temple signifies that we are being delivered from our sins after being judged for those sins and repenting before entering into the house of our Lord.

We find this same number with the same significance in the New Testament. Christ makes it clear in Luke thirteen that this number signifies the repentance and deliverance which we all must experience when being judged of the Lord:

Luk 13:1  There were present at that season some that told him of the Galilaeans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.
Luk 13:2  And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things?
Luk 13:3  I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
Luk 13:4  Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem?
Luk 13:5  I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

This same number with the same spiritual significance appears twice more in this same thirteenth chapter of Luke:

Luk 13:10  And he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath.
Luk 13:11  And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself.
Luk 13:12  And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity.
Luk 13:13  And he laid his hands on her: and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.
Luk 13:14  And the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because that Jesus had healed on the sabbath day, and said unto the people, There are six days in which men ought to work: in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the sabbath day.
Luk 13:15  The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering?
Luk 13:16  And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day?
Luk 13:17  And when he had said these things, all his adversaries were ashamed: and all the people rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by him.

This woman was delivered from “a spirit of infirmity” which kept her “bowed together to the extent that she could not straighten herself up for 18 years. But at that point she was delivered from that infirmity and made whole.

There is much more that can be pointed out in scripture concerning the number eighteen but I will close this study at this juncture by pointing out that eighteen is three sixes, three signifying the process of judgment and six signifying our incomplete, carnal-minded old man who is in the process of being delivered from that sad state through the Lord’s judgments:

Isa 26:8  Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O LORD, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee.
Isa 26:9  With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

That is truly good news!

Spiritual Significance of Colors – White, Part 2

Introduction

[Study Aired December 26, 2025]

The main truth we need to glean from this entire series on colors in scripture is the truth of this verse:

Psa 139:12  Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.

God is the creator of both light and darkness. Both are instruments in His hand.

Isa 45:5  I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:
Isa 45:6  That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else.
Isa 45:7  I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.

The Father uses light to describe Himself, and He uses darkness to describe how the flesh and the Adversary perceive Him and His Works. These two verses reveal who is the Creator of light and darkness, and they reveal that the Creator of both is sovereign over both light and darkness. Both are instruments in His hand to accomplish His will:

Isa 45:6  That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else.
Isa 45:7  I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.

God is using light and darkness, black and white, “after the counsel of His own will… that we should be to the praise of His glory who first trusted in Christ.”

Eph 1:11  In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
Eph 1:12  That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.

Our last  study was mainly concerned with the negative application of the color white. The word for ‘white’ in Hebrew is ‘laban’, and we learned that in its negative application, a white hair in a scall indicated the presence of leprosy (Lev 13:24-25):

Lev 13:24  Or if there be any flesh, in the skin whereof there is a hot burning, and the quick flesh that burneth have a white bright spot, somewhat reddish, or white;
Lev 13:25  Then the priest shall look upon it: and, behold, if the hair in the bright spot be turned white, and it be in sight deeper than the skin; it is a leprosy broken out of the burning: wherefore the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is the plague of leprosy.

The bricks used to build Babel were white bricks. The word for ‘bricks’ in Hebrew is from the root of the word for white:

H3843
לְבֵנָה
lebênâh
leb-ay-naw’
From H3835; a brick (from the whiteness of the clay): – (altar of) brick, tile.

When we look up H3835, the root word from which H3843 is derived, this is what we find:

H3835
לָבַן
lâban
law-ban’
A primitive root; to be (or become)  white; also (as denominative from H3843) to make bricks: – make brick, be (made, make) white (-r).

Those are a couple of verses from our last study where our focus was on the negative application of the word ‘white’ in scripture. In today’s study we will focus on the positive application of the word ‘white,’

The first positive application of the word “white” in the Old Testament is in Genesis 30:35, where Jacob uses white-streaked rods to distinguish his portion of the flock from Laban’s. White in this story is tied to the concept of divine provision and God’s favor.

Gen 30:37  And Jacob took him rods of green poplar, and of the hazel and chesnut tree; and pilled white strakes in them, and made the white appear which was in the rods.
Gen 30:38  And he set the rods which he had pilled before the flocks in the gutters in the watering troughs when the flocks came to drink, that they should conceive when they came to drink.
Gen 30:39  And the flocks conceived before the rods, and brought forth cattle ringstraked, speckled, and spotted.

Isaiah gives us the single most profound meaning of the word white in its positive application in scripture:

Isa 1:18  Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as [white] wool.

The imagery of this verse demonstrates the efficacy of the blood of Christ upon the manifest sins of the weakest and most despised people of this age:

1Co 1:26  For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:
1Co 1:27  But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen  the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
1Co 1:28  And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
1Co 1:29  That no flesh should glory in his presence.

The Lord has called us because we are indeed foolish, weak, and despised in this present time… “that no flesh should glory in His presence. In other words, if the Lord can cleanse us, He can cleanse any and all men, because all men’s sins are “as scarlet” before our spotless Lord:

Rev 7:9  After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;
Rev 7:10  And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.
Rev 7:11  And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God,
Rev 7:12  Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.
Rev 7:13  And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? And whence came they?
Rev 7:14  And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

This is how our Father sees His Son:

Dan 7:9  I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire.

That is how God describes Christ who is “the express image” of His Father and who is our door to His Father.

Joh 10:7  Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.
Joh 10:8  All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.
Joh 10:9  I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.

Exo 14:19  And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them:
Exo 14:20  And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night.

Christ separates His people from the world and keeps them from coming near each other. He does this by appearing as “a cloud and darkness to them.” This was our focus last week. In this study, we will focus on how the color white is used by God to show us that He “gives light by night to these.”

God’s elect fall, but rise to be “made white”

Dan 11:32  And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.
Dan 11:33  And they that understand among the people shall instruct many: yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days.
Dan 11:34  Now when they shall fall, they shall be holpen with a little help: but many shall cleave to them with flatteries.
Dan 11:35  And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end: because it is yet for a time appointed.

White is intimately connected with God’s chastening grace

Once the Lord opens our eyes when we see the word ‘white’ then “they of understanding” will now know and “instruct many” that God’s Words all have both a positive and a negative application, because God is the creator of both the light and the darkness and the good and the evil in us all. They will also “instruct many” that when all is said and done, we will all be “made white” through purging trials. So when we read:

Dan 12:6  And one said to the man clothed in [white, (Rev 19:8)] linen, which was upon the waters of the river, How long shall it be to the end of these wonders?
Dan 12:7  And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these [things] shall be finished.
Dan 12:8  And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things?
Dan 12:9  And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.
Dan 12:10  Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.

Rev 19:8  And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.

There it is! It comes out and tells us, “Many shall be made white and tried…” It is only through our fiery trials that we are “made white.”

Act 14:22  Confirming the souls of the disciples, [and] exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.

2Ti 3:12  Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

Tit 2:11  For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
Tit 2:12  Teaching [Greek: paideuo, chasten] us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

Rev 7:14  And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

It is our fiery trials that make us worthy to wear “white linen.”

1Pe 4:12  Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:
1Pe 4:13  But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.

Rev 19:7  Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.
Rev 19:8  And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.

White is intimately connected with light and clothing or raiment.

“The righteousness of the saints” is Christ’s righteousness. It is in Him that the saints are “clean and white.”

Mat 17:2  And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.

Luk 9:29  And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was white and glistering.

Mat 28:3  His [the angel at the tomb] countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:

Mar 9:3  And his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them.

Rev 3:4  Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.
Rev 3:5  He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.

Rev 7:9  After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;

Rev 7:13  And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?
Rev 7:14  And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

White is associated with righteousness

Rev 19:8  And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints

Joh 4:35  Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.

White is associated with God’s elect

Rev 2:17  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.

Rev 3:4  Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.
Rev 3:5  He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.

Rev 3:18  I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and [that] the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.

Rev 4:4  And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold.

Who are these “four and twenty elders”? The four beasts and the four and twenty elders also symbolize God’s elect:

Rev 5:8  And when he [Christ] had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.
Rev 5:9  And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;
Rev 5:10  And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

The next chapter tells us that all of God’s elect are “given… white robes.”

Rev 6:9  And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:
Rev 6:10  And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?
Rev 6:11  And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.

When Christ appears to this world, it will be on a white cloud:

Rev 14:14  And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.

That “white cloud” on which He is seated signifies the “great… cloud of witnesses” which we all are:

Heb 12:1  Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

The seven angels who pour out the seven last plagues upon us are “clothed in pure and white linen.”

Rev 15:6  And the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles.

Who are these ‘seven angels?’

Rev 21:17 And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel.

Rev 19:10 And I fell at his feet to worship him [one of the angels that poured out the seven last plagues]. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

Rev 22:8 And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things.
Rev 22:9 Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.

Christ’s bride is just one more type of the Lord’s elect, and she is “arrayed in fine linen, clean and white”, signifying the righteousness of Christ in her.

Rev 19:8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.

Here are a few more verses connecting the righteousness of Christ with the color white:

Rev 19:14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.

Rev 20:11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them [This ‘white throne’ is the same as the ‘white cloud’ in an earlier scripture].

Rev 14:14 And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.

Conclusion – White signifies Christ and all who are in Him

Rev 1:12  And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks;
Rev 1:13  And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.
Rev 1:14  His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;

Rev 3:18  I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.

Rev 6:2  And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer [This first white horse is Christ when He first comes to us and deals our beast his deadly wound, and He is Christ who comes to us as mature sons. White signifies the beginning and the end of the revelation of Jesus Christ].

Rev 19:11  And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.

Rev 19:14  And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.

Never let us forget what we started with:

Exo 14:19 And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them:
Exo 14:20 And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night.

Psa 139:12 Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.

]]> https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/pro-128-13-whoso-loveth-instruction-loveth-knowledge-part-ii/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=pro-128-13-whoso-loveth-instruction-loveth-knowledge-part-ii Thu, 03 Apr 2025 04:50:38 +0000 https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/?p=32471 Study Audio Download

“Whoso loveth instruction loveth knowledge” Part II
(“the just shall come out of trouble”)

(Pro 12:8-13)

Pro 12:8 A man shall be commended according to his wisdom: but he that is of a perverse heart shall be despised.
Pro 12:9 [He that is] despised, and hath a servant, [is] better than he that honoureth himself, and lacketh bread.
Pro 12:10 A righteous [man] regardeth the life of his beast: but the tender mercies of the wicked [are] cruel.
Pro 12:11 He that tilleth his land shall be satisfied with bread: but he that followeth vain [persons is] void of understanding.
Pro 12:12 The wicked desireth the net of evil [men]: but the root of the righteous yieldeth fruit.
Pro 12:13 The wicked is snared by the transgression of his lips: but the just shall come out of trouble.

In this next section of proverbs we’re introduced to the immediate and long term benefit of staying in the word of God (Joh 8:31-32) that will equip us to deal with the dying daily process within ourselves, that we’ve been called unto (1Co 15:31).

Joh 8:31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, [then] are ye my disciples indeed;
Joh 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

1Co 15:31 I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.

Godly confidence, as opposed to having confidence in our own flesh, is something that can only be miraculously achieved by His judgements in our lives (1Pe 4:17). God’s elect are therefore likened unto the generation who have no confidence in the flesh. The flesh and the law for the lawless (1Ti 1:9) that governs that flesh are discussed in these scriptures, and the blessing that becomes ours when we go from being of the concision to become spiritually circumcised by God’s spirit, the new governor on our hearts by which we are led (Rom 8:14, Php 3:1-11).

Rom 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

Php 3:1 Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not grievous, but for you [it is] safe.
Php 3:2 Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision.
Php 3:3 For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.
Php 3:4 Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more:
Php 3:5 Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe [of] Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee;
Php 3:6 Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.
Php 3:7 But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.
Php 3:8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things [but] loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them [but] dung, that I may win Christ,
Php 3:9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: (Gal 2:20, Php 2:12-13)
Php 3:10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; (Rom 5:10)
Php 3:11 If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.

By God’s grace (Eph 2:8) we can be brought to see the comparative language in these proverbs as a mirror that we are looking into, which God commands us to use to help us cleanse the inside of the cup of our own lives (Jas 1:23-27, Mat 23:26).

It is those who are of the generation that have no confidence in their flesh who come to see that they are the chief of sinners, as typified by the publican who couldn’t so much as lift his head to heaven because he truly saw his own wretchedness as oppose to the Pharisee, which represents our first man Adam with his own righteousnesses and many wonderful works that blind us to how God sees all flesh (Luk 18:10-14, Rom 7:22-25, Rev 3:17).

Luk 18:13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as [his] eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
Luk 18:14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified [rather] than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

Rom 7:24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
Rom 7:25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord (Joh 8:36). So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

Rev 3:17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:

God reveals to His people first that they are the generation who are guilty of the blood of the prophets from Abel to Zacharias, and these proverbs like all of God’s word point to that reality of how God alone can bring us to cry out to him (Heb 5:7-8, Luk 12:5), as we recognize our daily need for His deliverance from our own self-righteousness that constantly wants to establish itself on the throne of our hearts (Eph 1:5-12).

Heb 5:7 Who in the days of his flesh (Eph 5:30), when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared;
Heb 5:8 Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;

Luk 12:5 But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.

Pro 12:8 A man shall be commended according to his wisdom: but he that is of a perverse heart shall be despised.

Christ is our wisdom (1Co 1:30), and so in this opening verse we’re looking at we are being told straight out of the gate that if we don’t acknowledge Christ as our wisdom and the reason we know anything about God, then our hearts are going to reflect a perverse spirit that will be rejected of Him. That self-righteous spirit is within us and can only be overcome and ruled over by the brightness of Christ’s coming into our lives to destroy that man of perdition who holds fast to the mystery of iniquity (self-righteousness)(2Th 2:5-8).

1Co 1:30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:

2Th 2:5 Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
2Th 2:6 And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.
2Th 2:7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth [will let], until he be taken out of the way.
2Th 2:8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

Pro 12:9 [He that is] despised, and hath a servant, [is] better than he that honoureth himself, and lacketh bread.

We are striving through Christ to give our flesh no quarter in this life with the rest of the saints so we can find life (Gal 2:20, Mat 10:39). Christ is our hope of glory (Col 1:27), the “servant” within me who makes me better than the self-righteous old man in me that “honoureth himself” and in doing so “lacketh bread” and is starving. These verses in Romans sum up for us what this proverb is telling us about this inward struggle against the powers and principalities that we all wrestle against (Rom 7:22-25, Eph 6:12)

Rom 7:22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: [the spirit of Christ who is a servant in me is who I delight in]
Rom 7:23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. [my flesh wanting to honour itself and not give all glory and honour to God for all things including the sin in my life (Rom 8:28)]
Rom 7:24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
Rom 7:25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

Pro 12:10 A righteous [man] regardeth the life of his beast: but the tender mercies of the wicked [are] cruel.

With Christ in us we are mindful of the beast that we are, and take care to take care of ourselves and others (Gal 6:10).

Gal 6:10 As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all [men], especially unto them who are of the household of faith.

No man ever hated his own flesh in other words and we are Christ’s flesh and bones (Eph 5:30) that we nurture and take care of. We have a comparative in this proverb of our old man within us that does not have our best interest at hand, not being able to remain unspotted from this world and visit the fatherless and widow with the tender mercies of God’s word (Psa 146:9, Jas 1:27). The cruel-deceived-first-man Adam cruelly proclaims that God’s punishment on our life should be forever, twistedly thinking this is somehow God’s mercy on those who won’t have to burn in hell forever. We all at first paint God out to be a monster in one way or another, revealing what is actually in our own hearts.

Psa 146:9 The LORD preserveth the strangers; he relieveth the fatherless and widow: but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down.

Jas 1:27 Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, [and] to keep himself unspotted from the world.

Pro 12:11 He that tilleth his land shall be satisfied with bread: but he that followeth vain [persons is] void of understanding.

The admonition in this proverb is telling us that our labours are not in vain in the Lord, and tilling the land is analogous of fighting a good fight of faith so that we can be satisfied with the word of God. If we follow the traditions of man we will be void of understanding (Isa 3:1) and doing so in vain (Mat 15:9).

Isa 3:1 For, behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water,

Mat 15:9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching [for] doctrines the commandments of men.

“Vain” H2638 châsêr khaw-sare’: From H2637; lacking; hence without: – destitute, fail, lack, have need, void, want.
“Vain” G3155 matēn mat’-ane: Accusative case of a derivative of the base of G3145 (through the idea of tentative manipulation, that is, unsuccessful search, or else of punishment); folly, that is, (adverbially) to no purpose: – in vain.

Pro 12:12 The wicked desireth the net of evil [men]: but the root of the righteous yieldeth [fruit].

Pro 12:12 Whoever is wicked covets the spoil of evildoers, but the root of the righteous bears fruit.[ESV]
Pro 12:12 He that is delighted in passing his time over wine, leaveth a reproach in his strong holds. The desire of the wicked is the fortification of evil men: but the root of the just shall prosper.[DRB]

God is burning up all the wicked desires of the elect, turning us into a new creation that is connected to the vine, Jesus Christ, through whom we can bear much fruit. It is God’s favour in our lives that brings about this growth that would otherwise never happen (Tit 2:11-12). We must expect that in God’s vineyard we are going to be pruned so that more fruit can be borne (Joh 15:2-3, Heb 12:5-7).

Tit 2:11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
Tit 2:12 Teaching^G3811 us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

Joh 15:2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every [branch] that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
Joh 15:3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.

Heb 12:5 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:
Heb 12:6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
Heb 12:7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?

Pro 12:13 The wicked is snared by the transgression of [his] lips: but the just shall come out of trouble.

We’ve all done it and said something that we don’t want to say, and in doing that, “The wicked is snared by the transgression of [his] lips” . When Christ’s words and ways become our ways and words and works, we stumble less and less as He increases [the word, his righteousness] and we decrease [our own righteousnesses and the way that seems right unto us]. Christ was never snared by His words and with His life within us, our goal will remain, of bringing every thought into subjection (2Co 10:3-5) unto our faithful high priest who knows how to deliver us from our conscience (1Jn 2:1-3) when we do stumble in this life. It is through Him alone that “the just shall come out of trouble” (Jas 3:5-12).

2Co 10:3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:
2Co 10:4 (For the weapons of our warfare [are] not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
2Co 10:5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; (Eph 6:12)

1Jn 2:1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
1Jn 2:2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for [the sins of] the whole world.
1Jn 2:3 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.

Jas 3:5 Even so the tongue [is] a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!
Jas 3:6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.
Jas 3:7 For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind:
Jas 3:8 But the tongue can no man tame; (Rev 13:4-5, Rev 5:4) [it is] an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.
Jas 3:9 Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God.
Jas 3:10 Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.
Jas 3:11 Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet [water] and bitter?
Jas 3:12 Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so [can] no fountain both yield salt water and fresh.

Rev 13:4 And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who [is] like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?
Rev 13:5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty [and] two months.

Rev 5:4 And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon.
Rev 5:5 And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.
Rev 5:6 And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.

“Whoso loveth instruction loveth knowledge” Part I

(Pro 12:1-7)

Pro 12:1 Whoso loveth instruction loveth knowledge: but he that hateth reproof [is] brutish.
Pro 12:2 A good [man] obtaineth favour of the LORD: but a man of wicked devices will he condemn.
Pro 12:3 A man shall not be established by wickedness: but the root of the righteous shall not be moved.
Pro 12:4 A virtuous woman [is] a crown to her husband: but she that maketh ashamed is as rottenness in his bones.
Pro 12:5 The thoughts of the righteous [are] right: [but] the counsels of the wicked [are] deceit.
Pro 12:6 The words of the wicked [are] to lie in wait for blood: but the mouth of the upright shall deliver them.
Pro 12:7 The wicked are overthrown, and [are] not: but the house of the righteous shall stand.

The opening verse and last verse of this chapter of proverbs (Pro 12:1, Pro 12:28) work in conjunction with each other, and remind us how all the verses that we’ll study in proverbs or elsewhere in God’s word (2Ti 3:16-17), point to the blessing that will be given to those who are blessed to love instruction and love knowledge, in this life.

Pro 12:1 Whoso loveth instruction loveth knowledge: but he that hateth reproof [is] brutish.
Pro 12:28 In the way of righteousness [is] life; and in the pathway thereof there is no death.

2Ti 3:16 All scripture [is] given by inspiration of God, and [is] profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
2Ti 3:17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

The reward for loving instruction and loving knowledge is stated in the last verse this way, “In the way of righteousness [is] life; and [in] the pathway [thereof there is] no death”, which is another way of saying that those who are blessed in this life to read, hear and keep the sayings within all of scripture (Rev 1:3), will be sanctified and purified by living by every word that proceeds from God’s mouth (Joh 17:17), and will enter into life (Mat 4:4, Mat 19:17). Living by those words means those words are changing us and are no longer being cast behind us (Luk 6:46), as we’re now led of God’s spirit which His words are (Rom 8:14, Joh 6:63).

Rev 1:3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time [is] at hand.

Mat 4:4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

Mat 19:17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? [there is] none good but one, [that is], God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.[“In the way of righteousness [is] life”]

The words of eternal life will perfect holiness in time in each person who is blessed to abide in the truth and endure to the end (Mat 24:13), thoroughly furnishing us unto all good works in this life and the next by recognizing that we are the ones who first “hateth reproof”, and hold fast to “wicked devices” and live with a heart that is “deceitful above all [things], and desperately wicked” (Jer 17:9, Rom 7:24), the negative spiritual state that can only be overcome by the “life” of Christ within us (Rom 8:9, Col 1:27) who makes a way for us through God’s spirit to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts in this age in advance of all the world (Eph 1:11-12, Tit 2:12-13, 2Co 4:4, Rom 8:28-29).

Eph 1:12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ [2Co 1:9, Psa 23:4].

Tit 2:12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; (“enter into life”)

2Co 4:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to [his] purpose.
Rom 8:29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate [to be] conformed to the image of his Son, (“enter into life”) that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

With God’s mercy being shown to us in this life (Rom 11:30-32, Rom 11:25-26) through judgement that includes fiery trials (1Pe 4:12), we can lie dead in the street of that great city of (Rev 11:8), and gain great hope that saves us (Rom 8:24-25 , Rom 5:5, Rom 5:10) as we come to be convinced through this dying daily process that we are more than conquerors through Christ, and that nothing can separate us from the love of God (2Co 4:7, 2Co 4:14-18, Rom 8:31, Rom 8:38).

Rom 8:24 For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?
Rom 8:25 But if we hope for that we see not, [then] do we with patience wait for [it].

Rom 5:5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

Rom 5:10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. (“enter into life”) [“And hope maketh not ashamed” Col 1:27]

2Co 4:7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels (Rom 8:9), that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

2Co 4:14 Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present [us] with you (now in earnest Eph 2:6).
2Co 4:15 For all things [are] for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.
2Co 4:16 For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward [man] is renewed day by day.
2Co 4:17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding [and] eternal weight of glory;
2Co 4:18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen [are] temporal; but the things which are not seen [are] eternal. [“For we are saved by hope”]

In short, “In the way of righteousness [is] life; and [in] the pathway [thereof there is] no death” is telling us that those who are blessed to endure unto the end of this life, through a lifetime of judgement, will be able to extend that same mercy and goodness of God to the rest of humanity (Rom 11:30-32, Rom 11:25-26), having been judged and made ready to do so (Rev 19:7-8, Rev 21:2).

That “righteousness” of God that is formed in this “life” is the greatest of all gifts that God bestows upon very few (Mat 22:14, 1Co 15:46, Joh 18:8-9, Joh 10:28-29) that are prepared by God alone who makes a way for His people to endure to the end of this life, changing our hearts so these words can be spoken of us, “Whoso loveth instruction loveth knowledge”, no longer being that brutish first man who “hateth reproof” (Rev 22:7, Rev 20:6).

Rev 22:7 Behold, I come quickly: blessed [is] he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.

Rev 20:6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

Pro 12:1 Whoso loveth instruction loveth knowledge: but he that hateth reproof [is] brutish.
Pro 12:2 A good [man] obtaineth favour of the LORD: but a man of wicked devices will he condemn.

If God blesses us to become as children, we will be entreatable like that little child of (Mat 18:3-6), loving the instruction of a loving Father as His spirit leads us into all truth (Rom 8:14, Joh 16:13). It is by God’s favour, His grace that chastens us (Heb 12:6), that we have the “wicked devices” of our life burnt out of us.

Rom 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

Joh 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, [that] shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

Pro 12:3 A man shall not be established by wickedness: but the root of the righteous shall not be moved.

God must deal with that first root and branch within us by destroying it (Mal 4:1-2) if we are to become “the root of the righteous” that “shall not be moved”.

Mal 4:1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
Mal 4:2 But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.

Here are some encouraging verses that explain why the root of the righteous will not be moved, and point us to the truth that in time all will be saved and made holy.

Rom 11:16 For if the firstfruit [be] holy, the lump is also [holy]: and if the root [be] holy, so [are] the branches.
Rom 11:17 And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree;
Rom 11:18 Boast not against the branches [the rest of the world to be grafted into the body in the second resurrection]. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee [boasting against the world is excluded by the law of faith, Christ faith that is given to us as a gift from God (Eph 2:8, Rom 3:27)].

Rom 15:12 And again, Esaias saith, There shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles; in him shall the Gentiles trust.[Christ will rule over all gentile flesh, starting with the Gentile nations within the body of Christ who are first judged in this life, so that one day they can outwardly rule over all the gentile nations of this world, which all flesh is to God. (1Pe 4:17, Col 1:27, Oba 1:21)]

Col 1:27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

Oba 1:21 And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD’S.

Pro 12:4 A virtuous woman [is] a crown to her husband: but she that maketh ashamed [is] as rottenness in his bones.

We are Christ’s flesh and bones (Eph 5:30) and can only become that virtuous woman who is a crown to her husband by having that “rottenness in his bones”, in our bones, destroyed and removed through judgement.

Eph 5:30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.

Rev 2:10 Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast [some] of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. [“a crown to her husband”]

Rev 3:11 Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.[our crown is the righteousness of Christ that is represented by the fine linen that is given to us in this age (Rev 19:8)]

Rev 4:10 The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
Rev 4:11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things,(Rev 19:8) and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

The “virtuous woman” represents the church, the bride of Christ; and the crown being on the head of our husband, Christ, signifies that the Lord directs the church and leads us in paths of righteousness for his name sake (Psa 1:1-3, Psa 23:3). We cast our crowns before the throne of God which is symbolized in these verses (1Ch 29:15-16).

Psa 23:3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

1Ch 29:15 For we [are] strangers before thee, and sojourners, as [were] all our fathers: our days on the earth [are] as a shadow, and [there is] none abiding.
1Ch 29:16 O LORD our God, all this store that we have prepared to build thee an house for thine holy name [cometh] of thine hand, and [is] all thine own.(Rev 19:8)

Pro 12:5 The thoughts of the righteous [are] right: [but] the counsels of the wicked [are] deceit.
Pro 12:6 The words of the wicked [are] to lie in wait for blood: but the mouth of the upright shall deliver them.
Pro 12:7 The wicked are overthrown, and [are] not: but the house of the righteous shall stand.

More and more contrast is given to us in these next three verses that remind us that, when we lean unto our own understanding, we are being positioned to find out that the counsels of the wicked within me will lead to deceit (Jer 17:9). If God blesses us to not lean unto our own understanding and trust the Lord with all our hearts, which can only happen through judgement (Pro 3:5-7, 1Pe 4:17), then our thoughts will be right before God, “The thoughts of the righteous [are] right”.

Pro 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
Pro 3:6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Pro 3:7 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.

Satan constantly wants to sift us like wheat, as described with these words, “The words of the wicked are to lie in wait for blood” (Luk 22:31), and it takes the mouth of the upright, those who have God’s holy spirit within them, “the mouth of the upright”, to speak to us spiritual words in due season (Luk 12:42, Gal 6:9) so that those words “shall deliver them”(1Ti 4:16, 1Jn 4:6).

Luk 12:42 And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom [his] lord shall make ruler over his household, to give [them their] portion of meat in due season?

Gal 6:9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

1Ti 4:16 Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee. [Joh 8:31-32]

The wickedness or wretchedness within us can only be overthrown by the Lord building the house (Psa 127:1, Rom 7:24-25) is what we are being shown in this proverb, “The wicked are overthrown, and are not: but the house of the righteous shall stand”.

Psa 127:1 A Song of degrees for Solomon. Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh [but] in vain.

Rom 7:24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
Rom 7:25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

Christ has promised God’s elect that this first corrupt marred-in-the-hand-of-the-Potter temple or vessel that we are, is going to be torn down and built up in three days, speaking of his own body, the church which is his flesh and bones, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (Col 1:24, Eph 5:29-30, Joh 2:19-21).

Col 1:24 Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church:

Eph 5:29 For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:
Eph 5:30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.

Joh 2:19 Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.
Joh 2:20 Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days?
Joh 2:21 But he spake of the temple of his body. (Eph 5:30)

It is the Lord alone who will stand, “but the house of the righteous shall stand”, as He builds the church up and blesses us to come to a point where we have the whole suit of armour on us by God’s grace (Eph 6:13-14, 1Pe 4:17, Rom 14:10), and having done all, are now able to stand, through Christ (Php 2:12-13, Eph 6:13). The whole suit of armour tells us that there is a process that is required to put on the righteousness of Christ that is revealed to “Whoso loveth instruction loveth knowledge”

Eph 6:13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Eph 6:14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

Having done all, Lord bless us to be found with your righteousness and not our own on that glorious day of your return (Luk 17:10, Php 3:9).

Luk 17:10 So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.[Php 2:12-13]

Php 3:9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

Pro 1:17-23 “The righteous shall be recompensed in the earth: much more the wicked and the sinner” Part II

[Study Aired March 13, 2025]

I’ve kept the same title as last week for this section of chapter 11, seeing the majority of the verses point to the reality that “the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth much more the wicked and the sinner” (Pro 11:31) which is something the Lord wants us to “behold”, to know!

Many of the proverbs are written with a clear message of opposing positive and negative behaviour and the resultant effect of acting one way or the other. For a very blessed few on this earth, we do not separate ourselves from any part of the proverbs but see them as an ongoing, is was and will be admonition in this age [as we do the rest of God’s word], and a continual encouragement of how God can give us victory over the wretchedness that just naturally resides within flesh (Rom 7:24-25).

Rom 7:24  O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? 
Rom 7:25  I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin. 

This section of chapter eleven has a lot to do with how God has called his people to be productive in this life, that we live by the faith of Christ (Gal 2:20-21), who can give us the power and ability to overcome the negative aspect of each of these proverbs to become fruit bearing trees to the glory and honour of our Great God (2Ti 1:9-10) who gives the increase in our life so that we can bring forth much spiritual fruit (1Co 3:6).

Gal 2:20  I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
Gal 2:21  I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.  

2Ti 1:9  Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, [Tit 3:8, Jas 2:14-17]
2Ti 1:10  But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel: 

The “good ground” of (Mat 13:8) is in the house of God where the “manifold wisdom of God”(Eph 3:10) is “now made manifest” to the saints in every generation that is being judged (Mat 13:8, 1Ti 3:15, Mat 24:34, 1Pe 4:17).

Eph 3:10  To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, 

Mat 13:8  But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. 

1Ti 3:15  But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. 

Mat 24:34  Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. 

1Pe 4:17  For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? 

Pro 11:17  The merciful man doeth good to his own soul^H5315: but he that is cruel troubleth his own flesh^H7607.

H5315  nephesh  neh’-fesh
From H5314; properly a breathing creature, that is, animal or (abstractly) vitality; used very widely in a literal, accommodated or figurative sense (bodily or mental): – any, appetite, beast, body, breath, creature, X dead (-ly), desire, X [dis-] contented, X fish, ghost, + greedy, he, heart (-y), (hath, X jeopardy of) life (X in jeopardy), lust, man, me, mind, mortality, one, own, person, pleasure, (her-, him-, my-, thy-) self, them (your) -selves, + slay, soul, + tablet, they, thing, (X she) will, X would have it.
Total KJV occurrences: 753

H7607 flesh she’êr sheh-ayr’
From H7604; flesh (as swelling out), as living or for food; generally food of any kind; figuratively kindred by blood: – body, flesh, food, (near) kin (-sman, -swoman), near (nigh) [of kin]
Total KJV occurrences: 16

This proverb gives more evidence to God’s elect that when we do good unto our own soul^H5315, or flesh and bones (Eph 5:29-30, Isa 58:7), or do evil unto it, we are doing this unto Christ (Mat 25:40-46). If we want to obtain mercy we need to show it to others (Mat 5:7) and if we trouble our own flesh and do belong to God, His grace will abound toward our sinful condition (2Co 9:8, Rom 5:20-21) burning out that evil spirit that troubles our “own flesh^H7607” [one spirit 1Co 6:17, one bread 1Co 10:17, one flesh Joh 6:51]. So in a healthy body of Christ we can say no healthy spiritual man ever hated His own flesh (Eph 5:29)

Eph 5:29  For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: 
Eph 5:30  For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. 

Isa 58:7  Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?[Eph 5:30] 

Mat 25:40  And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. 
Mat 25:41  Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: 
Mat 25:42  For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: 
Mat 25:43  I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. 
Mat 25:44  Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? 
Mat 25:45  Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. 
Mat 25:46  And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

2Co 9:8  And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work: 

Rom 5:20  Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: 
Rom 5:21  That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. 

Joh 6:51  I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. 

Pro 11:18  The wicked worketh a deceitful work: but to him that soweth righteousness shall be a sure reward. 

No one wants to think that their first tree works a “deceitful work”, but that is the point of this proverb. We all must first be the tree that is on the unproductive ground of Babylon where our talent is buried in the earth due to fear (Mat 25:25), to then by God’s mercy become a tree that is worked with on the good ground, which casts out that fear (Mat 13:8, 1Ti 3:15, Rom 5:5) as God’s workmanship that has been predestinated to bring forth works (Luk 13:6-9, Eph 1:4). God’s elect are called unto a lifetime of seeking and knowing and believing that there will be a “sure reward” for their labour of sowing righteousness through Christ (Heb 11:6, Mat 6:33) as we die daily and are washed by the word that gives us the power to progressively, “by little and little”, drive the beast out of our land, which represents our bodies (Exo 23:29-30, Tit 2:11-12).

The patient process of salvation:

Luk 13:6  He spake also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none. 
Luk 13:7  Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground? [1Ti 3:15]
Luk 13:8  And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it:
Luk 13:9  And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down.[Heb 6:3]

Exo 23:29  I will not drive them out from before thee in one year; lest the land become desolate, and the beast of the field multiply against thee. 
Exo 23:30  By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land. 

Tit 2:11  For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, 
Tit 2:12  Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; 

God has purposed that we must experience both conditions, of being unproductive to then become productive, and the contrast blesses us and puts us in remembrance that He is the one who is working all of this holding and withholding of those spirits that inhibit our growth until they are destroyed by the brightness of His coming (2Th 2:3-8).

2Th 2:3  Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; 
2Th 2:4  Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. 
2Th 2:5  Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? 
2Th 2:6  And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. 
2Th 2:7  For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. 
2Th 2:8  And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: 

“The day of evil” is something that God has made within us (Isa 45:7, Pro 16:4) that we will be delivered from when we begin to “soweth righteousness” through Christ, resulting in a “sure reward” (Pro 11:18). That ultimate reward at the end of a life of fighting a good fight of faith is to be found in that blessed and holy first resurrection (1Ti 6:12, Rev 20:6, 2Ti 4:8).

Isa 45:7  I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.

Pro 16:4  The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil. 

Pro 11:18  The wicked worketh a deceitful work: but to him that soweth righteousness shall be a sure reward. 

1Ti 6:12  Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses. 

Rev 20:6  Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. 

2Ti 4:8  Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing. 

Pro 11:19  As righteousness tendeth to life: so he that pursueth evil pursueth it to his own death. 

By God’s grace we’ll recognize any evil thing that is within us (Rom 8:1-9) that must be cleansed by Him through Christ (Psa 51:10-11) who alone can bless us to have His righteousness ruling and reigning in our thoughts and actions (2Co 10:5) so that we can go unto perfection on the third day (Luk 13:32).

Rom 8:1  There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 
Rom 8:2  For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. 
Rom 8:3  For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: 
Rom 8:4  That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. [Rom 8:14-16]
Rom 8:5  For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh;[“so he that pursueth evil pursueth it to his own death”] but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.[“As righteousness tendeth to life”] 
Rom 8:6  For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 
Rom 8:7  Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. 
Rom 8:8  So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. 
Rom 8:9  But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. 

Psa 51:10  Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. [“righteousness tendeth to life”]
Psa 51:11  Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.

2Co 10:5  Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; [“righteousness tendeth to life”] 

Pro 11:20  They that are of a froward^H6141 heart are abomination to the LORD: but such as are upright in their way are his delight. 

We are all that froward^H6141 man at first who God answers according to the idol of our own hearts (Pro 16:28, Eze 14:4, Mat 25:24).

H6141 ‛iqqêsh ik-kashe’
From H6140; distorted; hence false: – crooked, froward, perverse.
Total KJV occurrences: 11

Pro 16:28  A froward^H8419 man soweth strife: and a whisperer separateth chief friends.

Eze 14:4  Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Every man of the house of Israel [typifying the church] that setteth up his idols in his heart, [crooked, froward, or perverse words] and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity (Eze 33:13, Php 3:9) before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the LORD will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols; 

Mat 25:24  Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed: 
Mat 25:25  And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine. 
Mat 25:26  His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed: [“I the LORD will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols”] 
Mat 25:27  Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. [Jas 2:20]
Mat 25:28  Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents. 
Mat 25:29  For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. 
Mat 25:30  And cast ye the unprofitable servant  into outer darkness:[Heb 10:29, Heb 6:9] there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

The “but such as are upright in their way are his delight” part of this proverb can only happen if God will grant that we be dragged to His son in this age (Joh 6:44) through whom we are accepted of the Father (Eph 1:6). There is no boasting in the life of those that God chooses to bring forth much fruit (Rom 3:27, Gal 2:20, Php 2:12-13); the few who are being blessed to heed the admonitions of the Lord in this age, that reveal the needful severity and goodness of God upon all flesh (Rom 11:22, Rom 2:4).

Joh 6:44  No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. 

Eph 1:6  To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. 

Rom 11:22  Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.

Rom 2:4  Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? 

Pro 11:21  Though hand join in hand, the wicked shall not be unpunished: but the seed of the righteous shall be delivered. 

Christ has delivered the elect over and over throughout history, most notably via the typical deliverance in the old covenant of the nation of Israel, which represents the very real spiritual deliverance from our Father who says that nothing shall separate the Israel of God from the love of God (Gal 6:16, Rom 8:35-39). Our old man does not go unpunished in this life, but it is through God’s chastening grace that we are received of Him (Heb 12:6) as we are delivered by the one seed, “the seed” Jesus Christ who abides within the body of Christ (Gal 3:16), “but the seed of the righteous shall be delivered” (Col 1:27). In other words, “the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Mat 16:18).

Gal 6:16  And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God. 

Rom 8:35  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 
Rom 8:36  As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 
Rom 8:37  Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 
Rom 8:38  For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 
Rom 8:39  Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

Heb 12:6  For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. 

Gal 3:16  Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. 

Pro 11:22  As a jewel of gold in a swine’s snout, so is a fair woman which is without discretion. 

This proverb is talking about the “fair woman which is without discretion” who represents Babylon where we had our former conversation in the world (Eph 2:1-4) that we now must continue to die daily to. The “gold, and silver, and precious stones” of (Rev 18:12) represent our own confidence in our fleshly carnal reasoning that causes us to believe we are rich and increased with goods, not knowing we are actually wretched, miserable, poor and blind (Joh 9:41, Rev 3:17). All of these conditions are represented by the “jewel of gold in a swine’s snout”. In order for us to become a woman of discretion, we must have that gold on our snouts pulled off and put in the fire (Rev 3:17-18, Exo 32:3, Exo 32:20-24).

Joh 9:41  Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.

Rev 3:17  Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: 
Rev 3:18  I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. 

Exo 32:3  And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron. 

Exo 32:20  And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strawed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it. [the idol turned to nothing through a fiery process]

Pro 11:23  The desire of the righteous is only good: but the expectation of the wicked is wrath. 

Our desire will be what God has determined from the foundation of the world (Pro 16:1-2), and if we are His and Christ is working in us both to will and to do of God’s good pleasure (Php 2:12-13), then and only then “The desire of the righteous is only good” (Rom 3:10-12).

Pro 16:1  The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD. 
Pro 16:2  All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the LORD weigheth the spirits.

Php 2:12  Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. 
Php 2:13  For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. 

Rom 3:10  As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: 
Rom 3:11  There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. 
Rom 3:12  They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

The only way that “desire of the righteous” can be realized in our lives is by having “the expectation of the wicked” destroyed by God’s “wrath” which abides on all unrighteousness of men [Rom 1:18]. We suffer so that we can cease from sinning (1Pe 4:1-2) and overcome all that is in the world within us (1Jn 2:16) via the power of God’s holy spirit that makes it possible for us to fulfill His will, and “be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith” (1Jn 2:15-17, Php 3:9).

1Pe 4:1  Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; 
1Pe 4:2  That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men [all that is in the world of ], but to the will of God. 

1Jn 2:15  Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 
1Jn 2:16  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 
1Jn 2:17  And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever. 

In conclusion, we thank God for His wonderful works onto the children of men that are setting us free from sin (Joh 8:36), which resides in a deceived world that is currently being held in bondage by the god of this world (2Co 4:4).

God’s elect are typified by Abraham’s one seed and are now the one holy seed with Jesus Christ within (Gal 3:16-17, Col 1:27), and so we give thanks to our loving Father for the process of salvation we’ve been called unto that will lead to the salvation of all men (1Co 15:22-23).

The elect are called to have these words fulfilled in their lives, “Behold, the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth: much more the wicked and the sinner”. The elect are recompensed with the life of Christ within our earth today, and outwardly by receiving a double portion, or inheritance (Col 1:12, Col 3:24, 1Pe 1:4, Heb 11:8, Heb 9:15). These last few verses incentivize us to keep fighting a good fight of faith as we strive for the mark of the prize of the high calling in Christ (1Ti 6:12, Php 3:14).

Col 1:12  Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: 

Col 3:24  Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.

1Pe 1:4  To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,

Heb 11:8  By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. 

Heb 9:15  And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.

Pro 11:13-16 “The righteous shall be recompensed in the earth: much more the wicked and the sinner” Part I

[Study Aired March 6, 2025]

In this section of Proverbs chapter 11 we’ll look at the following verses (Pro 11:13-16) with the final verse in mind throughout, that states God shall recompense the righteous in the earth, much more the wicked and the sinner (Pro 11:31).

Inwardly the deceitful and desperately wicked heart of man, of all men (Jer 17:9), will not inherit the kingdom of heaven (1Co 15:50), which is another way of saying nothing that defiles the kingdom of God will enter into its gates of (Rev 21:27).

Rev 21:27  And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life. 

Right now if God is judging us (1Pe 4:17), then we are a blessed people above all of God’s creation, and that judgement and the suffering that it brings upon the body of Christ is a manifest token of His workmanship that God’s people are in this age (2Th 1:4-6, Php 1:28-29, Eph 2:10).

2Th 1:4  So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure: 
2Th 1:5  Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer: 
2Th 1:6  Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you; 

Php 1:28  And in nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God. 
Php 1:29  For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake; 

Eph 2:10  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. 

All of God’s word is “given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2Ti 3:16), as those words sharpen us (Pro 27:17) with the present truths that we hold fast to, and are established in (1Th 5:21, 2Pe 1:12).

1Th 5:21  Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. 

2Pe 1:12  Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth. 

Speaking of sharpening, I’ve been learning how to use a straight blade to shave, and the sharpening process takes a lot of time and proper technique against a specific honed glass stone. The blade has to go through many passes against this specially designed stone in order to become sharp enough to cut facial hair. Accomplishing the razor sharp results I’m looking for is an ongoing work in progress that has not yet been realized yet as it turns out to be something that requires a lot more time and skill to attain then I expected.

Whether I end up succeeding at this physical challenge or not the Lord knows, and it reminds me of these verses “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind [my old razor], and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Php 3:13-14).

The good news is that although salvation is something that is scarcely obtained by God’s design as we grow spiritually sharper in the Lord (1Pe 4:18, 2Pe 3:18), we are also blessed to know that it will all be accomplished by the faith of Christ alone (1Jn 5:4, Rom 3:27), who is the stone that God has placed in our lives as our hope of glory (Col 1:27). If we truly love the brotherhood and have become fellow servants who sharpen each other in this life, then that which He has begun will be finished in each of our lives in this manner, “from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love”(ESV) (Php 2:12-13, Php 1:6, Eph 4:15-16).

Php 1:6  Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

This simple analogy of sharpening a blade against glass reminds us that God’s elect are represented by what we read in these verses (Rev 21:21-27) that include reference to “transparent glass”. All of these qualities of the temple described in (Rev 21:21-27) describe what it takes for God’s people to be “meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work“(2Ti 2:20-21). The work of witnessing during the thousand year reign (Rev 20:6) and the work of judging all of humanity who will come up in the great white throne judgement are all made possible by Christ the chief corner stone who prepared the bride for the service she was called unto (1Pe 2:6). That service cannot be accomplished unless we become like the stone, Jesus Christ (1Jn 4:17), that God will use with Christ as our head to be saviours to this world (Oba 1:21).

2Ti 2:20  But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour. 
2Ti 2:21  If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work (Rev 19:7).

Pro 24:27  Prepare thy work without [Heb 13:13], and make it fit for thyself in the field;[Mat 13:38, Joh 17:16] and afterwards build thine house.[Isa 9:7] 

Luk 9:62  And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God. [It takes the strength of the fit man to accomplish God’s work within the scapegoat in this age (Lev 16:10-11, Lev 16:21)]

Luk 14:34  Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be seasoned? 
Luk 14:35  It is neither fit for the land, nor yet for the dunghill; but men cast it out. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.[It takes the strength of the fit man to accomplish God’s work within the scapegoat in this age which entails the living sacrifices that we are to God, being salted with fiery trials (Lev 16:10-11, Lev 16:21, Mat 5:13, 1Pe 4:12, Mar 9:49)] 

Lev 16:10  But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness. 
Lev 16:11  And Aaron shall bring the bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and shall make an atonement for himself, and for his house, and shall kill the bullock of the sin offering which is for himself: 

Lev 16:21  And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness:

Mat 5:13  Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. 

1Pe 4:12  Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: 

Mar 9:49  For every one shall be salted with fire, and every sacrifice [Rom 12:1] shall be salted with salt. 

These verses in the book of Revelation (Rev 21:21-27) represent a time when the elect are ruling and reigning over the kingdoms of this world (Rev 11:15) as they are “recompensed in the earth: much more the wicked and the sinner“, having been judged in this age, and by God’s grace, overcome our corrupt flesh that cannot inherit the kingdom of God.

The world will be learning of His righteousness with His judgements in the earth (Isa 26:9), executed by the elect (1Pe 4:17), who were made ready at this time, to be the saviours who come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau (Oba 1:21, Jer 23:5, Rev 11:15). “Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth“, has an inward application for God’s people today who have this earnest relationship (Rom 8:19) unfolding by the grace through faith process we’ve been called unto (Eph 2:8), and a dispensational fulfillment that is expressed perfectly in these verses (Rev 21:21-27)

Behold, the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth: much more the wicked and the sinner.

Rev 21:21  And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl:

[Unity is being expressed in this section of the first verse, that has been completely formed in Christ’s body through judgment, resulting in the fulfillment of this verse (2Co 11:3) that speaks to the goal of unity that we are striving toward in the body of Christ today (Php 2:2)]

Rev 21:21  And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city [the church]was pure gold, as it were transparent glass. 
Rev 21:22  And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.

[no more earnest relationship, but the fulness of this verse (Joh 14:20) now being experienced as spirit beings in God’s glorious service]

Rev 21:23  And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it:[no need for the church to know Christ the sun of righteousness after the flesh for God’s elect at this point, no need for the process that the moon typifies for God’s elect (2Co 5:16)] for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. 
Rev 21:24  And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth [Rev 11:15, Rev 17:14, Rev 19:16] do bring their glory and honour into it. 
Rev 21:25  And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there. 
Rev 21:26  And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it [God’s elect have been made ready and are represented by “the glory and honour of the nations” God having given them the power to rule over, and overcome the nations within us in this life]. 
Rev 21:27  And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth [Gen 3:24], neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life. 

Pro 11:13  A talebearer revealeth secrets: but he that is of a faithful spirit concealeth the matter. 

Pro 11:13 He who goes about as a defamer reveals secret deliberation, Yet one faithful of spirit covers a confidential matter.”[CLV]

Today’s world is full of talebearers which were prophesied to be (2Ti 3:2-7), and the Lord is showing us what is within ourselves except for the grace of God that changes our talebearing hearts into one “that is of a faithful spirit [that] concealeth the matter”. We are extending that mercy toward each other today as the body of Christ showing pity and kindness to one another even as Christ had toward us (Jas 5:11, 1Pe 3:8, Mat 18:32-33)

Jas 5:11  Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy. 

1Pe 3:8  Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous: 

Mat 18:32  Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: 
Mat 18:33  Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? 

Pro 11:14  Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety. 

Here we have a multitude of verses with the word ‘counsel’ in them that will help us understand why “safety” is associated with counsel.

Pro 1:25  But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: 

Pro 1:30  They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof. 

Pro 8:14  Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom: I am understanding; I have strength. [Christ who is our mighty counsel, and our wisdom (Isa 9:6)]

Pro 11:14  Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety. 

Pro 12:15  The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise. 

Pro 15:22  Without counsel purposes are disappointed: but in the multitude of counsellors they are established. [1Pe 5:10]

Pro 19:20  Hear counsel, and receive instruction, that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end. 

Pro 19:21  There are many devices in a man’s heart; nevertheless the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand. [Eph 6:13]

Pro 20:5  Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water; but a man of understanding will draw it out. (Gen 24:63-64, Luk 21:36)

Pro 20:18  Every purpose is established by counsel: and with good advice make war. 

Pro 21:30  There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against the LORD.(Rom 8:31) 

Pro 24:6  For by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war: and in multitude of counsellors there is safety. 

Pro 27:9  Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart: so doth the sweetness of a man’s friend by hearty counsel. 

Pro 11:15  He that is surety^H6148 for a stranger^H2114 shall smart for it: and he that hateth suretiship^H8628 is sure. 

The opposite of seeking wise counsel, and finding saftety in the multitude of counselors that we’ve just looked at, is what happens to us when we are “surety for a stranger“, key word “a stranger^H8628“.

H2114 zûr zoor
A primitive root; to turn aside (especially for lodging); hence to be a foreigner, strange, profane; specifically (active participle) to commit adultery: – (come from) another (man, place), fanner, go away, (e-) strange (-r, thing, woman).

God is not saying that we can’t learn from those in the world whose actions are commendable like the unjust steward who teaches us a great physical lesson that has a spiritual application to God’s elect, a lesson that tells us to forgive everyone including yourself, the debt that you owe, and be willing to take a loss, losing an eye, or a hand so you don’t lose out on being in the first resurrection (Luk 16:8, Mat 5:29). Christ is telling us to get rid of our own righteousness, our own perceptions and natural self-willed tendency, of which we can do with the life of Christ in us, as our hope of glory, of obedience (Mat 26:39, Php 3:9, Php 2:12-13).

Luk 16:8  And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light. 

Mat 5:29  And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. 
Mat 5:30  And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. 

Safety is in the multitude of counselors and so that same mindset should be applied to how we approach the financial matters of our life, being careful not to put ourselves in a position where we become a slave to creditors. These verses are very instructive for us as to how we ought to be using the riches of this world that God gives us (Pro 22:6-9 , 1Jn 3:17-18), and how we must be careful to not become the borrower who is servant to the lender (Pro 22:6-9).

Pro 22:6  Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. 
Pro 22:7  The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender. 
Pro 22:8  He that soweth iniquity shall reap vanity: and the rod of his anger shall fail. 
Pro 22:9  He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed; for he giveth of his bread to the poor.

1Jn 3:17  But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? 
1Jn 3:18  My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. 

No one does this perfectly at first, but by God’s mercy and grace we will get better at it and the Lord will provide for those who are blessed to learn to trust him in this life whether we have a little or a lot (Php 4:11-13). We can always ask God for wisdom and He will provide abundantly for us in whatever challenges we are facing, financially and most importantly spiritually so that we are not being held in bondage to past mistakes (Jas 1:5-8).

Php 4:11  Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.
Php 4:12  I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. 
Php 4:13  I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. 

Pro 11:16  A gracious woman retaineth honour: and strong men retain riches. 

The gracious woman represents the bride of Christ who is blessed in this age to positively lay-up spiritual store against the day of wrath by not despising God’s goodness that leads to repentance, making us zealous toward the Lord (Rom 2:4-5, 2Co 7:11). Christ is the fit man, or the strong man in our lives who makes it possible for us to “retain riches”.

Rom 2:4  Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? 
Rom 2:5  But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;

2Co 7:11  For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter. 

In conclusion:

This “gracious woman” who retains honour is the church, and the strong who retain riches are the elect who are doing this through Christ who is able “also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them” (Php 4:13, Heb 10:25).

It is the church of the firstborn who are the first to trust God until our last breath (Heb 12:23, Eph 1:12) as we come to know by God’s grace that we are the unprofitable servants who have done that which was expected of them through Christ (Luk 17:10, Php 2:12-13), and as such will experience the fulfillment of these words, “Behold, the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth: much more the wicked and the sinner” in that blessed and holy first resurrection (1Co 15:52, Rev 20:6).