31 Days of Wisdom: Day 13 - Proverbs 13

Proverbs 13 Background
Proverbs 13 is a collection of twenty-five wisdom sayings, most of which contrast two opposites with each other (e.g. the wise and the foolish). While there is an emphasis on teaching/instruction, the chapter does not seem to have a single theme.

Proverbs 13 Wisdom Loves Righteousness
1 A wise son heeds his father’s instruction,
But a scoffer does not listen to rebuke.
2 A man shall eat well by the fruit of his mouth,
But the soul of the unfaithful feeds on violence.
3 He who guards his mouth preserves his life,
But he who opens wide his lips shall have destruction.
4 The soul of a lazy man desires, and has nothing;
But the soul of the diligent shall be made rich.
5 A righteous man hates lying,
But a wicked man is loathsome and comes to shame.
6 Righteousness guards him whose way is blameless,
But wickedness overthrows the sinner.
7 There is one who makes himself rich, yet has nothing;
And one who makes himself poor, yet has great riches.
8 The ransom of a man’s life is his riches,
But the poor does not hear rebuke.
9 The light of the righteous rejoices,
But the lamp of the wicked will be put out.
10 By pride comes nothing but strife,
But with the well-advised is wisdom.
11 Wealth gained by dishonesty will be diminished,
But he who gathers by labor will increase.
12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick,
But when the desire comes, it is a tree of life.
13 He who despises the word will be destroyed,
But he who fears the commandment will be rewarded.
14 The law of the wise is a fountain of life,
To turn one away from the snares of death.
15 Good understanding gains favor,
But the way of the unfaithful is hard.
16 Every prudent man acts with knowledge,
But a fool lays open his folly.
17 A wicked messenger falls into trouble,
But a faithful ambassador brings health.
18 Poverty and shame will come to him who disdains correction,
But he who regards a rebuke will be honored.
19 A desire accomplished is sweet to the soul,
But it is an abomination to fools to depart from evil.
20 He who walks with wise men will be wise,
But the companion of fools will be destroyed.
21 Evil pursues sinners,
But to the righteous, good shall be repaid.
22 A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children,
But the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous.
23 Much food is in the fallow ground of the poor,
And for lack of justice there is waste.
24 He who spares his rod hates his son,
But he who loves him disciplines him promptly.
25 The righteous eats to the satisfying of his soul,
But the stomach of the wicked shall be in want.

Pastor's Reflection
He who despises the word will be destroyed, But he who fears the commandment will be rewarded. -Proverbs 13:13 NKJV

Ever the teacher, Solomon instructs his readers to hold their instructors' lessons. Doing so brings reward or blessing. The person who laughs off such teaching brings ruin on himself. This is a recurring theme in the book of Proverbs. Those who follow good advice, coming from godly wisdom (Proverbs 1:7), put themselves on a path to success (Proverbs 10:17). The person who "despises" instruction is the scoffer depicted in other verses as a fool (Proverbs 9:7–12; 13:1).

Various translations use the phrase "the word," "instruction," or "advice" here. The Hebrew term is dā'bār, which implies a message, commandment, or instruction. This is not an explicit reference to Scripture, though what's written in the Bible is certainly included in the wisdom that a godly person will pursue (Proverbs 6:23; Psalm 1:1–2).

Blessing for following wisdom, versus ruin for disobedience, appears in Jesus' story about two builders. A wise builder constructed his house on a rock, and it survived heavy winds, torrential rains, and rising floods. A foolish man built his house on sand, and it collapsed under strong wind, heavy rain, and swirling floods. Jesus compared the wise builder to whoever hears and obeys His words and the foolish builder to whoever hears His words but fails to obey them. (Read Matthew 7:24–27). In Luke 8:18 we find this exhortation given by Jesus: "Take care then how you hear." When Jesus addressed the churches of Asia Minor, He commanded, "He who has an ear, let him hear," and He included a promise for obedient hearing (Revelation 2:11, 17, 26–29; 3:5–6, 12–13, 20–22).