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Proverbs
Chapter
17
{Doctrine
and Inner Happiness -
(Comparative Distich - First line is Better Than Second)}
1~~Better
a dry morsel/crust with peace and quiet . . .
than
a house full of feasting . . . and strife.
{Note: The morsel here is food that is not really eatable. The picture here is of a wife who is not really a good cook, but they love each other. So, to have inner happiness and bad food is better than great details in life with an antagonistic spouse. Principal: everything in life is a detail except doctrine resident in your soul. Inner Happiness comes from doctrine resident in the soul - sharing the happiness that belongs to God.}
2~~A
wise servant shall have rule
over
a son who causes shame.
2b~~And
distribute/'shall have part of'
the
inheritance to the brethren.
{the sons are not wise - so the father leaves the estate in the care
of the wise servant who distributes the inheritance to the sons so
they can survive}
{Note: Verse 17:1 leads into verse 2. An unhappy home leads to children who cause shame to the parents. Humanly speaking the servant does not have much. But he is a believer and takes in doctrine and becomes spiritually mature - 'wise' - NOT a 'high IQ' here - he is utilizing the assets of his 2nd Birth. But the son is using the assets of his 1st and only birth (an unbeliever or a believer without maturity). So, the believer is the one who will share the inheritance that comes with being a believer.}
{Doctrine
and Suffering}
3a~~The
crucible/'fining pot' {mitsreph} is for silver,
and
the furnace/'refining system' for gold.
{Note: A crucible/Mitsreph was a melting pot where impurities were taken out of precious metals. They applied fire to precious metals to refine the impurities out of it. That is why God also allows us to suffer - we learn the importance of doctrine. Then if we have the details of life - fine. If we do not, still fine! We still have doctrine in our souls!}
3b~~But
Jehovah/God proves/tries {bachan - tests for purity}
the
hearts/'right lobes'/'mentality of the soul'.
{Verses
4-5: Believer Minus Bible Doctrine}
4a~~A
wicked doer {ra`a`} causes himself
to
give heed to false lips {speaker of false doctrine} . . .
{Note: The ra`a` or wicked doer is a person operating on the energy of the flesh instead of the energy of the Spirit. He may be an unbeliever or a believer out of fellowship. Whatever he produces, good or bad, is still outside the plan of God and, in God's viewpoint, therefore is a ra`a`/'wicked doer'. The wicked doer is negative to Truth, so he prefers to soak in false doctrine.}
4b~~And
a fraud
{sheqer - only can speak human viewpoint}
gives
ear to a false {havvah} tongue.
{Vindictiveness
is the Result}
5a~~Whoever
{carnal believer of previous verse}
derides/'looks
down on' {la`ag}
the
handicapped/ugly/'needy in a special way' { ruwsh}
reproaches/ridicules
his Maker.
{Note: These build up their pride by comparing themselves to a handicapped person in some way - looks, ability, whatever. You ridicule these people and you are ridiculing their Maker! It is the person with mental attitude sins who is really the ghastly one! The physically handicapped were often made that way by God - they have an 'excuse'. The ugly of the soul have no ;excuses'.}
5b~~And
he who is 'glad at calamities' {vindictiveness}
shall
not be unpunished.
{Note: A person who hates will gloat when an 'enemy' is hurt. The person with mental attitude sins will be punished by God for his mental sin.}
{Note: RBT says Verses 6 to end of the Chapter is the best translated in KJV of any portion of the Word.}
{Verses
6-10: The Proverbs of Life - (This is a Reciprocal Distich)}
{What
Children Are to Parents}
6a~~Grandchildren/"Children's
children"
are
the crown of Grandfathers/'old men'.
{Note: This means Grandchildren are the source of blessings for a Grandparent. Divine Institution number 3 is that the family is the basis of stability in a nation.}
{What
Parents are to Children}
6b~~And
the glory of children are their fathers/Grandparents.
{'fathers' plural here means, in context, the Grandparents}
{Comparative
Distich - First line better than Second}
7a~~'Excellent/Eloquent
speech' becomes not a fool.
{Note: Excellent speech is sarcasm. It is 'lip talk' above what the speaker understands. He talks like he does understand but he does not. And, the fool is a person without doctrine in his soul.}
7b~~Much less do lying lips . . . a prince.
{Note: The prince is a political leader. This political leader is operating on political expediency instead of doing what is best for his nation. He KNOWS what to do. He knows the score but deliberately deceives. He is much more repulsive. He deceives the people. And, this prince is NOT a crown to his Grandparents! (the proverbs progress).}
8a~~A
gift is as a 'stone of grace'/'precious stone' {chen eben}
in
the eyes of him who has it.
{Note: The gift here is doctrine - God's Divine viewpoint. It is what God has given freely the believer for him to use in 'Phase II' or his life on Earth after salvation. Doctrine has its source in the Grace of God. And, 'eyes' is used for intelligence. In Revelation 4:6, the 4 angelic heralds wear a coat 'full of eyes' which RBT calls the 'Uniform of Wisdom'.}
8b~~Wherever
it {divine viewpoint} goes . . .
it
[the person with it in his norms and standards] prospers.
{Note: What you think is what you are! Where ever doctrine goes, doctrine prospers. There may be no details of life, but there is inner happiness and it can not be erased! YOU are happy and YOU make those around you happy. Prosperity follows you everywhere! If you have doctrine, you understand God's love for you - and you imitate that love. You can not give what you do not have.}
{Result
of Doctrine in Believers - Ability to Love Each Other}
{Antithetical
Distich}
9a~~He
who pardons {kacah - Piel Intensive stem}
'a
transgression against them' . . .
'promotes
love'/'develops an inner capacity for love'.
{Note: To 'pardon a transgression' means to have no mental attitude sin toward the person who harmed you in some manner. Maybe they hate you, they gossip, malign you, etc. Where they hate, you return love. It is as if that transgression against you never happened - gone. This is 'no retaliation' in thinking or 'reaction' in deed - 'forgive and forget'.}
9b~~But
he who gossips/'repeats a matter'
breaks
off/separates friends.
{because they have no capacity for impersonal love}
{Note: This means when a person is wrong NOT to talk about what the person has done to you - airing someone else's sins. This person also now is a 'trouble maker' - one of the 7 sins God abhors the most.}
10~~One
reproof penetrates more into a wise man . . .
than
an hundred stripes into a fool.
{Note: A mature believer welcomes correction. This means that 'one reproof from learning doctrine' (learning the easy way) is better than learning from the school of hard knocks. Your choice . . . learn doctrine and avoid pitfalls, or get knots on your head from Divine discipline.}
{Verses
11-16: Six Believers Dangerous to the Cause of Christ}
{1st:
Rebellious Person}
11a~~A
rebellious [person]
seeks
only 'the evil'/'Old Sin Nature'.
11b~~I
{God} will send a 'cruel messenger'/'fallen angel'
against
him.
{Note: 'The evil' is the Old Sin Nature - means to live by human viewpoint. A believer without doctrine/'divine viewpoint' can only live by human viewpoint - his preconceived ideas - either ascetic or lascivious. In Psalm 78:49, the 'cruel messenger' is also used. This is a fallen angel. A fallen angel can not touch a believer unless given permission by God.}
{2nd
: Foolish Believer [Comparative Distich
(1st line contains something better than in the 2nd line)]}
12~~[Better]
You {man} meet a bear robbed of her cubs . . .
rather
than a fool in his folly.
{Note: A mother bear who has lost her cubs is VERY ANGRY and VERY DANGEROUS. Yet, meeting her is better than meeting a fool in his folly. Folly is legalism, tabooism, and living by energy of the flesh. And the fool is a believer who does not care for bible doctrine.}
{3rd:
Vindictive Believer}
13~~Who
ever rewards evil for good . . .
evil
shall not depart from his household.
{Note: Rewarding 'evil for good' is Satan's man per RBT in teaching I Thessalonians 5:15. This is referring to revenge tactics. You hate the person so much that they can do 'nothing right' in your eyes. You just HAVE to get revenge against him. If he can, he will turn his children, friends, parents, etc. and will bring great divine discipline on himself, but in influencing others in his household, they also receive great discipline.}
{4th:
Vindictive Believer (Parabolic Distich (1st line illustrates 2nd)}
14a~~As
one 'discovering a water hole',
so
is the beginning of strife.
14b~~Therefore
before it irritates everyone,
abandon
strife.
{Note: 'Discovering a water hole' is an idiom: literally 'letting out water'. And, this refers to discovering a new water hole in the desert. It can cause troubles if you do not set up 'water rights' rules. And, that is the analogy to the Water of the Word. Those who learn the Word correctly and apply it are not trouble makers. If you are a trouble maker, you will irritate others and they are to 'separate from you'. Learn first.}
{5th:
Warped (Prejudicial and Biased) Believer}
15~~He
who justifies the wicked,
and
he who condemns the just . . .
both
are an abomination to Jehovah/God.
{Note: The first warped believer is one who justifies the wicked - he is partial in his judgments. The second warped believer is the critical believer.}
{6th:
Academic Fool [Integral Distich
(2nd line completes thought of 1st)]}
16~~Why
tuition/'ready money to go to school'
in
the hand of a fool?
To
get wisdom
when
he has no 'right lobe'/heart?
{Note: Tuition refers to two things: 1) God the Holy Spirit Who teaches us the Word, and 2) Doctrine in categories so that it can be applied. This is a person who has doctrine available. He has the money to go to school but not the learning that makes it worthwhile. His 'heart' here means he has negative volition toward learning doctrine.}
{Capacity
for True Love [Synonymous Distich
(two lines of that say the same thing)]}
17~~A
friend loves {'ahab}
at
all times . . .
and
a brother/'true friend'
is
born for adversity/'time of trouble or tragedy'.
{Note: There are three categories of love- toward God, toward spouse, toward everyone else. Here 'ahab is equivalent to the Greek 'Agapao'. This is category 3 love - friendship. A true friend loves in good times and bad. You lost your 'social status' and they still love you. That is a true friend.}
{Negative
Teaching of True Love}
18~~A
man 'void of understanding' strikes hands . . .
and
becomes surety in the presence of his friend.
{Note: Void of understanding means no divine viewpoint in their soul (believers are always in view in Proverbs). In this day, a person would go to a store with a friend who is under 'materialism lust' and strikes the counter - bang, bang - that indicated that they would 'co-sign' for this person so he could go into debt. This is an illustration of false friendship - he is getting this guy in over his head in debt instead of leveling with him about the guy's financial situation.}
{A
Subtle Synthetic Distich' (where both lines have Truth or Doctrine
and
the two lines have something in common)}
19a~~He
who loves {'ahab} apostasy/
'transgression
against God or authority' {pesha`}
loves
strife.
19b~~And he who exalts his 'gate' seeks misery.
{Note: In this section, a lack of doctrine leads to carnality, and carnality leads to legalism, legalism leads to mental attitude sins, mental attitude sins lead to 'human good' (energy of the flesh) . . . which is apostasy. Next, the house was hidden behind a great wall with a gate - so the 'gate' is an idiom for the status symbol in the ancient world. So the gate is used for all the details of life - social life, wealth, sex, power, new car, new house, etc. - putting any of these ahead of God and His Word.}
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