Proverbs 12:1-28

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Let’s take our Bibles together and turn to Proverbs 12. Today’s passage is about work, and it’s about words. It’s about labor, and it’s about language. It’s about industriousness, and it’s about judiciousness in the use of the tongue. 

And the question for me this morning is why? Why these two subjects? Why work and words? What’s the correlating principle that brings these two together in chapter 12? Well, generally speaking, from the perspective of the book of Proverbs it’s the fear of the Lord. The fear of the Lord is going to generate in God-fearers controlled speech and a good work ethic. 

But more specifically the motivation is love. We see that in the first verse of this section... “Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge.” Love for God is going to motivate you to love what God loves. And more pointedly, it’s going to motivate you to hate what God hates. There’s a lot of despicable, abominable, things in this chapter: shame, deceit, sloth, lying, evil, wickedness, cruelty, stupidity, anxiety, etc. And those who fear God, and love God, love what God loves, and hate what God hates. 

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Speaking of love, write this down as #1.

Those who love God love instruction (12:1, 15)

Solomon says in verse 1, 

1 Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is [בַּעַר].

Whoever hates reproof is stupid! That’s a word that’ll get your attention. That word in Hebrew, בַּעַר, is a rarely used word. And it’s a word that’s meant to get your attention. Solomon wants to convey the importance of teachability, and the importance of discipline, and the importance of knowledge. But he also wants to convey how mortifying it is for someone to be an unteachable person and an undisciplined person and a blissful ignoramus. 

You might say, “Ignorance is bliss, Pastor Tony.” No, ignorance is ignorance. And someone who refuses to learn, refuses to be taught, and refuses the instruction of others isn’t independently minded or idiosyncratic… Solomon says, instead, that person is “stupid.”   

In the NT world, we have a word for one who loves discipline. We have a word for someone who follows God and learns from God. We call them disciples. And a disciple of Jesus Christ is a learner. The word “disciple” means learner. So let me just state it as clearly as I can, an unteachable, undisciplined Christian is an oxymoron. You can’t have an undisciplined disciple, not for long anyway. 

Let me just state something else that is obvious too. We all come to Jesus as ignoramuses. The ground is level at the foot of the cross. But we don’t stay ignoramuses. When you become a Christian, you begin this amazing, grand adventure in Christ Jesus. And Christ Jesus, your groom, wants to take you and bring out the best in you. And he teaches you what you need to learn. And he deposits his Holy Spirit inside of you to bring out the best out of you. 

And he gave you the church to leverage the learning and the experiences of others to bring the best out of you. And as you grow as a Christian, you grow in loving what God loves and hating what God hates. 

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So those who love God love instruction. But also, write this down as #2. Here’s another thing that those who love God love. 

2) Those who love God love good words (12:2–8, 16–23) 

In these next few verses, Solomon is going to move from intentions to thoughts to eventually words. And that’s true for both good words and bad words. Good intentions produce good thoughts that eventuate in good words that God loves. And likewise bad intentions produce bad thoughts that eventuate in bad words that God hates. In other words, there is a clear Scriptural pattern that from the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks. 

And speaking of bad intentions, Solomon says in verse 2, 

2 A good man obtains favor from the Lord, but a man of evil devices he condemns. 

The word for “evil devices” in Hebrew is מְזִמָּה. And it means “schemes,” “plans,” or even “machinations.” I know we differentiate in our legal system between premeditated crimes and non-premeditated crimes. But that’s an artificial distinction. All crimes ultimately derive from a person’s evil intentions. 

3 No one is established by wickedness, but the root of the righteous will never be moved. 

The words for “wickedness” and “evil” in Hebrew are practically interchangeable. They are the words רַע and רֶשַׁע. And they are typically contrasted with the words for “good” טוֹב and “righteous” (צַדִּיק). And Solomon is always contrasting the way of רַע, and the way of טוֹב. And evil intentions produce evil thoughts leading to evil words and evil actions. Good intentions produce good thoughts leading to good words and good actions.

3 No one is established by wickedness, but the root of the righteous will never be moved. 

One of the great gifts that God gave me in my young life is good men to imitate. I praise God for that. I didn’t grow up in a megachurch. And I didn’t grow up in a church that had a lot of let’s just say pizzaz. But what I did have was examples of men who loved their wives, loved their families, worked hard, and went to church every week. And that made a lasting impact on me. And I saw the favor of the Lord on those men and those families. 

And I know not every boy had that growing up. But you have that here. You have that in this church. You have examples of righteous men doing righteous things and obtaining favor from the Lord. And you have examples out there of wicked men doing wicked things and receiving the condemnation of the Lord. 

You might say, “But sometimes wicked people succeed in this world, Pastor Tony.” Okay, but do they? Do they really? Maybe for a season? Even apart from eternity and what God rewards in eternity, I would look at this world and say, “I want to be a good man, like other good men, and obtain favor from the Lord.” Because a good man, “obtains favor from the Lord, but a man of evil devices he condemns.”

“What about women, Pastor Tony?” Okay, let’s talk about women. Look at verse 4. 

4 An excellent wife is the crown of her husband, 

The word for “excellent” here is חַיִל, and it’s the same word that used in Proverbs 31 to describe the wife of noble character (31:10). It’s a strong word that is used to indicate strength and character. The OT knows nothing of dainty, obsequious women. Just read Proverbs 31. That’s a strong woman. And an “excellent wife” a “wife of noble character” is a treasure to her husband. 

Notice that “wife” here is singular. Not, “excellent wives,” thank you very much, Solomon! Solomon knew better than he did. But “an excellent wife is her husband’s crown.” In other words, she makes her husband look good! 

I heard Tommy Nelson say once, “If you want to really complement a man in this world, you say something like this, ‘How did a tick-bit, son of a gun, like yourself get this treasure of a woman to marry you.’” If you tell a man that, he will say, “Yeah, I am pretty homely. Even more than you know!”

And a woman who loves her husband and cares for her children, enriches her husband. Proverbs 18:22 says, “He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord.” But there’s an assumption built into that verse. The assumption is that the wife is a good wife. Because Proverbs 12:4a is true. But Proverbs 12:4b is true also. 

but she who brings shame is like rottenness in his bones.

An unfaithful wife… an ungrateful wife… a negligent wife and mother is like bone cancer to a man. Trust me, I’ve seen it. No man wants to be in a situation like that. Some men would prefer bone cancer to having a wife that brings him shame. 

Look at verse 5.

5 The thoughts of the righteous are just; the counsels of the wicked are deceitful. 

6 The words of the wicked lie in wait for blood, but the mouth of the upright delivers them. 

Now we get to words. Now we move from thoughts and intentions to speech. You’ve got wicked counsel. You’ve got wicked, violent words. And you’ve got those who use words to lie in wait for blood.

Tell me if you’ve heard this before:

“Will you walk into my parlour?” said the Spider to the Fly,

“'Tis the prettiest little parlour that ever you did spy;

The way into my parlour is up a winding stair,

And I have many curious things to shew when you are there.”

“Oh no, no,” said the little Fly, “to ask me is in vain,

For who goes up your winding stair can ne'er come down again.”

There’s nothing more embarrassing to me than a naïve, gullible Christian. There’s nothing more frustrating for me than to talk to someone, a Christian or otherwise, who thinks all people are inherently nice and kind and good-intentioned. In Christianity, we have this thing, this theological understanding called “original sin.” And we understand that humanity as presently constituted is fallen. And there’s a cosmic battle taking place all the time between good and evil and evil and good. And some use their mouth for evil. And some use their mouth for good. 

Look at verse 6.

6 The words of the wicked lie in wait for blood, but the mouth of the upright delivers them. 

7 The wicked are overthrown and are no more, but the house of the righteous will stand. 

8 A man is commended according to his good sense, but one of twisted mind is despised.

  We talked about a woman who brings shame to a husband in marriage. Let’s talk a little bit about a man who brings shame. When you get married to a man, it’s kind of like boarding a train. You and he are going somewhere together. And you don’t just marry that man as he currently is. You marry the man that he will one day be. You jump on board a train heading for a destination. 

And if you marry a man who is deceitful… or if you marry a man who is violent… or if you marry a man who is twisted… 

8 A man is commended according to his good sense, but one of twisted mind is despised.

Apart from the Lord’s intervention, that man’s vices won’t diminish over time. They’ll get worse. And so you want to marry a man who has a trajectory of holiness built into his course. You want to marry a man who fears God and follows God. Let me say it this way—you want to marry a man who loves what God loves and hates what God hates. 

Let me change the application. If you are a church who’s hiring a pastor, or who is adding elders to the elder board, you don’t want men with gimmicks and showmanship and visions of grandeur. You want men with character. You want men with discipline. You want men with integrity. See 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 for more on that. You want men with intestinal fortitude. Because that dog will hunt when church challenges come and when weaker men fall by the wayside. 

There used to be a time in our nation’s history when we chose our leaders based upon character and virtue and integrity. Now we choose our leaders on the basis of “Who’s the least evil?” “What’s the lesser of two evils—this person or that person?”

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Write this down as a third thing that those who love God love. 

3) Those who love God love honest work (12:9–14, 24–28)

By the way, Solomon is going to rinse and repeat in just a few verses. The structure of this text is something like this: “instruction, words, and work” in the first half of this chapter. Then in verse 15, he starts over. And he goes again through “instruction, words, and work” in broad strokes. 

I know this chapter might appear as haphazard and randomly presented maxims just thrown together. Maybe there is a bit of that? But I do see ideas that are clumped together around “instruction, words, and work.”

So Solomon says in verse 9. 

9 Better to be lowly and have a servant than to play the great man and lack bread. 

In Texas, we would say that a person is “all hat and no cattle.” They’re pretending to be something that they are not. And the issue here is not just hypocrisy. The issue is laziness. They lack bread because they refuse to work, while at the same time pretending to be something they’re not. 

Look at verse 10.

10 Whoever is righteous has regard for the life of his beast, 

I tell my cats that verse every morning! I look them in the face and say, “I am your master. And you are my beast. And I care for you.” The problem is, with cats, they think that they are the master, and we are the beasts. 

But truth be told, this passage has nothing to do with cats or dogs. Those animals weren’t domesticated in ancient Israel. The word for beast here is בְּהֵמָה, and it’s a reference to cattle and livestock and beasts of burden. And as we learn in the Torah, it’s cruel to muzzle an ox while he is treading grain (Deut 25:4). An ox needs to eat and be cared for. And…

10 Whoever is righteous has regard for the life of his beast, but the mercy of the wicked is cruel. 

That’s an ironic statement right there. A cruel person has no mercy… towards animals or towards others. Serial killers and psychopaths oftentimes begin with cruelty towards animals. 

For the record, I’m not a big fan of PETA. I think it’s a crazy organization, operated by confused people with bad anthropology. But I’m not a big fan of dog-fighting either. And I abhor legitimate animal cruelty. I think it’s an example of poor character.

Look at verse 11. 

11 Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits lacks sense. 

Now we get to the gist of what’s going on here. A good worker won’t pretend to be something he’s not (12:9). A good worker won’t mistreat his animals (12:10). And a good worker will… wait for it… actually work! 

He doesn’t chase fantasies. He doesn’t play the lottery. He doesn’t write novels that nobody reads. He doesn’t get a college degree in “gender studies” or “underwater basket weaving.” He doesn’t engage in sports betting. 

If I were a woman looking for a husband, I would ask some probing questions. I would ask, “Do you work? Do you gamble? Are you addicted to pornography?” If I were a dad with a daughter, I would ask that young man who wants to date my daughter, “Do you work? Do you gamble? Are you addicted to pornography?” If he was in school, I’d ask, “What’s your degree? What’s your plan for taking care of my daughter? How do I know that she won’t be forced to work to support your ‘worthless pursuits’ that ‘lack sense?’”

Look at verse 12.

12 Whoever is wicked covets the spoil of evildoers, but the root of the righteous bears fruit. 

So there are “worthless pursuits,” but there are also “wicked pursuits.” And Solomon seems to admit that those wicked pursuits are, at least temporarily, profitable. But that doesn’t mean you should pursue them. That’s why I said, “Those who love God love honest work.” Is there dishonest work to be found? Yes, there is. In fact, I heard on a podcast recently, that one of the fastest growing fields in business right now is cybersecurity. And companies are having a hard time hiring folks for that field, because people skilled in cybersecurity can make more money breaking the law than keeping it! 

But here’s the problem with that. Look at verse 13.

13 An evil man is ensnared by the transgression of his lips, but the righteous escapes from trouble. 

14 From the fruit of his mouth a man is satisfied with good, and the work of a man’s hand comes back to him. 

Notice how words and work are intermingled here. Notice how good speech and a solid work ethic are part and parcel of the same thing. A righteous man, a good man, is conscientious about his speech and he’s conscientious about his work. A wicked man, an evil man, is neither. 

You might say, “Well what about the gospel, Pastor Tony? What about faith? This sounds like works.” Okay, let’s talk about the gospel. The Apostle James says this: “Faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead” (2:17). James adds, “But someone will say, ‘You have faith and I have works.’ Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works” (2:18).

To that you might say, “Okay, but that’s James. Martin Luther called the book of James ‘an epistle of straw.’” Well, first of all, shame on Martin Luther for that. But secondly, let’s see what Paul said about this. Paul said, “If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat” (2 Thess 3:10). Paul said, “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Col 3:17). 

Paul said too, “Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us” (Titus 2:7–8). 

Let me be clear about this and how it relates to the gospel. We don’t control our speech and embrace a sound work ethic in order to be saved. We do it because we are saved. We don’t do these things in order to earn God’s love, we do these things because we are loved by God, and we want to love him back by loving and embracing the things that he loves. 

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And now, starting in verse 15, Solomon is going to rinse and repeat. He’s going to start us off with a statement about instruction. Then he’s going to move on to words. Then he’s going to move on to work. 

So Act 1: Scene 2. Here we go again. 

1) Those who love God love instruction (12:1, 15)

In verse 15, he says, 

15 The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice. 

A wise person knows how to deliver good words. And a wise person knows how to receive good words. Like meets like. Jesus would say throughout his ministry, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” What did Jesus mean by that? We all have ears. But we don’t all have ears to hear! Jesus was calling the listeners. He was calling the teachable to listen—those who love instruction. 

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Secondly… 

2) Those who love God love good words (12:2–8, 16–23) 

Solomon says in verse 16. 

16 The vexation of a fool is known at once, but the prudent ignores an insult. 

Boy that’s a hard verse for me. Because I’m a “heart on my sleeve” kind of person. I’m not very good at hiding my emotions, vexation or otherwise. And I’ve prayed for changes in that. I’ve prayed, “Lord, take this hotblooded Scotch-Irish extrovert, and temper me. Help me to be a coolheaded person.” 

I’ve prayed at times, “Lord, help me to hide my vexation better.” I’ve also prayed, “Lord, would you get rid of my vexation, please? Why am I angry? I don’t need to be angry.” 

Look at verse 17.

17 Whoever speaks the truth gives honest evidence, but a false witness utters deceit. 

The world says, “Tell me lies, tell me sweet little lies.” It’s actually worse than that. The world says, “Reality is what I say it is. It’s self-determined. And if you don’t affirm what I determine to be ‘my truth,’ I’ll cancel you.” But the Bible says instead…

17 Whoever speaks the truth gives honest evidence, but a false witness utters deceit. 

That’s a good hedging statement after verse 16. Because we might be tempted, in light of verse 16, to speak and believe lies. No, the goal is to speak the truth in love. The goal is grace and truth. Jesus came to this world full of “grace and truth” (John 1:14). Warren Wiersbe said once, “Truth without grace is brutality. Grace without truth is hypocrisy.” 

Speaking of grace, look at verse 18.

18 There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing. 

That is a vivid metaphor! Just imagine a sword thrusting into a man’s flesh, stabbing and cutting and tearing a person apart on the way in and on the way out. That’s what rash words are like. 

There’s this popular psychological theory that circulates in our day, and it tells people, “It doesn’t matter what other people say about you. It shouldn’t matter at all. The only thing that matters is what you think and say about yourself.” 

The problem with that theory is that it’s just not true. And besides that, it doesn’t work. We care about what other people say. And we need the verbal affirmation of others. Children need that from parents. Employees need that from employers. Friends need that from friends. Churches need that from their pastors and elders. 

And we have the opportunity with our tongues to either build up or tear down. We can either run them through with our sword-tongues… isn’t it interesting how the tongue is kind of shaped like a sword? We can use our tongues like swords that stab and strike. Or we can use our tongues as scalpels that heal. 

Look at verse 19.

19 Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue is but for a moment. 

20 Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil, but those who plan peace have joy.

Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers” … not the warmongers. And that peace is derived from speaking the truth. It’s not a peace derived from believing lies or espousing lies. That can be nothing more than a temporary peace. Because the truth will eventually come out. 

Someday thousands (maybe millions) of people in our country, who have been told a pack of lies about gender ideology, will come to their senses. And they will turn to the schools and the authorities and in some cases, unfortunately, their parents and say, “You lied to me. You told me, a biological female, that I can be male. And it’s not true!” They better not say that to the church. We cannot embrace that lie. 

Look at verse 21.

21 No ill befalls the righteous, but the wicked are filled with trouble. 

22 Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, 

The Russian dissident Alexander Solzhenitsyn wrote an essay years ago entitled, “Live not by Lies.” Rod Dreher developed it into a book by the same title. And Solzhenitsyn talked about how one of the goals of the atheistic Communist regime was to get people to embrace lies. Because once you get people to embrace a lie, then they are more malleable. Then you can control them. It’s a way to break their will. And many people in the Communist world were put to death because they refused to embrace the lies. 

And you might say, “How does someone find the fortitude to do that?” “How does someone stand up to totalitarian regimes and governments that foist lies upon the people and make them embrace them?” Here’s how. You believe in a power bigger than the government. You revert to a higher authority. You read Proverbs 12:22 and you actually take it seriously. 

22 Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who act faithfully are his delight. 

Let God be true and every man a liar. I must obey God rather than men. Let me say it this way—I’d rather be abominated by the government and my coworkers and my friends than do things that God abominates. 

23 A prudent man conceals knowledge, but the heart of fools proclaims folly. 

One of the things that both Solzhenitsyn and Rod Dreher state is that “Living not by Lies” doesn’t mean you have to shout the truth from the mountain tops every chance you get. There’s a time for prudence. There’s a time for silence. There’s a time for keeping your head down and not attracting too much attention to yourself. 

Jesus said we should be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves. And a prudent man knows when to speak and when to listen. A prudent man knows when to broadcast knowledge and when to conceal it. He knows the difference between, verse 1, a wise man who listens and loves discipline, and a fool who rejects it. 

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And thirdly, once again. 

3) Those who love God love honest work (12:9–14, 24–28)

Solomon says, 

24 The hand of the diligent will rule, while the slothful will be put to forced labor.

Benjamin Franklin wrote in his Poor Richard’s Almanac, “Diligence is the mother of good luck, and God gives all things to industry.” Solomon makes repeated statements in this book about hard work and diligence. But he doesn’t just encourage diligence because it’s a path to a better life. He also discourages slothfulness because it’s a sin. Slothfulness isn’t a malady. It’s not a condition, and it’s not an illness. It’s a sin to be repented of. 

Speaking of sin, look at verse 25. 

25 Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad. 

When you look at the NT, there’s good anxiety and there’s bad anxiety. There’s God-honoring concern for others. And then there’s God-dishonoring fear and fret and worry. And that kind of anxiety weighs a man down. 

In fact, it’s been proven in studies that many of the physical ailments in people’s lives are brought on by anxiety. And we, in the church, can help one another with that. 

25 Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad. 

Proverbs 15:30 says, “good news refreshes the bones.” I went to this church once where everyone would say to each other, “What’s the good word, brother?” That’s a good thing to ask at church. I’ve got anxiety in my heart. We’ve all got anxiety in our hearts. What’s the good word? Give us something to help take that load off!

By the way, there are only a few places in the NT where we are commanded to do something every day. Did you know that? The author of Hebrews tells us that we should be doing one particular activity every single day. Every day! Do you know what activity that is? Encourage one another! Hebrews 3:13, “But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called ‘Today.’” 

You might say, “Pastor Tony, I did encourage someone. In 1995, I said something encouraging to someone else!” No. Every day! Every day, Christian! Use your tongue to refresh someone’s bones. 

Look at verse 26.

26 One who is righteous is a guide to his neighbor, but the way of the wicked leads them astray.

 27 Whoever is slothful will not roast his game, but the diligent man will get precious wealth.

There’s that word again—slothful. It’s the Hebrew רְמִיָּה. It’s what linguists call onomatopoeia. It’s a word that sounds like what it is. Because when you say רְמִיָּה, you can almost hear someone “yawning” as they say it.

And this statement in verse 27, it’s so ridiculous it’s comical. It’s a man who is so lazy, that he leaves his task undone. He kills the game, but he’s too lazy to cook it. So he eats it raw like an animal. Like Gollum in Lord of the Rings! And you’re meant to read that and say, “That’s ridiculous. How could someone be so lazy?” It is ridiculous. Laziness is ridiculous. And God loves those who love honest work. 

And then Solomon says this in verse 28. And I want you to hear this. Because verse 28 is one of the most important and most unexpected verses in the entire book. And for a book that has a lot of statements coming out of left field, this is the most unexpected statement in the book. 

Because Solomon says, after all this talk about good words and good work,

 28 In the path of righteousness is life, and in its pathway there is no death. 

And even as you read that, I hope you feel the shock of what he’s saying. Because you should be saying to yourself, “No death! When did immortality get put on the table? I thought we were talking about life on this side of eternity!”

And if you read some liberal scholars, they will dismiss this and even dismiss the idea that OT saints had any understanding of life after death. That’s not true. Solomon knew there was life after life. And he even alludes to that here. 

And he says, 

28 In the path of righteousness is life, and in its pathway there is [immortality]. 

Now for an OT saint, that meant righteousness by way of God-fearing and sacrifices offered for sin in the hope of a coming Messiah, and faith in a future Savior. But for an NT saint, we know, we know clearly, that the path of righteousness leading to life is none other than the path paved by our Savior Jesus Christ. And we don’t just read this verse as Israelites waiting for the messiah 3,000 years ago. We read this verse as proleptic and even prophetic of the righteousness that we have in Christ. 

So let me spell it out for you.   

28 In the path of righteousness [paved for us by the blood of Jesus… there] is life, and in its pathway there is no death.



If you got Christ, you got his righteousness, and there’s no death… no eternal death. In the words of Charles Spurgeon, “Born once; die twice. Born twice; die once.” If you are born again, if you know Christ Jesus as your savior, you only die once. And then you embrace eternal life. If you aren’t born again, there’s two deaths. You die in this world and then you experience eternal death forever. Are you born again?

Taught by Tony Caffey

Senior Pastor of Verse By Verse Fellowship

Proverbs