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PROVERBS: ALIGNING TO GOD'S FIXED MORAL ORDER
Part III: Displaying God's Fixed Moral Order
J. Viewing Specific Proverbs Of God's Fixed Moral Order
(Proverbs 19:1-29)
  1. Introduction
    1. After motivating a young man to heed an observed fixed moral order, the literary genre of the Egyptian sboyet that the Book of Proverbs uses works to supply actual proverbs to reveal that order, cf. Bruce Waltke, "The Book of Proverbs and Ancient Wisdom Literature," Bibliotheca Sacra, 136:543, p. 221-238.
    2. Solomon reveals that order to be God's order for his son to heed. We continue our study of that order:
  2. Viewing Specific Proverbs Of God's Fixed Moral Order From Proverbs 19:1-29.
    1. A son must learn it is critical to his financial welfare to have blameless speech habits, Proverbs 19:1.
    2. A son must similarly learn to keep his zeal regarding financial goals in check until he takes the time to gain the knowledge needed to make sound fiscal judgments so he can financially succeed, Proverbs 19:2.
    3. A son must learn it is never wise to rage at God for his life's setbacks -- he causes them himself, Pr. 19:3.
    4. A son must see that gaining some wealth is a necessary evil as doing so makes relationships easier, 19:4.
    5. A son must learn that perjuring himself in a court of law will eventually inevitably backfire to his harm, 5.
    6. A son must learn to be more discerning in friendships the higher he moves in influence and wealth, for influence and wealth tend to attract people who simply want his power and wealth, Proverbs 19:6-7.
    7. A son must learn to value gaining common sense and discernment as these will lead to prosperity, 19:8.
    8. A son must see that perjuring himself in court will not only backfire to his hurt, but make him perish, 5, 9.
    9. A son must learn that just as upsetting to subjects as seeing a fool live in luxury is their seeing one rule them who is incapable of doing the job: hence, he must accept only those positions he is qualified to take to protect his influence with subjects and thus have a dynamic oversight, Proverbs 19:10.
    10. A son must learn it is honorable patiently to restrain his anger and overlook an offense if wronged, 19:11.
    11. A son must learn it is always to his welfare's advantage to try to be at peace with influential parties, 12.
    12. A son must see that not heeding God's fixed order is as hard on his parents as a nagging wife is to him, 13
    13. A son must learn it is rewarding to heed God's fixed moral order: though parents in Solomon's day arranged both for their sons' inheritances and for their brides, God sovereignly overruled parental efforts to give prudent spouses to godly sons as His reward for the sons' uprightness, Proverbs 19:14.
    14. A son must learn to counter even a little laziness as it eventually leads to tragic irresponsibility, 19:15.
    15. A son must learn it is to his benefit to heed a superior's orders rather than show contempt for them, 16.
    16. A son must see that Jahweh rewards him in direct proportion to how well he treats the impoverished, 17.
    17. A son must learn to discipline his son or see him lead a lifestyle that produces an abbreviated life span, 18
    18. A son must learn to let a man face the costs of losing his temper: the sooner he pays the price to learn the lesson, the lower the price will eventually be for him to learn not to lose his temper, Proverbs 19:19.
    19. A son must see that making himself heed advice and be a learner will eventually make him wise, 19:20.
    20. A son must learn to subject his plans to God's approval to succeed, for God is sovereign in his life, 19:21.
    21. A son must see that developing loyal love instead of deceit will go far in establishing quality relations, 22.
    22. A son should learn that respecting Jahweh leads to a life of peace and content, Proverbs 19:23.
    23. A son must learn to finish what ventures he has begun to take advantage of the costs involved to date, 24.
    24. A son should see it is to his advantage to be discerning and not mock to lessen future punishments, 19:25.
    25. A son must learn never to mistreat his parents: beyond disobeying them, this brings great disgrace, 19:26.
    26. A son must see that he needs to keep listening to instruction to keep himself a knowledgeable person, 27.
    27. A son must learn to avoid deceit as a witness in a court of law as deceit here is unrestrained evil, 19:28.
    28. A son must learn never to mock others: it is not akin to God's fixed moral order, and brings trouble, 29.
Lesson: From these proverbs, we learn that a youth is much better off learning from his parents that heeding God's ways is to his own distinct advantage in the adult world.

Application: (1) We parents must have the courage under God's leading to inform our maturing sons and daughters of the VALUE of heeding God's fixed moral order. (2) As maturing children or as adults ourselves, we can apply these truths to our own lives for eventual blessings.