THE PRINCIPLES OF WISE POLITICS

RETURN TO SYLLABUS

PROVERBS 24:19-34
Lesson #41
THE PRINCIPLES OF WISE POLITICS

• Memory Verse: Pro 24:23
• ^“Fret not thyself because of evil men, neither be thou envious at the wicked:” (19)
• ^“For there shall be no reward to the evil man; the candle of the wicked shall be put out.” (20)
  • Key words: wicked (lawless evil).
  • The believer in Christ is told not to envy the glorious lifestyle of the wealthy wicked people that live apart from the moral law of God.
  • The reason for not having envy is because there is no positive reward from God for a person that has no regard for morality.
    • The immoral person that has become wealthy through his immorality thinks he has cheated the system and is living in luxury. But their enjoyment is only temporary.
    • However, the news is filled with their downfall and the embarrassment to those that shared the news spotlight with them.
  • The candle is the person’s body that should hold the light of the Holy Spirit but does not. If a person does not invite Christ into his heart and life, he lives without the light of God, and his life will end without having eternal life with God.
• ^“My son, fear thou the Lord and the king: and meddle not with them that are given to change:” (21)
• “For their calamity shall rise suddenly; and who knoweth the ruin of them both?” (22)
  • Key words: fear the Lord (awesome reverence).
  • Through the Bible there is the profound principle of submission to those in authority.
    • Rebellion is the opposite of submission. Why is rebellion so important to God?
    • All through life a person will always have someone in authority over him in one form or another. Of course the ultimate authority is God. Submission to human authority helps us learn to submit to God.
    • The flesh nature of man is automatically opposed to the spirit nature. The flesh nature rebels against the Spirit and the things of God.
    • The Bible is filled with people that rebelled against God and against those in authority over them. Always the consequences of rebellion are severe whether it is rebellion against God or rebellion against governmental authorities.
    • In the Old Testament, under the period of the Mosaic Law, God said that a rebellious son should be stoned to death. (Deu 21:18-21) God wanted man to understand how serious rebellion is to God.
    • An increase in rebellion is one of the signs of the end times before Christ returns. (2Tim3:2)
  • The wise believer in Jesus Christ will not participate in rebellious public displays of social or political discontent in the form of public demonstrations even for what may seem to be a good cause. Why?
    • This proverb in verse 21 tells us not to meddle with them that are given to change.
    • Peter tells us to be good citizens. (1Pet 1:17 and 2:17)
    • If you think about the time when Jesus and his disciples walked this earth, they lived under a very oppressive Roman government.
      • However, Jesus never promoted rebellion against Rome, nor did he encourage the disciples to demonstrate against the Roman injustices even though some of the disciples were members of the rebellious group called the Zealots before they met Jesus.
      • The Apostle Paul that suffered greatly at the hands of the immoral leaders of the Roman Empire never encouraged rebellion or demonstration against the governmental powers that God put in authority over them. (Rom 13:1-2)
  • The proverb in verse 22 tells us why we must not even take part in rebellious demonstrations.
    • When you take part in political demonstrations, even for a “good cause”, the political atmosphere can change rapidly and you can find yourself arrested and/or tried for treason. (22)
    • The only legitimate involvement opposing the governmental authorities is for the sake of preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ as occurred in the book of Acts when the authorities forbid the disciples from preaching the gospel.
    • Read Act 5:25-29
• “These things also belong to the wise. It is not good to have respect of persons in judgment.” (23)
  • Key words: wise (the believer in Christ); judgment (discernment).
  • Because God does not show favoritism in dealing with people, the believer in Christ should also not show favoritism. (Act 10:34)
  • Read Jam 2:1-9
• ^“He that saith unto the wicked, Thou are righteous; him shall the people curse, nations shall abhor him:” (24)
• ^“But to them that rebuke him shall be delight, and a good blessing shall come upon them.” (25)
  • Key words: wicked (lawless evil); righteous (pure life); rebuke (remove evil).
  • The world system often functions upside down according to spiritual reality. For example, the world says grab and hold on to all the wealth of the world that you can manage to obtain in your life. Instead, the spiritual reality is that God says we should give and share with others what He gives to us. Therefore, when the world says that evil is good and that good is evil, it is opposite of spiritual truth.
    • Discussion: What are some things that the world says are righteous but that God says are lawless evil?
    • In the last days, this topsy-turvy reality will become more prevalent.
  • God will bless the believers in Christ that speak against evil and seek to remove evil by legal means. The next proverb reinforces this thought.
• ^“Every man shall kiss his lips that giveth a right answer.” (26)
  • The word “kiss” means to give allegiance to.
  • Read Psa 2:12 where we are told to Kiss the Son.
  • In other words give allegiance to the truth in your conversation and in the choices in your life.
• ^“Prepare thy work without, and make it fit for thyself in the field; and afterwards build thine house.” (27)
  • When you move to a new city, which should you do first, build your house or your business?
  • According to this proverb, it is wiser to build your business first and then build your house as you can afford to do it.
  • In today’s world, we usually go deep into debt first to build a fancy house. Then we build the business to sustain the lifestyle that we want.
  • Many people have done it backwards and when the business did not succeed as they expected, they ended up losing both the business and the fancy house.
• ^“Be not a witness against thy neighbour without cause; and deceive not with thy lips.” (28)
• ^“Say not, I will do so to him as he hath done to me: I will render to the man according to his work.” (29)
  • Notice that the proverb does not say we should not be a witness in a court case, but that we should not be a witness without cause.
  • The mediating factor is honesty according to the last phrase of verse 28.
    • If you have a legitimate court case against your neighbor and your neighbor is a non-believer, there is nothing wrong in seeking legal justice.
    • However, if your neighbor is a believer in Christ, you should not bring a legal court case against another believer.
      • Read 1Cor 6:6-8
      • According to this passage the two believers should agree to have a Christian leader settle the case out of court.
  • If a believer seeks vengeance for a wrong done to him he is putting himself in place of God and will be accountable to God for that sin.
• The following verses join together to give us a little story about a lazy man:
• ^“I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding;” (30)
• ^“And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down.” (31)
• ^“Then I saw, and considered it well: I looked upon it, and received instruction.” (32)
• “Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:” (33)
• ^“So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth; and thy want as an armed man.” (34)
  • Key words: slothful (lazy); understanding (discernment of good from evil); instruction (moral discipline for discernment).
  • These verses tell us that this lazy man is a non-believer because he does not have the discernment of good and evil (understanding). He does not know that it is evil to neglect the opportunities that God has given to him. He has neglected his field that is now covered with weeds and is susceptible to wild animals because he has allowed the wall to deteriorate. (31)
  • By examining the lazy man’s field, the narrator has learned moral discipline for discernment. In other words, he realizes that not working for a living is a moral decision the lazy man has made.
    • Why is being lazy a moral decision?
    • Someone else must work in order to feed the lazy man. That is a moral wrong that takes unfair advantage of people willing to work.
  • Sleep was the top priority of the lazy man. (33) The Christian’s top priority must be God and God’s will.
  • The result of laziness is poverty. We see the moral unfairness of the situation at the end of verse 34.
    • The lazy person will go to any length to get what others have by means of a free hand-out.
    • The lazy person is the same as the thief who robs from others. This is why laziness is a moral sin.

Homework
Proverbs 25:1-28

• Application of Pro 24:19-34
  • Why should you teach your children to fear the Lord and the government leaders? (21)
    • All through life a person will always have someone in authority over him in one form or another. Of course the ultimate authority is God. Submission to human authority helps us learn to submit to God.
  • Which should you build first, your business or your house? (27)
    • You should build your business first because that will establish the financial foundation of your life so that you will know what kind of house you can afford.
  • What can you learn by looking at the field of a slothful man? (30-34)
    • You can learn that laziness is a moral decision that is a sin against other people who must support you.
  • (Advanced question): Which proverb in this section talks about not getting involved in public political demonstrations?
    • Verse 21says we should not meddle with those that promote change. The underlying idea is that the change that is promoted is opposed by those in legal governmental authority.
• Preparation for Pro 25:1-28
  • Read Pro 25:1-28
    • Find one proverb from this chapter and explain it to the class.
  • Memory verse: Memorize the proverb you chose.