The Mouths of Fools and the Word of God

Proverbs chapter 18, verses 1 to 21.

Proverbs 18:1–21

Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire.

He breaks out against all sound judgment.

A fool takes no pleasure in understanding,

but only in expressing his opinion.

When wickedness comes, contempt comes also,

and with dishonor comes disgrace.

The words of a man's mouth are deep waters.

The fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook.

It is not good to be partial to the wicked

or to deprive the righteous of justice.

A fool's lips walk into a fight,

and his mouth invites a beating.

A fool's mouth is his ruin,

and his lips are a snare to his soul.

The words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels.

They go down into the inner parts of the body.

Whoever is slack in his work is a brother to him who destroys.

The name of the Lord is a strong tower.

The righteous man runs into it and is safe.

A rich man's wealth is his strong city,

and like a high wall in his imagination.

Before destruction, a man's heart is haughty,

but humility comes before honor.

If one gives an answer before he hears,

it is his folly and shame.

A man's spirit will endure sickness,

but a crushed spirit, who can bear?

An intelligent heart acquires knowledge,

and the year of the wise seeks knowledge.

A man's gift makes room for him

and brings him before the great.

The one who states his case first seems right

until the other comes and examines him.

The lot puts an end to quarrels

and decides between powerful contenders.

A brother offended is more unyielding than a strong city,

and quarreling is like the bars of a castle.

From the fruit of a man's mouth,

his stomach is satisfied.

He is satisfied by the yield of his lips.

Death and life are in the power of the tongue,

and those who love it will eat its fruits.

This is God's holy and authoritative word.

The previous chapter we looked at last week

closed with the commendation of a cool spirit

and closed lips,

representing self-control and restrained speech.

And that chapter taught us that such restraint

and self-control come from knowledge

and understanding of God,

that it begins with the fear of the Lord.

So chapter 18 is continuing that theme,

and it teaches us that the Lord

lifts up the humble listener,

but brings down the prideful talker.

So first we're going to look at the prideful talker

in verses 1 to 9,

and then the humble listener in verses 10 to 21.

Verses 1 to 2 give us an introductory portrait

of this prideful talker.

It says,

Whoever isolates himself,

seeks his own desire,

he breaks out against all sound judgment.

A fool takes no pleasure in understanding,

but only in expressing his opinion.

So first it tells us that the fool

isolates himself.

Why?

Because he seeks his own desire, it says.

When you are in a community with other people,

you can't get everything you want.

You can't have everything your way.

So the person who seeks his own desire

isolates himself.

And in doing so,

he breaks out against all sound judgment.

It says,

Such a person is a fool

who takes no pleasure in understanding,

but only in expressing his own opinion.

Because he has removed himself

from the accountability

and correction of other people.

There's a survey entitled

The State of Theology,

I think it was some years ago now,

that was conducted by Ligonier Ministries

and Lifeway Research.

It polled Christians throughout the country

on their views on various theological issues,

asking whether or not they agree,

disagree,

or are unsure about 47 statements

of religious belief.

The survey found that

an alarming percentage of professing Christians

held many unbiblical theological positions.

But it found that Christians

who attend church once a month or more

were the most likely of any demographic group surveyed

to provide biblical responses

to the questions.

In other words,

when you isolate yourself,

when you remove yourself

from the church community,

you're more likely to hold heretical beliefs.

This is true in other areas as well.

Alan Jacobs is an English professor

in Baylor University

and a celebrated cultural critic.

He writes for The Atlantic,

The New Atlantis,

First Things,

a lot of articles you can find from him

in those publications.

A few years ago,

he wrote a book entitled

How to Think,

A Survival Guide for a World at Odds.

And in the book,

he writes that all of us,

quote,

all of us at various times in our lives

believe true things for poor reasons

and false things for good reasons.

And that whatever we think we know,

whether we're right or wrong,

arises from our interactions

with other human beings.

thinking independently,

solitarily,

for ourselves

is not an option.

End quote.

He's articulating the truth

of Proverbs 18, verses 1 to 2.

Proverbs 18:1–2

Thinking for oneself

is an illusion.

We should give up such futile endeavors

and instead engage with people

and groups that challenge

our prideful desire

to have all of our opinions validated.

Whoever isolates himself

seeks his own desire.

He breaks out against all sound judgment.

The fool is preoccupied solely

with expressing his opinion

and for that reason,

he doesn't take the time to listen

and therefore is incapable

of reevaluating his opinions.

And that person takes no pleasure

in understanding.

He has a closed mind

but an open mouth.

Words like lip, mouth, tongue

are repeated eight times

in this passage

indicating the main theme

of this passage.

And in verses 1 to 3

depict a downward spiral

of this sinful pride.

First, it begins with isolation

that leads to ignorance,

which then leads to wickedness

and dishonorable deeds,

which then leads to contempt

and disgrace.

This chain reaction of sin

begins with pride,

but it ends in humiliation

because the Lord lifts up

the humble listener

but brings down

the prideful talker.

Then verses 4 to 8

tell us more specifically

what kind of talk

this prideful talker engages in.

And this subunit

is enclosed by verse 4 and verse 8,

which both begin

with the phrase,

the words of.

Verse 4 says,

the words of a man's mouth

are deep waters.

The fountain of wisdom

is a bubbling brook.

It's not immediately clear

what it means

that the words of a man's mouth

are deep waters.

Is deep waters a good thing?

Is it like something deep,

profound, and wise?

Or is it a bad thing?

So all the references

to a person's mouth or lip

or words in this subsection

are negative,

which suggests that the words

of a man's mouth

might be being contrasted

from the fountain of wisdom,

which is a bubbling brook.

The metaphor of deep waters

does not represent

profundity, depth, wisdom,

but rather it represents

inaccessibility.

We know this from a similar verse

in Proverbs chapter 20,

Proverbs 20:5

verse 5,

which says,

the purpose in a man's heart

is like deep water,

but a man of understanding

will draw it out.

So the purpose in a man's heart

is like deep water,

meaning it's hard to discern.

It's out of reach.

The expression deep water

is used poetically

throughout Scripture

to represent something

that is mysterious

and or ominous.

For example,

Psalm 69, 14 says,

deliver me from sinking

in the mire.

Let me be delivered

from my enemies

and from the deep waters.

With this in mind,

verse 4 likely means

that the words of a man's mouth

are concealing in their nature

and therefore mysterious

and even ominous.

In contrast,

the fountain of wisdom

is a bubbling brook.

The words of the wise

are often called

a fountain of life

throughout Proverbs.

It is like a bubbling brook

or a rushing stream.

It's not hiding something,

but it's out in the open.

It's not mysterious and ominous,

rather it's transparent

and clear.

And interpreted in this way,

Proverbs 18, 4 is very similar

to Proverbs 10, verse 11,

Proverbs 10:11

which says,

The mouth of the righteous

is a fountain of life,

but the mouth of the wicked

conceals violence.

The words of the wise

are an inexhaustible source

of life-giving wisdom,

but the words of the fool

are inaccessible,

mysterious, and ominous.

It has hidden intentions.

Along the same line,

verse 5 says,

It is not good to be partial

to the wicked

or to deprive the righteous

of justice.

Whoever is a judge in court

should not let the words

of his mouth be like deep water,

concealing his true intentions

and showing partiality

to the wicked.

Instead, he should let his words

be true and transparent

like the flowing stream

and give the righteous justice.

And then, verse 6 and 7

tell us about the rashness

and quarrelsomeness

of the fool's speech.

A fool's lips walk into a fight

and his mouth invites a beating.

A fool's mouth is his ruin

and his lips are a snare

to his soul.

So verse 6 and verse 7,

they mirror each other.

Verse 6 begins by saying

that a fool's lips

get him entangled in fights.

And then verse 8 ends

by saying that a fool's lip

ensnares his soul.

And in the middle,

it repeats the idea

that the fool's mouth

brings him beating and ruin.

Proverbs repeatedly speaks

of how the wise person

avoids unnecessary conflict

and seeks to resolve conflict

as soon as possible.

For example,

Proverbs chapter 17, 14,

Proverbs 17 · chapter mention

we looked at last week,

warned us,

The beginning of strife

is like the letting out water,

so quit before the quarrel

breaks out.

The fool, however,

walks headlong into quarrels.

He is incapable of speaking

graciously and prudently,

and his own words

with which he intends

to inflict damage on others

actually ends up inflicting

the severest damage

on himself.

The word soul

represents his life.

So it's escalating

the consequence

of the fool's quarrelsome speech.

It goes from a beating

to death.

So the fool's speech

is not only concealed,

covert,

it's not only quarrelsome,

but it's also idle.

He engages in idle speech,

gossip and slander.

He says in verse 8,

The words of a whisperer

are like delicious morsels.

They go down

into the inner parts

of the body.

Just as dinner guests

devour a delicious meal

that is served to them,

the words of a whisperer

get greedily consumed

like delicious morsels.

And like poison

that spreads

throughout the entire body,

they go down

into the inner parts

of the body.

This proverb highlights

the insidious,

danger of gossip.

The quarrelsome speech

of the fool

antagonizes the hearer,

but idle speech

it lures the hearer in

and makes them partake

in the sin of gossip.

But just as contaminated food

causes food poisoning,

gossip goes down

into the inner parts

of the body

and poisons our mind,

our thoughts,

our attitudes

toward others.

So whether it's

concealed speech,

controversial,

quarrelsome speech,

the fool's speech

has the effect

of dividing

and destroying

the community

he is in.

And then,

in verse 9,

Solomon throws in

one more category

of the foolish talker

who destroys his community.

Whoever is slack

in his work

is a brother to him

who destroys.

The slacker

is connected

to the idle talker

because if you're

busy talking,

you're not busy working.

Proverbs chapter 14,

Proverbs 14 · chapter mention

23, 24

made this explicit connection.

In all toil

there is profit,

but mere talk

tends only to poverty.

The slacker,

like the unjust judge,

like the quarreller,

like the gossip,

destroys both himself

and his community.

And that's the first section

dealing with

the prideful talker.

Now, as a contrast

to this grim portrait,

let's look at

the humble listener

in verses 20 to 21.

Who, instead of trusting

in his own mouth,

trusts in the Lord

and listens to his word.

It says in verse 10 and 11,

The name of the Lord

is a strong tower.

The righteous man

runs into it

and is safe.

A rich man's wealth

is a strong city

and like a high wall

in his imagination.

The two verses

form a memorable contrast.

The righteous man

runs to the name

of the Lord,

which is a strong tower

for him

and keeps him safe.

Now, this doesn't mean,

you know,

superstitiously invoking

God's name

for some kind

of magical protection.

The name of someone

represents

the identity

and character

of that person.

And to trust

in the name of the Lord

is to trust in Him,

to believe

in what He has said,

to trust and rely

on what He has promised.

And this imagery

of a defensive fortification

is particularly appropriate

after verse 9,

which spoke of

the foolish talker

with a brother

to him who destroys.

When injustice,

quarrels,

gossip,

and slander

seek to destroy him,

the righteous person

runs to the Lord

for defense

and vindication,

trusting that God's

righteous judgment

will prevail.

That's what God's

calling us to do.

I'm sure you've all been

subjects

of a malicious gossip

or slander.

Been part of arguments,

quarrels,

victims of injustice.

You can run to God

for protection

because His promises,

His word is true.

In a striking contrast,

a rich man's wealth

is his strong city

and like a high wall

in his imagination.

It's quite the dig.

The rich man thinks

that his wealth

will protect him

from destruction

and get him

out of trouble.

But this is ultimately

an illusion,

a figment

of his imagination.

In the end,

the rich man

will die

and face

God's impartial judgment

like every other man.

And this is ironic.

The rich man's

visible wealth

is but an imaginary defense,

but the righteous man's

invisible Lord

is a real

stalwart defense.

brothers and sisters,

rich people

might hire bodyguards,

flee dangerous situations

in private jets,

pay for world-class

medical treatment

and access,

pay for access

to vaccines

that are not available

to common folk.

They might build

walled mansions

with security cameras,

hire the best lawyers

to protect their reputation

and destroy other people's,

but don't ever think

that they have it

better than you do.

That they are more protected

than you are

because that is not true.

The fortification

that they buy

with their wealth

is only imaginary.

But the Lord our God

is a real,

invincible fortress.

If we run to him,

he will deliver us.

If we are faithful to him,

his justice

will vindicate us

in the end.

So we have nothing to fear.

Those who trust in God

are not the ones

who will be destroyed

in the end.

As verse 12 says,

before destruction,

a man's heart is haughty,

but humility comes

before honor.

It's the haughty,

those who elevate themselves

before God,

the prideful talker,

the self-sufficient rich,

those who trust in themselves

and not in God,

they will be destroyed

because God exalts

those who humble themselves

and humbles those

who exalt themselves.

The Lord lifts up

the humble listener

but brings down

the prideful talker.

In the preceding verses,

words like mouth,

lip, tongue,

you know,

they predominated

but highlighted

the folly of the talker.

But here,

in the following verses,

we see words like hear

and ear

and the concept

of listening

and learning predominate.

It says in verses 13 to 15,

if one gives an answer

before he hears,

it is his folly and shame.

A man's spirit

will endure sickness,

but a crushed spirit

who can bear.

An intelligent heart

acquires knowledge

and the ear of the wise

seeks knowledge.

Because,

as we saw in verse 2,

a fool takes no pleasure

in understanding

but only in expressing

his own opinion,

he also tends

to give an answer

before he hears.

He jumps to conclusions,

presumes to know

other people's thoughts,

what they are talking about

before really hearing them out,

considering their points of view.

They prematurely form judgments

and in doing so,

they expose themselves

to be a fool,

to be fools

who bring shame

upon themselves.

And the consequence

of such folly,

it says,

is a crushed spirit.

Verse 14 says,

A man's spirit

will endure sickness,

but a crushed spirit

who can bear.

Humanity has known

for thousands of years

that there is a relationship

between the mind

and the body

and in one's health,

overall health.

But recently,

there has been

a recovery

of this neglected wisdom,

which was written

in the book of Proverbs

nearly 3,000 years ago.

In an article entitled,

The Will to Live,

published by

the Stanford Center

for Integrative Medicine,

The Authors Ernest

and Isadora Rosenbaum

write about how sometimes

two patients

of similar ages

and same diagnosis,

same degree of illness,

and same treatment program

will nonetheless experience

vastly different outcomes.

And often,

one of the few

apparent differences

is that one patient

has a stronger will

to live than the other.

They write about,

in that article,

the rise of the field

of psychoneuroimmunology,

where researchers

experiment with the effect

that mental and emotional

activity have

on physical well-being.

This is what verse 14

is talking about

already almost 3,000 years ago.

A man with a robust spirit

can endure sickness,

but there is no hope

for a crushed spirit.

spirit.

The word spirit

and heart

are often used

interchangeably

in poetic literature.

We can see this

in Proverbs 17,

Proverbs 17:22

verse 22.

A cheerful heart

is good medicine,

but a crushed spirit

dries up the bones.

Now,

knowing this,

we can make out

what the connection is

between verse 13,

14,

and 15.

Because verse 15

says,

an intelligent heart

acquires knowledge,

and the year of the wise

seeks knowledge.

So there's a connection

between the intelligent heart,

the heart of understanding,

and the spirit

that endures its sickness.

The fool who answers

before he hears

has a crushed spirit,

but the person of understanding

who seeks God's knowledge,

who is eager to learn,

who has a strong spirit,

he can endure sickness.

That's the paradox

that runs through

the entire book of Proverbs.

The fool who has much to learn

is impervious to learning.

The sage,

on the other hand,

who has humbled himself

before God,

is open to learning,

quick to hear.

So the key then

to a robust spirit

is a humble trust in God,

which produces joy,

hope,

thanksgiving,

peace.

The Lord lifts up

the humble listener,

but brings down

the prideful talker.

Humble listening

is important

in the courtroom as well.

Verse 16 says,

A man's gift

makes room for him

and brings him

before the great.

What's in view here

is a bribe.

As we saw in chapter 17,

verse 23,

a bribe grants

the giver

an audience

before judges

and princes

so that he gets

the first hearing

and has an opportunity

to curry their favor.

A gift,

however,

should not be

a prerequisite

for a fair hearing

in court.

So verse 17

warns against that.

The one who states

his case first

seems right

until the other

comes and examines him.

This is why

a judge

should never

take bribes

or give priority

hearing to one party.

If you only hear

one side of the argument,

that side

always

sounds right.

This is why

in courts

we have the practice

of cross-examination.

People always

present themselves

in their own arguments

in the most favorable light.

It's only when

they are cross-examined

that misrepresentations,

exaggerations,

and flat-out lies

are exposed.

This is a helpful practice

outside of the courtroom

as well.

When you hear

an argument

or an accusation

made by one side,

whether it's

among your family

and friends

in your lives

or whether it's

in the news,

make sure you listen

to the opposing side also.

And make sure you give

each side

a fair hearing

instead of prejudging

the case.

Parents experience

this all the time.

They're not listening.

One child comes up

and says,

she said this,

did this to me.

And then,

you grab the other child

and ask her,

and then you learn

very quickly

that the first child

didn't tell you

the full story.

Adults do the same thing.

Okay.

So we must remember

that the one

who states his case

first seems right

until the other

comes and examines him.

Verses 18 to 19

then look beyond this

to cases that may not

be resolved

in the courtroom.

And the two verses

qualify one another.

The lot puts an end

to quarrels

and decides

between powerful contenders.

A brother offended

is more unyielding

than a strong city,

and quarreling

is like the bars

of a castle.

The quarrel,

the word occurs

in both verses,

is the topic

of despair.

And verse 18

teaches us

that in some situations

when there's a stalemate

in a conflict

and a satisfactory

resolution

cannot be reached,

a lot

can end the quarrel.

The lot

because it is impartial.

And as Proverbs

Proverbs 16:33

chapter 16

verse 33

said,

the lot

is cast

into the lap,

but it's every decision

is from the Lord.

So in submitting

to the lot,

one learns

humility before God,

self-denial,

and faith.

But there is

one particular

type of quarrel

that is especially

difficult to resolve.

And that is the case

of an offended brother.

When an intimate

friend or brother

is offended

in a way

that betrays

his confidence,

that brother

will be more

unyielding

than a strong city

and quarreling

will be like

the bars

of a castle.

And then

verses 20 to 21

conclude this section

by returning

to the imagery

of the mouth

and lip.

It says,

from the fruit

of a man's mouth

his stomach

is satisfied.

He is satisfied

by the yield

of his lips.

Death and life

are in the power

of the tongue,

but those who love it

will eat its fruit.

The book of Proverbs

often depicts

one's words

as something

that people eat,

that can influence

people.

And here,

Solomon takes

that imagery

one step further

to make the point

that we ourselves

also eat the fruit

of what we say.

It's an intentionally

paradoxical image.

By what we dish out

to others

in our words,

we will also be served.

We will eat

the consequence

of our words.

We reap

what we sow

and we eat

what we speak.

We will bear

the consequences

and so that

for that reason

we should take

all the more care

in what we say.

As verse 21 says,

death and life

are in the power

of the tongue

and those who love it

will eat its fruits.

The phrase

death and life

is a rhetorical device

called the merism

where the two extremes

are mentioned

in order to include

everything in between.

So when you say

both young and old

are invited to the party,

that means

everyone is invited

of all ages,

not just old people

and young people.

So likewise here,

when it says

death and life

are in the power

of the tongue,

it means that

the tongue

has the power

to kill

or to save

and everything

in between.

It has the power

to affect

all the highs

and lows

of life.

And those who love it

will eat its fruits.

Those who love words,

those who love language,

those who love

to use words,

they will eat the fruit

of what they say

whether it's toward life

or toward death.

And there are words

that this Proverbs 18

is pointing to,

words that we must

above all things

speak and eat.

The words that bring

blessing in this life

and ultimately

eternal life

and that word

is God's word.

Deuteronomy chapter 8

Deuteronomy 8:1–3

verses 1 to 3

say this,

the whole commandment

that I commanded today

you shall be careful to do

that you may live

and multiply

and go in

and possess the land

that the Lord

swore to give

to your fathers.

And you shall remember

the whole way

that the Lord your God

has led you

these 40 years

in the wilderness

that He might humble you,

testing you

to know what was

in your heart,

whether you would

keep His commandments

or not.

And He humbled you

and let you hunger

and fed you with manna

which you did not know

nor did your fathers know

that He might make you know

that man does not live

by bread alone

but man lives

by every word

that comes from

the mouth of the Lord.

God's people live

not only by bread

but by the word of God.

It's this word

that prophet Jeremiah ate

and proclaimed.

He says in Jeremiah

Jeremiah 15:16

chapter 15 verse 16,

your words were found

and I ate them

and your words

became to me a joy

and the delight

of my heart

for I am called

by your name

O Lord God of hosts.

And this word of God

that delighted

and gave life

to the saints of old

is brought to

ultimate fulfillment

in the person

of Jesus Christ

who is called

in John 1

the word of God

made flesh.

the word of God

become man

and though we

had pridefully

rejected God's word

and lived by our own mouth

and by our own wills,

Jesus emptied Himself.

Jesus became a man.

He humbled Himself.

He became obedient

to death,

even death on a cross.

And it's by His death

that He made satisfaction

for our sins

and by His resurrection

that He gives us

abundant life

and life forevermore

in the presence of God.

Brothers and sisters,

we must listen

to this word.

We must believe this word.

We must speak this word.

We must cherish this word

because it is a matter

of eternal life

or eternal death

because our salvation

depends on it.

This is why

we take pains

every Sunday

to gather,

to sing God's word,

to profess God's word,

to read God's word,

to hear God's word preached.

Lest we forget,

lest the word of God

become less and less

real to us

and we find that one day

we no longer believe it.

So it says

in Colossians chapter 3

Colossians 3:16

verse 16,

let the word of Christ

dwell in you richly,

teaching and admonishing

one another in all wisdom,

singing psalms and hymns

and spiritual songs

with thankfulness

in your hearts to God.

That's what the church

is all about.

That's why we're here,

to let the word of Christ

dwell in us richly.

And I pray that as you,

as we continue our worship

and as we leave

from this place,

that you will be enriched

and fed with God's word

as you go from here.

Please think about that

for a moment

and think about how

God's calling you

to respond,

what he's calling you

to change,

how he's comforting you

and convicting you.

And after you've done that,

we will pray out loud

together as a church.

tie it together as you go from here.