Proverbs 14:11-15
 
Prov 14:11 (KJB)
The house of the wicked shall be overthrown: but the tabernacle of the upright shall flourish.
 
Overthrown - Destroyed
Tabernacle - Tent
Flourish - Blossom, bud, or breakout
 
This verse is very interesting in that it speaks of the house of the wicked will be destroyed. Now a house is a permanent dwelling where a family is raised. The house is normally built with foundations and those foundations are placed in the earth. This is where the unbeliever has his roots, in this earth. He places all kinds of security in the belief that his house will go on forever. However, the earth is going to come to an end and then a new world will be created by God which will house only the righteous. The wicked will lose everything they had because they placed their trust in the belief that the earth was secure. The unbeliever will be destroyed in hell after he faces judgment.
Now on the other hand, the tabernacle of the upright, that is, the saved shall flourish. If you remember the wilderness wandering of Israel was centered around the Tabernacle. Now once the Israelites came into the promised land, they built the temple where the Ark of God was placed. Now here is the great parallel. The Bible speaks of the physical bodies of the believers as tabernacles. (2 Pet 1:13 KJV) Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance; The reason that we are likened to the tabernacle is because we too are traveling in this wilderness of sin. On the last day, we will trade our tabernacles of wandering for our permanent glorified spiritual bodies. This is how the tabernacle of the upright will flourish as it looks forward to the final bodies we will receive on the last day.
 
Prov 14:12 (KJB)
There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
 
This verse teaches us plainly that man wants to believe that his ways are right but he never weighs any possible consequences. He believes that he can do business dishonestly and may gain more wealth not realizing he could go to jail. He may believe that he could take another’s place simply if he gets rid of that person but does not realize he is putting himself in the same position, where others can get rid of him. Man does not want to believe that his actions will create a response and that he is impervious to negative responses. The greatest deception that man faces on this earth is the deception of religion. He creates religion and within that religion he creates a system of works which he then becomes so steeped in that he starts to believe his own system. He teaches that if a person does the works that are required under his system, then God will accept them and take them to Heaven. Religion is deception! It does not bring a person closer to God, in fact, it separates a person farther from Him because religion attempts to usurp the salvation plan which God created and accepts. So the ways of man turns into the ways of death and that is eternal death in hell. The ways of man may seem right in his own eyes but the consequences of self-deception are eternal.
 
Prov 14:13 (KJB)
Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful; and the end of that mirth is heaviness.
 
Is sorrowful - Suffers pain
Heaviness - Grief
 
Entertainment is one of the world’s ways of escaping this life for a while. It is true that God gave us laughter but real laughter is connected to real joy which is a fruit of the Spirit. The world may look at all kinds of comedy and laugh but even while they are laughing, their hearts are in pain. This also means that you cannot really tell a person’s true emotions by their outward projection of laughter. A person could be laughing and inside they could be dying. The world’s form of entertainment does not alleviate any of the heaviness a person may be experiencing, in fact, the end of that rejoicing is grief. In other words, right after they climb the mountain of merriment, they are returned to the valley of reality. All the laughing man may do will not lead to their redemption, in fact, it is only a mask, covering their emptiness of heart. If a person seeks entertainment as their escape, they will find that in the end, the grief of eternal damnation will greet them. They must seek the Lord while He may be found, one minute after Judgment Day is too late.
 
Prov 14:14 (KJB)
The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways: and a good man shall be satisfied from himself.
 
Backslider - Turn back or deviate
 
Here is the back slider who deviates from the truth. The heart of the true believer is filled with the things of God because they are indwelled by the Holy Spirit. Notice this verse states that the backsliding person will be filled with their own ways. (Prov 1:31 KJV) Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices. In other words, the unbeliever will be filled with the fruit of lies and deceit. The unbeliever builds his life on many false teachings and philosophies to the point they start to live in them because they believe them and after a while they begin to embellish them and these embellishments normally lead to a false religion or system of beliefs such as evolution. This verse is telling us that this backslider is steeped in false beliefs since a deviation from the truth has taken place. The true believer can never deviate from the true teachings of God and still remain saved. The back slider in this verse speaks of one who is unsaved. Then the verse states that the good man will be satisfied from himself. He is satisfied because he has become saved and his actions are pleasing to God. (Prov 16:7 KJV) When a man's ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him. One of the greatest enemies the Christian has is his own flesh. It always seems to be at enmity with their regenerated spirit. (Rom 8:9 KJV) But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. Once a person becomes saved, the regenerated spirit now rules over the flesh and instead of the flesh directing a Christian’s life, the spirit directs the flesh to be in line with the Spirit. This means that only a saved man’s ways please the Lord because his actions are in line with the will of God.
 
Prov 14:15 (KJB)
The simple believeth every word: but the prudent man looketh well to his going.
 
Simple - Young or naïve associated with inexperience
Prudent - Clever
Looketh well - Understand or perceive
 
There are two types of simple people in this world. There are the saved and the unsaved. First, the saved simple people are those who are new in the faith and the reason they must be counseled and discipled immediately is so they will not believe every word of everyone who preaches the Bible. Now there are those who preach the Bible and teach its principles in truth. Then there are those who teach what they think the Bible says, and these are normally the false teachers. The young Christian must be taught how to discern between the two or else they can be lured into a false system of beliefs. When I was a young Christian back in 1981, I was not yet trained properly in discernment so every month I sent $10 to Salesian Missions which was Roman Catholic. At that time, I lacked discernment in that area. It was shortly after, that I found out the truth and they have never received one Roman Sestertius from me again. (Prov 22:6 KJV) Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6 does not only refer to physical children but also to spiritual children, so they will be trained in the faith properly.
 
The second type of simple person is one who is unsaved. They have no concept as to the difference between religion and real Christianity. They will believe every word of the false religion because false religions are man centered and designed to build up and puff up man. So men like dead religion because it exalts the pride of man. Since the unsaved simple are not regenerated, they may tend to believe anything. The unsaved simple will also fall prey to the worldly schemes of man and believe that they will help him achieve greatness. Unfortunately, man made schemes always lead to trouble.
 
Then there is the prudent or saved man who understand his ways. He knows that as a saved person he has a lot more at stake than just a few dollars. He knows that he is an ambassador for Christ in this world and that he must act in accordance with biblical principles to show the separation from worldly ways. He understands that he prays and asks God for guidance and accepts the way that God leads him. He seeks to be as obedient as he can to the ways of the Lord

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