He
layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous (Prov 2:7)
Interacting With: Human Rulers: Proverbs 25:4-7
4) Take away the dross from the silver, and there shall come forth a
vessel for the finer.
5) Take away the wicked [from]
before the king, and his throne shall be established in righteousness.
6) Put not forth thyself in the presence of the king, and stand not in
the place of great [men]:
7) For better [it is] that it
be said unto thee, Come up hither; than that thou shouldest be put lower in the
presence of the prince whom thine eyes have seen.
Solomon
now shares with us teachings on how to interact in others in many, various
walks of life…
EXPOSITION:
4) Take away the dross from the silver, and there shall come forth a
vessel for the finer.
1.
Remove the refuse from the silver
2.
This will bring out material that is suitable for the silversmith
It
is only when the waste is brought out from the silver that it can be used by
the silversmith….
“But in a great house there
are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and
some to honour, and some to dishonour. If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto
honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, [and] prepared unto every
good work.” (2 Timothy 2:20-21)
5) Take away the wicked [from]
before the king, and his throne shall be established in righteousness.
1. Remove the wicked associates from the
presence of the one in authority and
2. his authority will be founded upon obedience
to the law of God.
The
need to purify silver before its use is an illustration of the need to remove
wicked counselors from before the King so that the King’s rule over his people might
be just and pleasing to God.
“He that worketh deceit
shall not dwell within my house: he that telleth lies shall not tarry in my
sight. I will early destroy all
the wicked of the land; that I may cut off all wicked doers from the city of
the LORD.” (Psalms 101:7-8)
6) Put not forth thyself in the presence of the king, and stand not in
the place of great [men]:
1. Do not puff up yourself in front of the King
and
2. Do not exalt yourself to the position that is
held by the noble
By
elevating ourselves in the king’s presence, we are, in effect, lowering the position
of the king. By placing ourselves with
the noble men, we are making ourselves equal with them. In doing so, we are risking offending the
others and inviting their displeasure to fall upon us.
“For we dare not make
ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend
themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing
themselves among themselves, are not wise. But we will not boast of things without [our] measure, but according to
the measure of the rule which God hath distributed to us, a measure to reach
even unto you. For we stretch not
ourselves beyond [our measure], as though we reached not unto you: for we are
come as far as to you also in [preaching] the gospel of Christ: Not boasting of things
without [our] measure, [that is], of other men's labours; but having hope, when
your faith is increased, that we shall be enlarged by you according to our rule
abundantly,” (2 Corinthians 10:12-15)
7) For better [it is] that it
be said unto thee, Come up hither; than that thou shouldest be put lower in the
presence of the prince whom thine eyes have seen.
1. It is more desirable to have those in
authority say “arise, come and join us” than to be
2. publically demoted in front of those who hold
authority over us.
By
waiting upon the authorities to invite us to an exalted position, it shows that
we are in submission to their authority.
When we exalt ourselves, it is as if we are “taking matters in our own
hands” and exercising authority that really belongs to others. Although we want them to think highly of us,
by showing attitudes of impatience, distrust, and selfishness we are defeating
our purpose by causing them to think less of us.
“And he spake this parable
unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised
others: Two men went up into the
temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and
prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men [are],
extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week,
I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as [his]
eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a
sinner. I tell you, this man went
down to his house justified [rather] than the other: for every one that
exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be
exalted.” (Luke 18:9-14)
SUMMARY:
We
have seen that, when we relate to those who hold authority over us we are to:
1. Remove wicked counselors from before those in
authority so that they may rule in a way that is just and pleasing to God.
2.
By elevating ourselves in the presence
of those in authority, we are risking offending them and inviting their displeasure
to fall upon us.
3. By waiting upon the authorities to invite us
to an exalted position, it shows that we are in submission to their
authority. When we exalt ourselves, it
is as if we are “taking matters in our own hands” and exercising authority that
really belongs to others.
4. Although we want them to think highly of us,
by showing attitudes of impatience, distrust, and selfishness we are defeating
our purpose by causing them to think less of us.
May
we all possess Godly wisdom and live our lives for Him.
By
God’s grace, let us all study these proverbs diligently, giving them the value
that they deserve.
May the
Lord bless us as we receive this sound wisdom and then “Think On These Things”.
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