Audio Download

“The first man is of the earth, earthy:
the second man is the Lord from heaven” Part 2

(Pro 20:11-20)

[Study Aired October 16, 2025]

Pro 20:11  Even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure, and whether it be right.
Pro 20:12  The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the LORD hath made even both of them.
Pro 20:13  Love not sleep, lest thou come to poverty; open thine eyes, and thou shalt be satisfied with bread.
Pro 20:14  It is naught, it is naught, saith the buyer: but when he is gone his way, then he boasteth.
Pro 20:15  There is gold, and a multitude of rubies: but the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel.
Pro 20:16  Take his garment that is surety for a stranger: and take a pledge of him for a strange woman.
Pro 20:17  Bread of deceit is sweet to a man; but afterwards his mouth shall be filled with gravel.
Pro 20:18  Every purpose is established by counsel: and with good advice make war.
Pro 20:19  He that goeth about as a talebearer revealeth secrets: therefore meddle not with him that flattereth with his lips.
Pro 20:20  Whoso curseth his father or his mother, his lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness.

In verse eleven of this weeks study, we read, “Even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure, and whether it be right.” The child represents the younger more physical understanding of the word of God, (Luk 8:11, Luk 8:15, Joh 3:3-7), and tells us something about our level of maturity and comprehension, which we pray the Lord will continue to increase as only He can (1Co 13:11-13, 2Pe 3:18, 1Co 3:6).

Luk 8:11  Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. [like a seed the word has to mature and grow]

Luk 8:15  But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it,[Rev 1:3, Joh 8:31-32] and bring forth fruit with patience.[Luk 21:19, Mat 5:37]

Joh 3:3  Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again [as a manchild], he cannot see the kingdom of God. [which kingdom is maturing within the body of Christ Luk 17:21, Rev 12:5, Rev 12:13]
Joh 3:4  Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? [this question reminds God’s elect of that time when we thought we could enter into the womb of another church [woman] and be born again, when in reality we must be born of water and spirit in Jerusalem above the mother of us all (Gal 4:26) mother]
Joh 3:5  Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
Joh 3:6  That which is born of the flesh is flesh; [God’s elect are born in  fleshly carnal Babylon] and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. [God’s elect are dragged out of Babylon by God’s spirit working in our heavens before we know we are His] (1Co 15:46, Psa 107:2)
Joh 3:7  Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. [we must be redeemed from the hand of the enemy which is our carnal mind that is enmity against the spirit of God (Gal 5:17)]

In this week’s study we’ll look at how the Lord is maturing the manchild within us, even as we deal with very natural physical circumstances, that God works in the elects’ lives (Eph 2:10) so that we can become stablished, strengthened and settled (1Pe 5:10-11), by the God of all grace, who gives us the strength and faith to rule over the powers and principalities that reside in this fleshly realm, to witness to the world how all things, the natural and the spiritual, work together for the good for those who love God and who are called according to His purpose (Eph 6:12, Eph 1:20-21, Rom 8:28).

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.

Pro 20:11  Even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure, and whether it be right.

There is a maturing process for every son of God that we must go through, including Christ who is our example of one who grew in grace and knowledge, in wisdom and stature, which growth He attributed to our Father who gave the increase, as we are blessed to also understand in our own selves, comes from God [Joh 5:30, Joh 15:5, 1Co 3:6].

Luk 2:52  And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.

1Jn 4:17  Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.

Eph 4:13  Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

Christ as a child was known by his doings, that his works were pure and right, even if His physical parents could not understand his actions, they were still exactly what the Father wanted Christ to do and they were being done for our sakes (1Co 3:21), to teach us to follow His example of obedience to our heavenly Father (Joh 14:31, 1Jn 4:17).

Joh 14:31  But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence.

1Jn 4:17  Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.

Christ as a child spake as a child and understood as a child, and needed to grow “in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man” (Luk 2:52, Joh 3:30, 1Jn 4:17). He had his time of being under the schoolmaster in other words as a child, those conditions in his youth of being under his own tutors and governors to later be challenged by the experiences of evil that he would have to go through for his own growth and for our sakes (Mat 4:1, Rom 5:10, Gal 4:1-2, Heb 5:8-9).

Gal 4:1  Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all;
Gal 4:2  But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father.

Heb 5:8  Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;
Heb 5:9  And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;

Pro 20:12  The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the LORD hath made even both of them.

God created our physical senses to teach us spiritual principles in this life (Rom 1:20). We know a man can hear and not hear, a man can see and not see (Joh 9:41, Mat 7:3-5, Mat 13:13). We also know someone can be physically alive and spiritually dead which is the same principle (Luk 9:60, Rev 11:2).

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.

Mat 13:13  Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.

God created all these physical and spiritual laws that govern our existence, he made the “hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the LORD hath made even both of them”. It is stated this way to remind us that life comes from not just hearing the word (Luk 8:15), but also by perceiving it which is what ‘seeing the word’ means (Rev 1:3), this is when we enter into life (Mat 19:17).

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 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 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.

Pro 20:13  Love not sleep, lest thou come to poverty; open thine eyes, and thou shalt be satisfied with bread.

In the physical realm this is true, we shouldn’t over sleep, but spiritually this is talking about being spiritually awake to the battle that we are called unto, to fight a good fight of faith (1Ti 6:12), lest we come to spiritual poverty. Without God’s judgements upon us we would naturally go to sleep spiritually, and so Christ asks the rhetorical question “What, could ye not watch with me one hour? “ that one hour representing the day of the Lord, the day of our judgement that will have us trimming our lamps and receiving of God’s holy spirit. These events would not happen until the holy spirit was given to the church and so Christ was just telling his unknowing disciples that there was no way they were going to be able to watch and pray under those circumstances without God’s holy spirit within them (Joh 6:27, Mat 26:40).

Mat 26:40  And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour?

If we are blessed in this age to be about our Father’s business and not neglect so great a salvation (Mat 6:33), we are promised that we will find our Lord (Jer 29:13) and be “satisfied with bread”.

Jer 29:13  And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

Pro 20:14  It is naught, it is naught, saith the buyer: but when he is gone his way, then he boasteth.

Pro 20:14  The person who buys something from you always says, “It’s no good! It costs too much!” Then that person goes away and tells other people that he made a good deal. [ERV]

Without God’s spirit within us and the faith of Christ (Rom 8:9, Eph 2:8) we would live by our former dishonest conversation where our yes was not yes, and our no was not no (Mat 5:37). We also called “evil good, and good evil; [and] that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; [and] that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter” (Isa 5:20).

These diverse measures and weights is what is being talked about in this proverb when we were boastful and confident, “then he boasteth” in our flesh (Rom 3:27, Php 3:3).

Rom 3:27  Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.

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.

Pro 20:15  There is gold, and a multitude of rubies: but the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel.

This proverb hearkens right back to Christ and the church spoken of in (Pro 3:15-19), where the “manifold wisdom of God” is made known through the church, “according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Eph 3:10, Rom 8:28). It’s Christ’s “lips of knowledge” that are a “precious jewel” on our lips (2Co 4:7-10).

Pro 3:15  She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her.
Pro 3:16  Length of days is in her right hand;[gift of eternal life (Eph 2:8)] and in her left hand riches and honour.
Pro 3:17  Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.
Pro 3:18  She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her [Rev 1:3].
Pro 3:19  The LORD by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens [Php 2:12-13, Mat 28:18].

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,
Eph 3:11  According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:

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.

2Co 4:7  But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.
2Co 4:8  We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;
2Co 4:9  Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;
2Co 4:10  Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus [Rom 5:10, 1Co 10:16], that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.

Pro 20:16  Take his garment that is surety^H6148 for a stranger^H2114: and take a pledge^H2254 of him for a strange woman^H5237”.

Pro 20:16  Take a man’s clothing if he makes himself responsible for a strange man, and get an undertaking (mostly translated ‘pledge’; ‘guarantee payment’-see GNB) from him who gives his word for strange men. (BBE);

Christ took our debt upon himself (1Pe 2:24), and the “strange woman” or “stranger” in this proverb is the church, who is initially cut off from God and Christ, and likened unto a harlot who will be reconciled by the death of Christ. It is by his righteousness that we are saved, typified by His “garment” that we undeservedly received by God’s council and mercy (Psa 22:18, Rom 5:12, Rom 3:25).

1Pe 2:24  Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.

Psa 22:18  They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.

Rom 3:25  Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness (his garment, guarantee of payment) for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;

Taking “a pledge^H2254 of him for a strange woman^H5237” reminds us that it is the Father’s good pleasure to bruise Christ, as this is the only way that we can experience receiving the kingdom of God within, which is also God’s good pleasure to give to the body of Christ (Act 4:27, Luk 12:32). The surety^H6148 spoken of in this proverb represents the cost, or means by which the stranger will be reconciled, that being by the life of Christ. The pledge^H2254 also reminds us that Christ was bound to the altar for us, and by His life and death we can also be bound to an altar in this age that the world does not have any right to eat at. God knows we need to eat at that altar if we are going to be given to endure until the end and be saved in this age (Heb 13:10, Mat 24:13).

H2114 stranger 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).

H6148 surety ‛ârab aw-rab’
A primitive root; to braid, that is, intermix; technically to traffic (as if by barter); also to give or be security (as a kind of exchange): – engage, (inter-) meddle (with), mingle (self), mortgage, occupy, give pledges, be (-come, put in) surety, undertake.

H2254 pledge châbal khaw-bal’
A primitive root; to wind tightly (as a rope), that is, to bind; specifically by a pledge; figuratively to pervert, destroy; also to writhe in pain (especially of parturition): –    X at all, band, bring forth, (deal) corrupt (-ly) destroy, offend, lay to (take a) pledge, spoil, travail, X very, withhold.

H5237 strange woman nokrı̂y nok-ree’
From H5235 (second form); strange, in a variety of degrees and applications (foreign, non-relative, adulterous, different, wonderful): – alien, foreigner, outlandish, strange (-r, woman).

Pro 20:17  Bread of deceit is sweet to a man; but afterwards his mouth shall be filled with gravel.

The bread of deceit is the smooth way of Babylon and not the strait and narrow way God’s children are called unto (Mat 7:13-14). It is the negative bread that is eaten in secret (Pro 9:17), and the negative experience of eating that which is sweet in the mouth “but afterwards his mouth shall be filled with gravel^H2687”. The definition of this Strong’s number for ‘gravel’ gives us the sense that this false bread cuts and divides.  God’s truth on the other hand is sweet in the mouth and bitter in the belly where it accomplishes its work of humbling God’s elect in this age through the plagues that are poured out on us (Rev 10:9-10, Act 14:22, Rev 15:8).

H2687 gravel  châtsâts khaw-tsawts’
From H2686; properly something cutting; hence gravel (as grit); also (like H2671) an arrow: – arrow, gravel (stone).

H2686: A primitive root (compare H2673); properly to chop into, pierce or sever; hence to curtail, to distribute (into ranks); as denominative from H2671; to shoot an arrow: – archer, X bands, cut off in the midst.

Rev 10:9  And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.
Rev 10:10  And I took the little book out of the angel’s hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.

Rev 15:8  And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.

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

Pro 8:14  Counsel is mine [Eph 3:10], and sound wisdom: I am understanding; I have strength.

Pro 11:14  Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety.[Eph 3:10]

Pro 12:15  The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise.[Eph 3:10]

Pro 15:22  Without counsel purposes are disappointed: but in the multitude of counsellors they are established.[Eph 3:10]

Pro 19:20  Hear counsel, and receive instruction, that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end.[Eph 3:10]

Pro 19:21  There are many devices in a man’s heart; nevertheless the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand.[Eph 3:10]

Pro 20:18  Every purpose is established by counsel: and with good advice make war.[Eph 3:10]

Pro 24:6  For by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war: and in multitude of counsellors there is safety.[Eph 3:10]

Pro 20:19  He that goeth about as a talebearer revealeth secrets: therefore meddle not with him that flattereth with his lips.

A person who gossips as a talebearer and reveals secrets is identified as one who “flattereth with his lips”. That is the carnal first man Adam’s way of seeking advantage for himself at every turn (Pro 20:14), using flattery to smooth the deceitful path that our former conversation had us on in this world where we did not know how to cover the sins of others, but with loose lips were talebearers who revealed secrets.

We are fully aware that we are guilty of all and what is interesting to note is that one sin in scripture is often associated with another sin, in this case ‘gossip’ and ‘flattering’. Another example that is telling us the same thing this proverb is telling us, would be the thief who comes to steal and to kill and to destroy (Joh 10:10).

Joh 10:10  The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

Pro 20:20  Whoso curseth his father or his mother, his lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness.

This is speaking of our spiritual Father and Jerusalem above the mother of us all (Gal 4:26). If we don’t mortify the deeds of our flesh and become as those who are blessed to be positively cursed by hanging on a tree and living by the faith of Christ (Gal 2:20, Deu 21:23) then our spiritual “lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness” as a result of our troubling our own house and not kissing the son (Pro 11:29, Psa 2:12).

Gal 4:26  But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.

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.

Deu 21:23  His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; (for he that is hanged is accursed of God;) that thy land be not defiled, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.

Pro 11:29  He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind: and the fool shall be servant to the wise of heart.

Psa 2:12  Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.