Words and Work (Proverbs 10–15)

Wisdom rarely shouts; it nudges. Stepping into Proverbs 10–15, we trade long arguments for vivid, standalone sayings that hit where life happens—conflict, choices, friendships, integrity, and prayer. We unpack why these proverbs are principles rather than promises, how Hebrew parallelism sharpens their meaning, and where their realism meets the mess of everyday decisions.

We dig into forgiveness that stops keeping score, showing how “love covers all offenses” clears the fog of resentment. From there, we explore why gentle answers can defuse tense moments without watering down truth, and how integrity brings a deep kind of security—even when the dishonest seem to win. We press on the practical: why healthy reverence for God tends to lengthen life by reducing self-inflicted harm, and how wise counsel lowers the odds of regret by widening your field of view.

Community becomes a classroom: “walk with the wise” and you borrow their judgment, their calm, and their pace. We wrestle with the pull of public opinion—when the way that “seems right” to the crowd can still end in harm—and we bring it back to prayer as relationship, not ritual. The thread through it all is speech: words that heal, guide, and protect when they’re chosen with care.

If you’re ready for wisdom that works on Monday morning, not just Sunday, this conversation offers clear steps: empty the pot of old offenses, invite counsel into your big decisions, choose friends who sharpen you, and pre‑decide to answer softly and honestly. Subscribe, share this episode with a friend who loves Proverbs, and leave a review telling us which proverb you’re putting into practice this week.

The Christian's Compass is a companion study guide that corresponds to each of these lessons along The Wisdom Journey. Download a copy for free, or cover the cost of printing and shipping and we'll mail you a booklet.

Learn More: https://www.wisdomonline.org/mp/the-christians-compass

Chapters

• 0:00 From Introduction To Standalone Proverbs
• 3:47 How Hebrew Parallelism Works
• 5:07 Principles Not Promises
• 7:02 Love Covers Offenses
• 8:22 Fear Of The Lord And Longevity
• 10:12 Safety In Many Counselors
• 11:52 Loving Discipline And Correction

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 1:16

What we've studied so far in the first nine chapters of Proverbs is in many ways an introduction. We've been given the great importance of wisdom. We've been invited to pursue wisdom, to dig for wisdom, to embrace the wisdom of God. We've also been given some warnings about rejecting the wisdom of God. Now, with that, we come here to chapter 10, where verse 1 repeats the book's title, The Proverbs of Solomon. And what we have here is the beginning of a rather long section of the book that gives us a series of individual isolated proverbs. Each verse or each proverb stands alone. There isn't any extended discussion. And what that means is that from here on, most of this book is going to be impossible to outline. If you're a Bible teacher or a pastor or a missionary and you've tried to teach through this book, you know what I'm facing right now. Solomon is going to touch on a number of topics, and he's going to do it rapidly, and frankly, he's going to do it repeatedly. Now, if you go back to 1 Kings chapter 4 and verse 32, we're told that Solomon spoke 3,000 Proverbs. So here in the book of Proverbs, we only have a small collection of them. However, these are the Proverbs the Spirit of God wanted to preserve in his inspired record of Scripture. We're not given all the Proverbs, but these are the Proverbs God wanted us to have. Now, let me say a couple of things about Hebrew Proverbs. They're written in poetic style, and what you're going to notice most often is something called parallelism. What that means is the second line of the proverb parallels the first line. In fact, the second line often repeats the thought of the first line and just uses different words. Sometimes the second line creates a contrast to the first line. Here in chapter 10, back at verse 1, we read, A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish son is sorrow to his mother. Well, there's the contrast. Well, another thing to keep in mind is that a proverb is not a guarantee. It's a general rule, a general principle. It generally comes true, but not always in everyone's life. For instance, over here in verse 9 we read, Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but he who makes his ways crooked will be found out. Well, let me tell you, there are a lot of honest people in the world who've been mistreated, and there are a lot of crooked people in the world who seem to have it made. They never get caught. But this principle is a general rule. It generally holds true in life, and that's why honest people live with the security of knowing they're doing the right thing. Crooked people, well, generally they're going to be looking over their shoulder to see if they've been found out. Now, as we go through many of these proverbs, I want you to keep in mind that they offer general principles to follow. Like this one down here in verse twelve. Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses. Well, the first part is rather obvious. Hatred creates conflict. But love, he says, covers all offenses. That is, a loving person is willing to forgive other people. You know, some people put every little offense against them into a pot and they keep it on the stove burner of their heart. And every day they walk by there and they stir that pot. They want to remember what somebody said or what they did that hurt their feelings. So this particular proverb really creates a question for us in terms of application. And the question to ask ourselves with this proverb is this Are we going to empty out that pot or do we want to keep on stirring it up? Now down here in verse 27, we have another proverb that Solomon has already touched on. It reads, The fear of the Lord prolongs life, but the years of the wicked will be short. Now again, this is a general principle. You live a holy life, and it'll generally be a healthier life and a little longer life because you're not going to abuse your body. But there are exceptions. This isn't a guarantee. I know godly people who've died young. And I know some really sinful people who just they just never seem to get old. Well, let me illustrate this general principle in this manner. If I drive according to the speed limit and I stop at red lights and I don't race around corners, well, I'm probably going to live a little longer than somebody who thinks he's entered a racing event every time he gets behind the wheel. I was on the interstate the other day, and a guy passed me doing well over 100 miles an hour. He's weaving around cars recklessly. Now, I might be the one who gets into an accident at some point, and that man may never get into an accident. But in general, he's much more at risk of dying on the highway than I am. Well, that's the idea here. The person who walks with God is living a healthier life. That's more likely to lead to a longer life than somebody who's living a reckless and a sinful life. Well, now here in chapter 11 and verse 14, you have a proverb that offers a good reminder when you need some direction in life. Here's what the proverb says. But in abundance of counselors there is safety. That's a wonderful principle to follow. Don't make important decisions without consulting others. God has given us fellow believers, he's given us spiritual leaders, spiritual mentors, who can offer us, you know, a little different perspective, a different experience in life, some biblical insights that can guard us from making uh the wrong decision. Sometimes you have to make a decision all by yourself. Now, in the first verse of chapter twelve, we read this Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid. Even though discipline or correction is humbling and and probably embarrassing, a wise person accepts correction and instruction. Stupidity denies it or refuses it. Now here in chapter thirteen, down in verse twenty, we have a principle that appears often in in this collection of Proverbs. Let me deal with it here. And it says this Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm. Let's apply this proverb with this question. Who are your best friends? Who are the people you hang out with? To whom have you effectively given permission to influence your life? Are they wise? Well then their wisdom is going to rub off on you, or the lack thereof. So choose your friends, your close friends, carefully. Now here in chapter fourteen, we're told why good counsel and discipline are needed. Verse twelve reads, There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death. I can't frankly think of a better description of our world than this proverb. People believe that whatever the majority opinion is, well, it's got to be right. Whatever our country legalizes, well, it must be right. Whatever our culture uh approves must be right. Well, let me tell you, what is politically and socially correct is most often biblically corrupt. Well now finally, uh for today, let's touch down over here in chapter 15 and verse 29, which gives us uh both a word of assurance and it gives us a word of warning. The Lord is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous. You know, I hear a lot of people today in our word talking about praying, especially when there's a problem. There's praying about, you know, this or that. But let me tell you, that doesn't mean God is necessarily listening. Praying to God depends on a partnership with God. You can't pray our Father who is in heaven, unless he's your heavenly father. He can't be your heavenly father, by the way, unless his Son is your Savior. That's how you get into the family of God through Jesus Christ alone. And when you come to Christ, well guess what? You begin a partnership. You begin, you enter a relationship with your heavenly father. I actually want to highlight uh just one more theme that runs through chapters 10 through 15, and that's the topic of speech or your words. There are few, if any, topics given more attention in the book of Proverbs than our speech. Proverbs has a lot to say about what we say. In fact, here in chapter 15 now and verse 1, we read this proverb that uh I want you to remember today. A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. In other words, tense situations can be diffused by gracious words. Words can start a war, the right words can end a war. So let's let's use our words today with great wisdom. Until our next wisdom journey, beloved, may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.