Tuesday, February 14, 2023

What Does The Book OF Proverbs Say Today? Part 9

 Evil

 

1 Evil = n. anything that causes harm or injury, misfortune, or wickedness.

adj. morally bad; wicked, as evil ways.  

2 Evil = adj. 1 bad, evil; a. bad, disagreeable, malignant; b. bad, unpleasant, evil (giving pain, unhappiness, misery); c. evil, displeasing; d. bad (of its kind - land, water, etc); e. bad (of value); f. worse than, worst (comparison); g. sad, unhappy; h. evil (hurtful); i. bad, unkind (vicious in disposition); j. bad, evil, wicked (ethically); 1. in general, of persons, of thoughts; 2. deeds, actions n m. 2 evil, distress, misery, injury, calamity; a. evil, distress, adversity; b. evil, injury, wrong; c. evil (ethical) n f. 3 evil, misery, distress, injury; a. evil, misery, distress; b. evil, injury, wrong; c. evil (ethical)

 

“When wisdom enters your heart and knowledge is pleasant to your soul, discretion will preserve you; understanding will keep you, to deliver you from the way of evil, from the man who speaks perverse things, from those who leave the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness; who rejoice in doing evil, and delight in the perversity of the wicked; whose ways are crooked, and who are devious in their paths; Do not devise evil against your neighbor,

for he dwells by you for safety’s sake. Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of evil. Avoid it, do not travel on it; turn away from it and pass on. For they do not sleep unless they have done evil; and their sleep is taken away (lit. robbed) unless they make someone fall. For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence. A worthless person, a wicked man, walks with a perverse mouth; he winks with his eyes, he shuffles (gives signals, lit. scrapes) his feet, he points with his fingers; perversity is in his heart, he devises evil continually, he sows discord. Therefore his calamity shall come suddenly; suddenly he shall be broken without remedy. He who winks with the eye causes trouble, but a prating fool will fall. To do evil is like sport to a fool, but a man of understanding has wisdom. He who earnestly seeks good finds (lit. seeks) favor, but trouble will come to him who seeks evil. He who troubles his own house will inherit the wind, and the fool will be servant to the wise of heart. The wicked covet the catch of evil men, but the root of the righteous yields fruit. The wicked is ensnared by the transgression of his lips, but the righteous will come through trouble. No grave trouble (harm) will overtake the righteous, but the wicked shall be filled with evil. Evil pursues sinners, but to the righteous, good shall be repaid. Do they not go astray who devise evil? But mercy and truth belong to those who devise good. All the days of the afflicted are evil, but he who is of a merry heart has a continual feast. An unGODly man (lit. A man of Belial) digs up evil, and it is on his lips like a burning fire. A perverse man sows strife, and a whisperer separates the best of friends. A violent man entices his neighbor, and leads him in a way that is not good. He winks his eye to devise perverse things; he purses (lit. compresses) his lips and brings about evil. An evildoer gives heed to false lips; a liar listens eagerly to a spiteful (lit. destructive) tongue. He who mocks the poor reproaches his Maker; he who is glad at calamity will not go unpunished. An evil man seeks only rebellion; therefore a cruel messenger will be sent against him. Whoever rewards evil for good, evil will not depart from his house. He who has a deceitful (crooked) heart finds no good, and he who has a perverse tongue falls into evil. The fear of the Lord leads to life, and he who has it will abide in satisfaction; he will not be visited with evil. The soul of the wicked desires evil; his neighbor finds no favor in his eyes. Do not be envious of evil men, nor desire to be with them; for their heart devises violence, and their lips talk of troublemaking. He does not open his mouth in the gate. He who plots to do evil will be called a schemer (lit. master of evil plots). The devising of foolishness is sin, and the scoffer is an abomination to men. Do not fret because of evildoers, nor be envious of the wicked; for there will be no prospect for the evil man; the lamp of the wicked will be put out. Evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the Lord understand all. Better is the poor who walks in his integrity than one perverse in his ways, though he be rich. Whoever causes the upright to go astray in an evil way, he himself will fall into his own pit; but the blameless will inherit good. A man with an evil eye hastens after riches, and does not consider that poverty will come upon him. By transgression an evil man is snared, but the righteous sings and rejoices. The bloodthirsty hate the blameless, but the upright seek his well-being (lit. soul or life). Whoever is a partner with a thief hates his own life; he swears (lit. hears the adjuration or oath) to tell the truth, but reveals nothing. If you have been foolish in exalting yourself, or if you have devised evil, put your hand on your mouth. For as the churning of milk produces butter, and wringing the nose produces blood, so the forcing of wrath produces strife.” (Proverbs 2:10-15; 3:29; 4:14-17; 6:12-15; 10:10, 23; 11:27, 29; 12:12-13, 21; 13:21, 14:22; 15:15; 16:27-30; 17:4-5, 11, 13, 20; 19:23; 21:10; 24: 1-2, 8-9, 19-20; 28:5-6, 10, 22; 29:6, 10, 24; 30:32-33)

 

“He who earnestly seeks good finds (lit. seeks) favor… Evil pursues sinners…” Proverbs 11:27a, 13:21a. Evil, like a rabid dog will chase us down but we have to pursue being good. “A good man obtains favor from the LORD, but a man of wicked intentions He will condemn.” Proverbs 12:2

 

“To do evil is like sport to a fool. But a man of understanding has wisdom.” Proverbs 10:23.

The Bible teaches that evil is disobedience or rebellion to GOD, Deuteronomy 30:15-16, “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, in that I command you today to love the LORD your GOD, to walk in His ways, and to keep His Commandments, His Statutes, and His Judgments, that you may live and multiply; and that the LORD your GOD will bless you in the land which you go to possess.” Evil or wickedness comes easy to mankind. Genesis 6:5, “Then the LORD (so with MT, Tg.; Vg. GOD; LXX LORD GOD) saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent (thought) of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually (all the day).” Genesis 8:21b “… I will never again curse the ground for man’s sake, although the imagination (intent or thought) of man’s heart is evil from his youth…”. Paul says in Romans 7:19 and 21, “For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good.” Solomon tells us that there are people who will entice us to do evil, making it sound good, study 1 Timothy 6:10, Micah 2:1-3, 2 Kings 5:20-27. He shows us the personality of the wicked and tells us their calamity is without remedy.  That is both now and in eternity if they do not repent.  Study Romans 6:15-23. Study Proverbs 10 in which each verse contrasts evil and good and the results of both.

 

“A worthless person, a wicked man, walks with a perverse mouth; he winks with his eyes, he shuffles (gives signals, lit. scrapes) his feet, he points with his fingers; perversity is in his heart, he devises evil continually, he sows discord. Therefore his calamity shall come suddenly; suddenly he shall be broken without remedy.” Proverbs 6:12-15 the key thought in this passage is the suddenness of judgment or destruction of the wicked. JESUS taught this through several parables, like, “Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his mater made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season (the right time)? Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find him so doing. Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods. But if that evil servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming (NU omits his coming)’, and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards, the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Matthew 24:45-51, study Psalm 112; Matthew 25:1-13; Mark 13:32-37; 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11; 2 Peter 3.

 

But, what about those who are deceived into evil? “A perverse man sows strife, and a whisperer separates the best of friends. A violent man entices his neighbor, and leads him in a way that is not good. He winks his eye to devise perverse things; he purses (lit. compresses) his lips and brings about evil.” Proverbs 16:28-30 Not only does Solomon in Proverbs warn us not to be deceived but so does JESUS, David and the writers of the New Testament; study Psalm 43:1; Matthew 6:13, 13:22, 24:11-14; John 17:15; Romans 1:18-32; 2 Corinthians 11:12-15; Ephesians 5:1-7; 2 Timothy 3:10-17 (verses 16-17 are the key to not being deceived); 1 John 1:5-10, 5:18-21; 2 John :7-11.

3 Deceive (di-sev’) v. -ceived, -ceiving. To mislead or delude. Syns: DELUDE, DUPE,FOOL, HOODWINK, MISLEAD –de-ceiv’a-ble adj. –de-ceiv’er n.

But, “Whoever causes the upright to go astray in an evil way, he himself will fall into his own pit; but the blameless will inherit good.” Proverbs 28:10

 

This is the heart attitude that is referred to in Proverbs 1:20-33 “Wisdom calls aloud outside; She raises her voice in the open squares. She cries out in the chief concourses, at the openings of the gates in the city She speaks her words: ‘How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity? For scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge. Turn at my rebuke; surely I will pour out my SPIRIT on you; I will make my words known to you. Because I have called and you refused, I have stretched out my hand and no one regarded, because you disdained all my counsel, and would have none of my rebuke, I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your terror comes, when your terror comes like a storm, and your destruction comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you.’ Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently, but they will not find me. Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord, they would have none of my counsel and despised my every rebuke. Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their own way, and be filled to the full with their own fancies. For the turning away of the simple will slay them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them; but whoever listens to me will dwell safely, and will be secure, without fear of evil.”

This is a critical point, turning away from righteousness or complacency towards the Word of GOD has the same result as open rebellion or evil behavior.

 


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