Proverbs 14:1-14

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TALKS FOR GROWING CHRISTIANS

Wisdom in Knowledge

BACKGROUND NOTES



DOCTRINAL POINT(S)

  1. The Proverbs are wise advice for everyday living.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

  1. Make sure you’re on the right road!

QUESTIONS

  1. The Hebrew word for “sin,” as found in verse 9, is the same word that is translated as two other Old Testament terms. What are they? What influence do these two terms have on the meaning of this proverb?

  2. Verses 7 and 8 provide two characteristics by which a fool, or foolish person, can be identified. What are they?

  3. What important lesson of wisdom, given in the proverb of verse 10, is particularly meaningful when you are comforting a friend?

ANSWERS

  1. The Hebrew word for “sin” as found in verse 9, is also translated in the Old Testament as “trespass” or “guilt offering.” So the full meaning of this proverb is not only that fools today make light of sin, but they also do not take seriously the work of Christ on the cross as a sin offering – the very provision God has made for us so that we can be free from the penalty of our own sins.

  2. The two characteristics of a fool, or foolish person, given in the proverbs of verses 7 and 8, are a lack of knowledge in their speech, and a lifestyle of deceit.

  3. The wise saying of Solomon given in verse 10 teaches us that no matter how sensitive we may think we are when speaking with a hurting friend, we do not and cannot fully understand or enter into that person’s joys and sorrows. Only the Lord fully understands.

DISCUSS/CONSIDER

  1. Discuss the personal connection between walking in uprightness and fearing the Lord. (Refer to verse 2.) Consider both Old Testament verses about the fear of the Lord and New Testament verses about walking in righteousness.

CHALLENGE

  1. Are you “on the way” that leads to abundant and eternal life, or on “a way” that just seems right to you? Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” If you are not certain of your way, turn to Jesus now, confess your sin before Him, trust Him as Lord and Savior, and take on a life of walking in His way!

KEY VERSES

  • “He who walks in his uprightness fears the Lord, but he who is perverse in his ways despises him. The backslider in heart will be filled with his own ways, but a good man will be satisfied from above.” Proverbs 14: 2, 14

Proverbs, Old Testament, TalksDeb HarmsProverbs 14:1-14