Proverbs 17:9-17

Good morning. Good morning. Welcome to Coffee and Devotions. This is where every day we get together, we get into God's word, and we grow in our love for the Lord together. And this year, 2021, we'll make it through all the wisdom literature. Well, this morning we're at Proverbs chapter 17, verses 9 through 17. We're here at a conference in Atlanta, so I'm going to try to get these to you as close to 9 a.m. as I can. Can't promise that's going to happen every day, but we will do it through Saturday. Let's go ahead and pray. Father, we thank you so much for this day. We thank you for your word. We pray now that as we read your word, that you would bless us, care for us, and that we would learn from you. In Jesus's name, amen. All right, Proverbs chapter 17, verses 9 through 17.
He who covers a transgression seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates friends. There is such a thing as a forgiving forgetfulness or a forgetful forgiving. First Corinthians chapter 13 tells us that love keeps no record of wrongs. Part of forgiving people is to forget it, to actively put it out of our minds.
One of my favorite verses in the Bible is that God remembers your sins no more. Well, God is omniscient. He knows all things. So how can he remember your sins no more? He actively forgets them. That's part of forgiveness. When we forgive, we actively do not think about that transgression, and that's part of love. Verse 10.
Rebuke is more effective for a wise man than a hundred blows for a fool. So how's the wise man heed a rebuke? Well, he hears it and he turns from it. But you can beat a fool a hundred times and they'll still turn around and do the same thing the next day. So what are you called to do? Be wise. When the Lord rebukes you, listen to him. Turn from your sin.
Verse 11, an evil man seeks only rebellion, therefore a cruel messenger will be sent against him. Now we were just in a meeting with, not a meeting, but the conference where John MacArthur was speaking, and he was talking about there comes a time when you need to preach judgment, and here an evil man seeks only rebellion, therefore a cruel messenger will be sent against him. the evil's day is numbered and there is a day of judgment coming this is what the book of hebrew tells us it is appointed for man to die once and after this the judgment there will come a day of judgment and an evil messenger or a messenger of destruction will come Verse 12, let a man meet a bear robbed of her cubs rather than a fool in his folly.
Fools, I have written here, fools are dangerous, violent, irrational. Don't go and mess with a fool. You're better just to go mess with a bear, a mama bear, and take her from her cubs. It ain't going to go well with you and it's not going to go well with you to argue with a fool either.
Verse 13, whoever rewards evil for good, evil will not depart from his mouth. First Peter chapter three verse nine, I think is a good opposite of that. First Peter three nine says, not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, blessing. What is this saying?
That if there is a man who is returning evil for good, evil is always going to be in their house. You don't repay evil for good and expect good to come to you. Although that's what people think they're doing when they're lying to someone or cheating or stealing or slandering or whatever. What you're really going to heap on yourself is trouble for your own house.
Verse 14, the beginning of strife is like releasing water, therefore stop contention before a quarrel breaks out. Oh, good advice or wisdom that is for us from the Lord this morning. There's going, if you know that the fight's going to start, think carefully whether or not you need to actually get into that argument. Don't poke holes in a dam that you know is going to pour out a flood or a torrent of water.
Verse 15, he who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the just, both are alike. Both of them alike are an abomination to the Lord. Our God is a God of justice. He cannot stand the perversion of justice. He loves righteousness. He's the one who holds the scales in balance.
Verse 16, why is there in the hand of a fool the price of wisdom, since he has no heart for it? This is an honest question. We don't know the answer to that, but why do you give fools so much money even though they don't actually want you? They don't want your word. They won't come and drink from the fountain of wisdom. But that's the reality in this life. There are plenty of people with tons of money and no heart for the Lord.
Verse 17, a friend loves at all times and a brother is born for adversity. There's going to be times in your life where it's going to be hard. Who will you go to when those times come? I pray that you have surrounded yourself with a Christian community that when times are hard, you have a place to go. I pray that you have surrounded yourself with such a community that when you need prayer, you know where you can go. When you might need material resources, you have people who will care for you.
Often in our lives, this is so true in evangelicalism, we want to just We want to just put on smiles on our faces and act like everything's okay, but there is a day of adversity when there are trials and tribulations, hardships in this life, and we need to be able to humble ourselves and to be able to go to our brothers and sisters and find strength.
Let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for the wisdom that you give us in your word. These things are so simple and yet so profoundly true. God, we pray that you would teach us to heed your word. In Jesus' name, amen. Well, may you take comfort today that God keeps no record of wrongs, that if you are in Jesus Christ, He has removed your sins from you as far as the east is from the west. May you live in the peace of Jesus Christ, walking in His light. I'll see you tomorrow. Bye.