Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Adult Sunday School Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/bb/bb20001022.htm

PROVERBS: ALIGNING TO GOD'S FIXED MORAL ORDER
Part III: Displaying God's Fixed Moral Order
R. Viewing Specific Proverbs Of God's Fixed Moral Order
(Proverbs 27:1-27)
  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 that study of that order:
  2. Viewing Specific Proverbs Of God's Fixed Moral Order From Proverbs 27:1-27.
    1. A son must learn not to boast about his future accomplishments as the future is out of his control, 27:1.
    2. A son must also learn not to boast about what he has already done as well if he would be free of the sin of pride, 27:2. Hence, boasting of the past or future accomplishments is contrary to uprightness!
    3. A son must learn not to react to provocation by a party not aligned to God's moral order: though it is very tempting, he must avoid it if he would avoid painful, costly troublesome reactions, Proverbs 27:3!
    4. A son must learn to be especially wary of jealous adversaries as their attitude can include both anger and fury with "merciless revenge", Proverbs 27:4; Bible Knowledge Commentary, Old Testament, p. 963. This also implies one must try to diffuse temptations toward jealousy against himself in others by humbly sharing of his fame or fortune with them!
    5. A son must learn to value receiving rebukes for errors and in giving them to others as a key signal of true love and concern: rebukes given graciously are signals of care for the rebuked party, Proverbs 27:5-6.
    6. A son must learn to avoid a lack of appreciation for what he already possesses as that signals materialism: appreciating possessing even the bare necessities of life indicates an upright, non-materialistic heart, 27:7.
    7. A son must learn that even as a nobleman-ruler, he will protect himself from undue failure if he stays to his divinely-assigned role in the workplace, among his people or even in his own home, Proverbs 27:8.
    8. A son must learn to receive and give earnest advice as a signal of true caring among friends, Prov. 27:9.
    9. A son must learn to nourish his established friendships as an invaluable source of help in crises, 27:10.
    10. A son must learn that it is in his own best interests to work hard at child rearing: this effort will pay great dividends in terms of personal edification when his children mature as adults, Proverbs 27:11.
    11. A son must learn to treat as serious all warnings of danger if he would avoid undue failure, Pr. 27:12.
    12. A son must learn to protect all of his business dealings from loss when interacting with strangers, 27:13.
    13. A son must learn to give even encouraging words the right way and at the right time to be effective, 27:14.
    14. A son must learn to select a spouse who is not quarrelsome if he would live in peace and honor, 27:15-16.
    15. A son must learn to value interacting with other noblemen to sharpen his own leadership effectiveness, 17.
    16. A son must learn to work to the benefit of his superior if he would enjoy that superior's rewards, 27:18.
    17. A son must learn he can discern the character of a man by his words just like water reflects one's face, 19.
    18. A son must learn that the desire of man to see new things is as sure as death itself: he can count on it, 20.
    19. A son must learn that true character in a nobleman is revealed by how humbly he receives praise, 27:21. As a future nobleman-leader himself, the son addressed will need to work to stay humble when praised!
    20. A son must learn that people not aligned to God's fixed moral order cannot have their sinful folly taken from them even by extreme pressure: sin is ingrained in the ungodly, and one must accept that fact, 27:22.
    21. A son must learn that even as a nobleman, his wealth and station will need to be shielded if they are to last by his consistent, prudent management of his most basic resources, 27:23-27. [American Century Mutual Funds' financially independent founder, James E. Stowers, Yes You Can Achieve Financial Independence, p. 195-196, 265 shows brown-bagging a lunch from home for 20 years to save $5 a day from buying it at work, and investing the difference into his growth fund would have yielded $284,417.]
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.