Lesson 36
The Things That Don't
Work!
Chapter Ten
Review:
Observations:
Solomon
has not been prone to small talk or to what we call today diplomacy - talking
all around the subject and never really dealing with the substantive issues.
A fool is not a fool
because of IQ i.e., HI IQ is not necessarily a wise one or the low IQ
individual the fool.
1. Some passages that give us a perspective of the fool.
a.
Ps 14:1 > If there is no God there is no accountability for one's actions -
one's life.
-
should be no surprise that the fool lives a life that is different than those
who fear God.
b.
Prov 1:7 > The arrogant
fool holds in contempt the wisdom of God.
-
They are convinced that their vpt is much greater.
c.
Prov 19:3 > His own foolishness destroys -
corrupts his life and even though he says there is no God, if he needs someone
to blame, a patsy, God will do, so he
becomes angry, inner rage, with God for the consequences of his own
foolishness.
d.
Prov 14:8 > You can count
on the fool to lie to you - they are deceivers - great con-men.
-
his deceit of others blinds him to reality for his own
situation, has great impact on his own life but doesn't see it.
e.
Prov 14:9 > mock the very idea of sin, the sense
of guilt and punishment. - operates his values on the basis of relative R.
-
is able to always find someone who is "worse" than he.
f.
Prov
g.
Prov
2. How to deal with the fool:
-
Be patient
-
Must understand that you're dealing with a person who at that point has totally
rejected God, His vpt, and therefore your logic - the basis of your thinking.
-
The only way the fool will be turned around is by the ministry of God the Holy
Spirit convicting him of his error - usually takes some great pressure
situation, a totally helpless situation, before he hears the Spirit's message.
-
The fool having rejected the wisdom of
God leaves them without purpose and direction in life and their life just sort
of self destructs.
Solomon here very
carefully balances what he had said earlier about the wisdom of obeying kings so that it is not
taken as a blank check approval of all that the rulers and princes do.
O land, whose king is a lad naar r[;n: - (1 of 8 used of children) -
can be txltd lad or child but that is not really
the emphasis that Solomon has here, He’s
referring here to the ruler as one who is immature, incompetent and undisciplined;
whose
princes feast in the morning.
-
When you have incompetent leadership those in high positions here the princes, those who are to be the
administrators of the policies of the ruler, and all they are doing is
exploiting the situation and are partying when they should be doing their jobs,
administering justice, Jer 21:12 there are tremendous
consequences on the nation.
- The word here
for blessed - 'asheri
yrev.a; - is never used by God
in reference to Him blessing man it is always barak
in those cases.
-
'asheri is the blessing that comes to man as a result
of doing something, usually something positive, here it is to have leaders in a
nation functioning on wisdom on the basis of wisdom, the result is land is blessed.
whose king is of nobility (True
nobility - well trained & prepared)
and
whose princes eat at the appropriate time -- for strength and not for drunkenness.
*** The leadership of a nation does make a difference.
Next he continues the contrast of wise and foolish leadership.
-
The manifestation here of foolishness is laziness - not attending to the needs
and situations as they come up - look the other way or ignore them maybe they
will go away.
-
Here he takes the dilapidated and reckless maintenance of justice and compares
it to the leaking of a house's roof, causing the roof to rot and ultimately to
collapse.
-
In Prov 24:30-34 makes the same point but in a
personal application.
-
This foolish leadership assumes that all their needs and demands can be met by
money.
-
This is a major defect in the thought process of our generation - not only at
the national level but also on the personal level.
OBSERVATIONS:
1.
Talking about a fool isn't the solution. (not done from wisdom)
2.
It will only make the situation worse.
3.
Pro 14:7 gives us clue as to what we
should do and consequences if we don't make application of the prin.
4.
Balance comes in dealing with the fool
when you evaluate the response, the read
out your getting as you communicate truth to the fool.
Caution: Don't be surprised if the fool is blatantly
negative and won't listen. - reacts with vicious scorn
and a hardened contempt for either the Gospel or BD – dvpt Pro 23:9
5.
Under control of one’s Emotion we often justify a lot of activity as
"compassion" (something we should exhibit) that is not in line with
DVPT. We let our emotions rule instead of being filtered by the BDRS.+
6. There is hope for them! Ps
107:17-22
7.
After they're broken, having repented, then is the time to renew fellowship and social contact.