Good understanding wins favor, but the way of the faithless is difficult. Good understandingThe Hebrew word for "understanding" is "sekel," which implies insight, prudence, or wisdom. In the biblical context, this understanding is not merely intellectual but deeply spiritual, rooted in the fear of the Lord ( Proverbs 9:10). It suggests a discernment that aligns with God's will and purposes. Historically, those who possessed such understanding were often sought after for counsel and leadership, as seen in the lives of Joseph and Daniel. This understanding is a gift from God, cultivated through a relationship with Him and a commitment to His Word. Wins favor
The phrase "wins favor" indicates the positive outcomes that result from possessing good understanding. The Hebrew word "chen" for "favor" can also mean grace or acceptance. In a conservative Christian perspective, this favor is not just from humans but primarily from God. It reflects the biblical principle that when one's ways please the Lord, He makes even their enemies to be at peace with them (Proverbs 16:7). This favor is a divine endorsement that opens doors and creates opportunities for influence and impact. But the way of the faithless
The "faithless" are those who lack fidelity to God and His commandments. The Hebrew term "bagad" suggests treachery or deceit. In the biblical narrative, faithlessness is often associated with idolatry and rebellion against God. The "way" of the faithless is a lifestyle or path characterized by moral and spiritual deviation. This path is contrasted with the righteous path, which leads to life and peace. The faithless are those who trust in their own understanding rather than acknowledging God in all their ways (Proverbs 3:5-6). Is difficult
The Hebrew word "eytan" translated as "difficult" can also mean perpetual or enduring. It suggests a path that is hard, fraught with obstacles, and ultimately unsustainable. From a conservative Christian viewpoint, this difficulty is not merely circumstantial but spiritual, as it reflects the consequences of living apart from God's wisdom and guidance. The faithless path leads to destruction, as it is devoid of the light and truth that come from walking with God. This serves as a warning and a call to repentance, urging individuals to seek the Lord while He may be found and to walk in His ways. Persons / Places / Events 1. SolomonTraditionally regarded as the author of Proverbs, Solomon was the son of King David and known for his wisdom. His insights into human behavior and godly living are captured in the book of Proverbs. 2. IsraelThe nation to whom the Proverbs were initially addressed. The wisdom literature was intended to guide the Israelites in living according to God's laws and principles. 3. The FaithlessThis term refers to those who reject God's ways and live according to their own understanding, often leading to a life of hardship and difficulty. Teaching Points The Value of Godly WisdomGood understanding, rooted in God's wisdom, leads to favor and success in life. Pursuing wisdom through prayer, study, and application of God's Word is essential for a fruitful Christian life. Consequences of FaithlessnessLiving a life apart from God's guidance results in difficulties and hardships. The faithless path is fraught with challenges that could be avoided by adhering to God's principles. The Importance of FavorFavor is not merely about human approval but about aligning oneself with God's will, which brings peace and blessings. Seek to live in a way that pleases God, and His favor will follow. The Role of Understanding in RelationshipsGood understanding fosters healthy relationships, as it involves empathy, patience, and wisdom. Strive to understand others and apply biblical principles in all interactions. The Path of the RighteousThe righteous path, though sometimes challenging, ultimately leads to life and peace. Commit to walking in righteousness, trusting that God's ways are higher and better. Bible Study Questions 1. How does the concept of "good understanding" in Proverbs 13:15 relate to the wisdom described in James 1:5? 2. In what ways can we cultivate a "good understanding" in our daily lives, and how does this lead to favor? 3. Reflect on a time when choosing a faithless path led to difficulties. How might applying Proverbs 13:15 have changed the outcome? 4. How can we discern between human favor and God's favor, and why is the latter more important? 5. Compare the "way of the faithless" in Proverbs 13:15 with the "broad road" in Matthew 7:13-14. What practical steps can we take to ensure we are on the path that leads to life? Connections to Other Scriptures Proverbs 3:5-6This passage emphasizes trusting in the Lord and not leaning on one's own understanding, which aligns with the idea that good understanding, rooted in God, brings favor. Psalm 1:1-3The contrast between the righteous and the wicked is similar to the contrast in Proverbs 13:15, where the righteous are blessed and the wicked face difficulties. Matthew 7:13-14Jesus speaks of the narrow and wide gates, paralleling the idea that the way of the faithless is difficult, much like the broad road leading to destruction. People SolomonPlaces JerusalemTopics Approval, Behaviour, Destruction, Faithless, Favor, Favour, Gets, Giveth, Grace, Harsh, Procureth, Produces, Ruin, Sense, Transgressor, Transgressors, Treacherous, Understanding, Unfaithful, Wins, WiseDictionary of Bible Themes Proverbs 13:15 5861 favour, human
8355 understanding Proverbs 13:15-22 6024 sin, effects of Library The Tillage of the Poor
'Much food is in the tillage of the poor.'--PROVERBS xiii. 23. Palestine was a land of small peasant proprietors, and the institution of the Jubilee was intended to prevent the acquisition of large estates by any Israelite. The consequence, as intended, was a level of modest prosperity. It was 'the tillage of the poor,' the careful, diligent husbandry of the man who had only a little patch of land to look after, that filled the storehouses of the Holy Land. Hence the proverb of our text arose. It …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy ScriptureThe Poor Rich and the Rich Poor
'There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing; there is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches.'--PROVERBS xiii. 7. Two singularly-contrasted characters are set in opposition here. One, that of a man who lives like a millionaire and is a pauper; another, that of a man who lives like a pauper and is rich. The latter character, that of a man who hides and hoards his wealth, was, perhaps, more common in the days when this collection of Proverbs was put together, because in all ill-governed …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture Practical Methods of Studying the Old Testament
[Sidenote: The various methods of approach] The Old Testament may be studied as literature, as history, as the record of an important stage in the evolution of religion, as the revelation of God to the race, or as a practical aid to the individual in living the true life. Each angle of approach calls for different methods and yields its correspondingly rich results. Studied in accordance with the canons of modern literary investigation, a literature is disclosed of surpassing variety, beauty, and …
Charles Foster Kent—The Origin & Permanent Value of the Old Testament The Song of the Redeemed
And they sung a new song, saying, Thou ... hast redeemed us to God by Thy blood, out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation ... T he extent, variety, and order of the creation, proclaim the glory of God. He is likewise, ^* Maximus in Minimis . The smallest of the works, that we are capable of examining, such for instance as the eye or the wing of a little insect, the creature of a day, are stamped with an inimitable impression of His wisdom and power. Thus in His written Word, there …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 2 The Heavenly Footman; Or, a Description of the Man that Gets to Heaven:
TOGETHER WITH THE WAY HE RUNS IN, THE MARKS HE GOES BY; ALSO, SOME DIRECTIONS HOW TO RUN SO AS TO OBTAIN. 'And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain: escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.'--Genesis 19:17. London: Printed for John Marshall, at the Bible in Gracechurch Street, 1698. ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. About forty years ago a gentleman, in whose company I had commenced my …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3 "And this is his Commandment," &C.
1 John iii. 23.--"And this is his commandment," &c. There are different tempers of mind among men, some more smooth and pliable, others more refractory and froward. Some may be persuaded by love, who cannot be constrained by fear. With some a request will more prevail than a command. Others again are of a harsher disposition. Love and condescension doth rather embolden them, and therefore they must be restrained with the bridle of authority. It would seem that the Lord hath some regard to this in …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning Second Sunday after Easter
Text: First Peter 2, 20-25. 20 For what glory is it, if, when ye sin, and are buffeted for it, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye shall take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. 21 For hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that ye should follow his steps: 22 who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: 23 who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, threatened not; but committed …
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. II How is Christ, as the Life, to be Applied by a Soul that Misseth God's Favour and Countenance.
The sixth case, that we shall speak a little to, is a deadness, occasioned by the Lord's hiding of himself, who is their life, and "the fountain of life," Ps. xxxvi. 9, and "whose loving-kindness is better than life," Ps. lxiii. 3, and "in whose favour is their life," Ps. xxx. 5. A case, which the frequent complaints of the saints manifest to be rife enough, concerning which we shall, 1. Shew some of the consequences of the Lord's hiding his face, whereby the soul's case will appear. 2. Shew the …
John Brown (of Wamphray)—Christ The Way, The Truth, and The Life Opposition to Messiah Ruinous
Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel T here is a species of the sublime in writing, which seems peculiar to the Scripture, and of which, properly, no subjects but those of divine revelation are capable, With us, things inconsiderable in themselves are elevated by splendid images, which give them an apparent importance beyond what they can justly claim. Thus the poet, when describing a battle among bees, by a judicious selection of epithets …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 2 "But if Ye have Bitter Envying and Strife in Your Hearts, Glory Not," &C.
James iii. 14.--"But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not," &c. It is a common evil of those who hear the gospel, that they are not delivered up to the mould and frame of religion that is holden out in it, but rather bring religion into a mould of their own invention. It was the special commendation of the Romans, that they obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine into which they were delivered, (Rom. vi. 17) that they who were once servants, or slaves of sin, had now …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning "But Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God, and his Righteousness, and all These Things Shall be Added unto You. "
Matth. vi. 33.--"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you." The perfection even of the most upright creature, speaks always some imperfection in comparison of God, who is most perfect. The heavens, the sun and moon, in respect of lower things here, how glorious do they appear, and without spot! But behold, they are not clean in God's sight! How far are the angels above us who dwell in clay! They appear to be a pure mass of light and …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning Blessed are the Poor in Spirit
Having spoken of the general notion of blessedness, I come next to consider the subjects of this blessedness, and these our Saviour has deciphered to be the poor in spirit, the mourners, etc. But before I touch upon these, I shall attempt a little preface or paraphrase upon this sermon of the beatitudes. 1 Observe the divinity in this sermon, which goes beyond all philosophy. The philosophers use to say that one contrary expels another; but here one contrary begets another. Poverty is wont to expel …
Thomas Watson—The Beatitudes: An Exposition of Matthew 5:1-12 Proverbs
Many specimens of the so-called Wisdom Literature are preserved for us in the book of Proverbs, for its contents are by no means confined to what we call proverbs. The first nine chapters constitute a continuous discourse, almost in the manner of a sermon; and of the last two chapters, ch. xxx. is largely made up of enigmas, and xxxi. is in part a description of the good housewife. All, however, are rightly subsumed under the idea of wisdom, which to the Hebrew had always moral relations. The Hebrew …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links Proverbs 13:15 NIVProverbs 13:15 NLTProverbs 13:15 ESVProverbs 13:15 NASBProverbs 13:15 KJV
Proverbs 13:15 Commentaries
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