Theme: Right Scales
Text: Proverbs: 11:1-11
Greetings: The Lord is good and his love endures forever.
Illustration:
In Europe in the 14th century, unemployed soldiers often became small armies of bandits and robbed and burned and killed, and raped towns and villages all over Europe.
These brutal criminals often negotiated with a town before attacking it. If the town agreed to give the brutes a large amount of money, the army left the city alone. If the town refused to give the money or could not give the money, they attacked. These were done with formal negotiations and contracts.
They have discovered that when these horrible men came to a monastery, they insisted on money as well – but they also demanded that the priests of the monastery give them a written document saying that all their sins were forgiven.(Adopted).
Introduction:
Proverbs 11 is a collection of thirty-one sayings. Many of the proverbs have to do with the proper and improper behavior of the righteous and wicked.
1. Dishonesty scales (Proverbs 11:1).
For any business, the balance or scale is extremely important. It gives the value of the money and the materials. The weighing business is found all throughout Scripture. Abraham “weighed silver” to buy a burial ground (Genesis 23). Egyptians used weighing scales to procure and distribute the grains.
Today, we have Coins and Rupees with their value inscribed on them. The “false balance” is intentionally manipulated to read falsely.
A false balance gives the traders an advantage. This memorable proverb clearly addresses matters of honesty and dishonesty. This proverb clearly denounces deception and dishonesty in the areas of business and finance. It most obviously endorses economic fairness and equity.
God hates dishonesty but financial dishonesty is an ABOMINATION to God. God loves honesty but financial honesty in particular DELIGHTS Him.
Matthew Henry says: “Nothing is more offensive to God than deceit in commerce. Nothing is more pleasing to God than fair and honest dealing, nor more necessary to make us and our devotions acceptable to him”
Two important Bible passages are referred to for our clarity. Leviticus 19:35-36, “Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in meteyard, in weight, or in measure. Just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin, shall ye have.” Forty years later, Moses repeated in Deuteronomy 25:13-15, “Thou shalt not have in thy bag divers’ weights, a great and a small. Thou shalt not have in thine house divers’ measures, a great and a small. But thou shalt have a perfect and just weight, a perfect and just measure shalt thou have: that thy days may be lengthened in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.”
2. Disgraceful Behaviour (Proverbs 11:2).
This verse contrasts pride and humility. The word for "pride" used here is za'don, which also means "arrogance." The pride, the ego, highly esteeming self are against the measures of the LORD.
John W. Ritenbaugh explains that the word pride in Proverbs 11:2 means "boiling up," or we might say, "puffed up." It can mean "to overstep the boundaries." He further says that the proud person has an inflated opinion of himself and/or his possessions, abilities, powers, and accomplishments. This exists because pride has deceived him about his importance.
There is a difference between Pride and confidence. God hates the pride but he helps the man who has confidence in God and God-given abilities. But humility means not thinking of yourself as greater than you are, but rather spending your time thinking about God or other people comes from wisdom. This kind of humility is a sure foundation for a life of credibility and genuine confidence.
The contrasting line in Proverbs 11:2b does not say that the humble are honored, but that they have wisdom. Remember that honor and riches accompany wisdom. The pride has no wisdom and receives dishonor. The humble are wise and receive honor. Humility and wisdom seemed to be tied together in a couple of ways. First, the humble person is teachable and successful. The proud person is arrogant and arguable and ruined. The proud person's vanity pushes him into conduct that will end in shame.
Catholic Bishops Notes: “Those who do not demand their due receive wisdom.”
Poole says the Humble “kept from those foolish and wicked actions which expose men to shame.”
Gill comments: “Humble followers, who reckon themselves the least of saints, and chief of sinners, and own that it is by the grace of God they are what they are, is true wisdom; they are wise unto salvation, and in the way to honor and glory; such humble souls shall be exalted, Luke 14:11.”
Pulpit Commentary: "Mysteries are revealed unto the meek" (Psalm 25:9, 14). The humble are already rewarded with wisdom because their disposition fits them to receive grace and God's gifts (Proverbs 15:33).
Septuagint says "The mouth of the humble meditates wisdom." (Proverbs 11:2).
A rabbinic paraphrase of the second clause is: "Lowly souls become full of wisdom as the low place becomes full of water."
3. Disgusting Deeds (Proverbs 11:3-11).
“The integrity of the honest keeps them on track; the deviousness of crooks brings them to ruin.” (MSG). “Business may well be the most common human activity, so God cares deeply about how we conduct our business. Many proverbs address honesty in all forms of business—buying, selling, negotiating, transacting, and working. All of these depend on trust. Deceit in business causes many people to suffer. In fact, world economies and all our livelihoods depend in large measure on truthfulness, honesty, and fair dealings in the market.” (MSG Bible Notes).
“Integrity is built by defeating the temptation to be dishonest; humility grows when we refuse to be prideful; and endurance develops every time you reject the temptation to give up.” (Rick Warren).
Wealth will do no good for the fool when the day of accountability arrives. God cannot be bought off. The one who has chosen to live a life of integrity, though, will be rewarded for his right living. Living a life of moral character and integrity will bring its own rewards: respectability, trust, and loyalty, just to name a few.
Revolting is another hateful thing to the LORD. The integrity of an honest man will itself be his guide in the way of duty and the way of safety. The iniquity of a bad man will itself be his ruin. The plainness of a good man will be his protection, and the perverseness of sinners will be their destruction. Disgusting attitude is a leader on the path of Seoul. Riches can’t save a man from death but righteousness delivers the man.
KORAH was a Levite of the Exodus generation who became disgruntled by the fact that only Aaron and his sons could serve as priests before Yahweh (Numbers 16). Korah incited a rebellion among the people so that a large portion of Israel rejected Yahweh’s choice of leadership both religiously (Aaron) and politically (Moses). Korah represents the person of contradiction, or speaking against, controversy, question, strife, contumely, reproach, or rebellion. The idea here seems to be, that they were guilty of insubordination, of possessing a restless and dissatisfied spirit, and of a desire to rule.
William Barclay says that Korah stands for the man who refuses to accept authority and reaches out for things that he has no right to have. Austin Precept writes that to rebel against God's chosen leaders is tantamount to rebellion against Him (Numbers 16:30). Rebellion literally means speaking against or "talking back" reflective of opposition and/or rebellion. In Numbers 16:1-3 Korah spoke against means "opposed" or "contradicted" God's servant Moses.
Provers 11:3-8 describes the security of the righteous. That good men are generally well-beloved by their neighbors, but nobody cares for wicked people. Good people are helped out of the distresses which they thought themselves lost in, and their feet are set in a large room (Psalm 34:19, 66:12). “In the day of wrath,” or at the time God manifests his anger, the possession of wealth will be of no benefit. “Righteousness” or uprightness in attitude, word, and deed “delivers from death” or from dying prematurely as persons who are divinely disapproved (Proverbs 11:4).
Werner Bible Comments on Proverbs 11:5: The Septuagint focuses on the “ways,” indicating that “righteousness” makes straight (literally “cuts straight”) “unblemished ways.” This could mean that the “righteousness” or uprightness of the individual removes obstacles that could hinder him from following the right course. There is, however, no straight path associated with ungodliness, but only corrupt ways — fraud, deceit, lying, and slander. Enjoying the security and sense of well-being that result from conducting himself right. Calamitous fall on account of corrupt conduct of the Wicked.
Catholic Bishops Conference Notes: “Way” means the course of one’s life; similarly, “straight” and “crooked” are metaphors for morally straightforward and for bad, deviant, and perverted.
Conclusion:
God bless you.
