Proverbs 21:8

The Bible says in Proverbs 21:8, “The way of man is froward and strange; but as for the pure, his work is right.” “The way of man” speaks of something that is common with human beings. It is common for human beings to be contrary to God and rebellious. The word that is translated “strange” means “guilty.” In other words they are not right with God. That is the biggest problem with the human race. People are separated from God. People are by nature opposed to God. And people are at enmity against God and God’s truth. The solution to that great problem that will affect their eternal destiny is Jesus. A person gets reconciled to God by coming to Jesus. That is why it says in Romans 5:1, “Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Once you come to Jesus, you are justified. You are “pure.” As far as your standing with God is concerned, it is the same as if you have not sinned. Once you become pure by the stroke of one event, trusting in Jesus, you can start performing the “work” that God calls you to do. There is a reason that you were born and given life by God. You will be on the right path to find that reason once you get right with God through faith in Jesus.

The Bible says in Proverbs 21:9, “It is better to dwell in a corner of a housetop, than with a brawling woman in a wide house.” This is a verse that is talking about marriage. Over the centuries there have been many abuses by men. Some men have used their strength against a woman with violence. This especially happens when men are under the influence of alcohol or drugs. This is terrible and should never happen. A Christian husband should love his wife with great love and only treat her kindly and affectionately. Some men have also had a difficult time learning how to communicate with their wives, and have a lot to learn in this regards. But some women have also had their faults and their issues. This verse in Proverbs mentions one thing that can happen to a woman in her marriage relationship. A man will be miserable if his wife becomes “a brawling woman.” The word that is translated “brawling” means to quarrel or to dispute. God created a woman so that she would be a helpmeet for a man. The best wife would be sweet, loving, and supportive. When a human being becomes quarrelsome and contentious, no one wants to be around him or her. If you have the misfortune of having a wife who becomes opposed to you constantly, then a big house will never be big enough. Marriage was designed to be a loving and enjoyable relationship, but the two people will have to treat each other properly for such a relationship to be developed and maintained. There needs to be a good amount of cooperation between them.

The Bible says in Proverbs 21:10, “The soul of the wicked desireth evil: his neighbour findeth no favour in his eyes.” There are people who actually desire evil. People reach a crossroads in life sometimes when they reject Christ and goodness, and they seek evil. When they do that, they also lose affection for their neighbor. God is love, and the further you go away from God, the less love that you will have.

The Bible says in Proverbs 21:11, “When the scorner is punished, the simple is made wise: and when the wise is instructed, he receiveth knowledge.” There is such a thing in life as punishment, and there is such a thing as instruction. In other words there are two ways of teaching. Which kind of teaching will you receive? That depends upon which kind of person you are. If you have a bad attitude and are a scorner, you will receive punishment as your opportunity to learn. But if you are wise, you will simply receive instruction as your opportunity to learn. Let the teaching begin. It has already begun. It takes place every day. If you are wise, you will learn from the positive learning opportunities by respectfully receiving instruction. If you are unwise and disrespectful to authority and to God, you will learn from the negative results that will surely come your way.

The Bible says in Proverbs 21:12, “The righteous man wisely considereth the house of the wicked: but God overthroweth the wicked for their wickedness.” What does the house of the wicked involve? It involves the lifestyle of the wicked: what the wicked are doing and how the wicked live, and the results that such wickedness brings. A righteous person thinks about this problematic lifestyle. Think things through. Where does a wicked lifestyle end? It does not end well because there is a God and God will punish the wicked for their wicked ways.

The Bible says in Proverbs 21:13, “Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard.” Why does the Lord give you more than you need? One reason is so that you can help others. Christians are the most generous people in the world because when you have the Holy Spirit within you, The Spirt gives you love and compassion for others. But you will reap what you sow. If you do not help others, then you just might find yourself in a place where you need help and no one helps you.

The Bible says in Proverbs 21:14, “A gift in secret pacifieth anger: and a reward in the bosom strong wrath.” There are different ways of handling someone who is angry with you. One way is to give the angry person a gift. Many husbands have learned this lesson. We all like to get gifts, and it is hard to be angry with someone who has been thoughtful enough to buy you a gift and present you with it.

The Bible says in Proverbs 21:15, “It is joy to the just to do judgment: but destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity.” If you are one of God’s just ones (holy ones through faith in Christ), your joy comes partly from doing the right thing. If you are a born-again child of God, you will be miserable when you fail and do the wrong thing. When King David had sinned, he wrote in Psalm 51:12, “Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.” There is joy in serving Jesus both now and in the future, but the workers of iniquity have “destruction” in their future. Pray for them.

The Bible says in Proverbs 21:16, “The man that wandereth out of the way of understanding shall remain in the congregation of the dead.” This verse ends in an interesting phrase: “the congregation of the dead.” We know what the congregation of the righteous is: all of the true believers joined together in one great group of people. God knows those that are His. It says in Psalms 1:5, “Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.” The congregation of the dead refers to those who are spiritually dead. They do not have life through faith in Christ. It says that those who wander out of the way “shall remain” in the congregation of the dead. In other words they are already in the congregation of the dead, but they cannot get out because they are following the wrong way: the way of the world, the flesh, and the devil. Anyone can gain the understanding of the right way, if only they will turn to Jesus Christ.

The Bible says in Proverbs 21:17, “He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man: he that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich.” You will be poor if you love the wrong things. That is because you will spend your time and your energy pursuing what you love. If you have the philosophy: eat, drink, and be merry because tomorrow we die; then you will probably die before your time and you will certainly lose everything in eternity.

The Bible says in Proverbs 21:18, “The wicked shall be a ransom for the righteous, and the transgressor for the upright.” There is a battle between good and evil constantly raging. The believers do not use the weapons of the flesh, but we are still involved in the spiritual battle. Who will win: the wicked or the righteous? Not just this verse, but all through the Bible it is made very clear that those who believe in Jesus and go with God will be the victors. Jesus said in Matthew 5:5, “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.” The Bible says in the first part of First Corinthians 6:2, “Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world?” In very graphic detail Revelation 19:16-21 tells us about the return of Christ and says, “And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.[17] And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;[18] That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.[19] And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.[20] And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.[21] And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.”

The Bible says in Proverbs 21:19, “It is better to dwell in the wilderness, than with a contentious and an angry woman.” The Hebrew words in this verse are interesting. The word that is translated “contentious” is from two Hebrew words that are very similar and both words mean “contentious” or “quarrelsome.” If I translated this verse literally, I would write, “It is better to dwell in the wilderness of the earth, than with a contentious woman full of strife, and an angry woman.” The emphasis is on the fact that the woman is a trouble-maker. She is not happy with anyone, especially her husband. A woman like this has had something happen to her in her life, and she is not going to let anyone get away with anything ever again. She was quiet once, but she is not going to be quiet now. She is going to teach men a lesson, and she is going to do it with her tongue. And the man that is closest to her is her husband. But she may not have a husband for long because her husband may come to the same conclusion as the Word of God that says, “It is better to dwell in the wilderness, than with a contentious and an angry woman.”

The Bible says in Proverbs 21:20, “There is treasure to be desired and oil in the dwelling of the wise; but a foolish man spendeth it up.” If you are wise, you will know how to manage your finances. Part of doing that is to save what you can while you can. If you do that, you will have funds for a rainy day and for when times are harder. But if you are foolish, you will spend all your extra money without thinking of the future. People have wasted huge sums of money by being foolish.

The Bible says in Proverbs 21:21, “He that followeth after righteousness and mercy findeth life, righteousness, and honour.” This verse says that we should seek two things: righteousness and mercy. When we seek righteousness, and as our failures come, we will need mercy to keep going. We will need a lot of mercy. Therefore, we certainly should be merciful to others. This is the path of basic Christianity. For the spiritual Christian it is the process that takes place over and over: we want to follow the Lord and we do the best that we can, but then we sin by lack of faith, or lack of love, or the carnal nature in some other way manifesting itself. And then what do we do: we ask the Lord to forgive us. That is how we stay in fellowship with Jesus. It is pretty simple. You would think that every Christian would know these two simple principles. One: you want to do what is right. Two: if and when you fail, you ask Jesus to forgive you. Most Christians understand the first principle, but for some reason they either do not understand the second principle or they do not apply it to their lives. It says in First John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

___________________________________________________