Proverbs 18 Series

Proverbs 18

18:1 – A man who isolates himself seeks his own desire; he rages against all wise judgement:

i. To cut one’s self off from family, friends, and community is often to express a selfish desire.

18:2 – A fool has no delight in understanding, but in expressing his own heart:

i. The wise man or woman has great satisfaction in knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. This is not so with the fool; they find no delight in wisdom.

18:3 – When the wicked comes, contempt comes also; and with dishonor comes reproach:

i. The wicked brings contempt with them; the proud, superior attitude that thinks itself better than others and looks at those thought to be lesser with scorn. Yet it can also be said that contempt follows the wicked because God will scorn those who scorn others.

ii. The wicked bring insults (reproach) upon those they consider dishonorable.

18:4 – The words of a man’s mouth are deep waters; the wellspring of wisdom is a flowing brook:

i. The idea isn’t that everyone’s speech is deep and meaningful. Instead, the idea is that we reveal the depths of our heart by the words of our mouth.

18:5 – It is not good to show partiality to the wicked, or to overthrow the righteous in judgement:

i. This is obvious to the person with a moral compass.

18:6 – A Fools lips enter into contention, and his mouth calls for blows:

i. It is in the nature of the fool to argue. Their words often bring them into contention.