Proverbs 16:6-10
 
Prov 16:6 (KJB)
By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil.
 
Purged - Atoned
Depart - Turn aside
 
This verse is speaking specifically of the Gospel. There is also a proper progression in this verse. First, a person must become saved. When they become saved, their sins are purged. (Psa 103:12 KJV) As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. Our sins are not just atoned for, they are removed and our souls become clean. When this happens, we go from being spiritually dead to spiritually alive unto God. Then the next phase after salvation, is that we begin to start obeying the Lord. The more we grow in grace through prayer and study of the Scriptures, the more we will have a desire to obey the Lord. The more we obey the Lord, the more we are departing from evil. The word “depart” means not just a casual rejection of evil but it means a full turning away from evil, desires and all. When a person becomes spiritually alive, at that time they understand what it is to fear the Lord and to realize what they have been saved from. They will attempt to be as obedient as they can so they will not face the chastisement of the Lord.
 
Prov 16:7 (KJB)
When a man's ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.
 
Solomon would have known this principle well because at the beginning of his reign, he had loved the Lord and was walking in the steps of the Lord. (1 Ki 4:24-25 KJV) For he had dominion over all the region on this side the river, from Tiphsah even to Azzah, over all the kings on this side the river: and he had peace on all sides round about him. {25} And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon. This Godly walk that Solomon had begun with, pleased the Lord and as a result the Lord gave Israel peace on all sides and their enemies didn’t even attack because God made them to be at peace with Solomon. Israel’s trouble started when Solomon started to multiply wives and toward the end of his reign, he had even built temples for the false gods. As a result, after his reign, Israel was divided into two kingdoms. Sin will always be a divider and a spoiler. This is why the church is under attack today because instead of being strong in the Lord, they are strong in psychology, strong in sociology, strong in false gospels, pastors dress like they are going to flea markets. They dress up better when they go out to dinner than for the Lord on Sunday morning. If the church was walking with the Lord, then He would make their enemies be at peace with them but they, like ancient Israel, have adopted more than one God.
 
Prov 16:8 (KJB)
Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues without right.
 
Right - Justice or ordinance
 
This verse reminds us of the verse we saw that a dinner of vegetables with righteousness is better than a great feast with no love. It is better to be walking in the salvation of God and have little of the world’s goods than to have a great abundance of produce or worldly goods where there is no justice. In other words, the person in the Proverb gained his wealth through a wicked manner. Evil gain is never true gain because it will eventually be taken away, possibly in the same manner it was made. It is better to have a little which was earned with honest gain and be blessed of the Lord than to be an enemy of God with riches, thinking that is a blessing of the Lord. God never blesses a sinful venture.
 
Prov 16:9 (KJB)
A man's heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps.
 
Deviseth - To think which results in a corresponding action
Directeth - Establishes
 
This verse is similar to 16:1 in that it speaks about a man who devises his way, whether it be a ministry, job, or something else and makes the plans to accomplish it and then sets out to do it. The Lord directs or establishes his steps as he goes about to accomplish his goal. The step is the smallest increment and this means that for a Christian, God will guide even the smallest steps, so when they all come together, there will be an establishment of the greater or final goal. This verse shows us that God is strategically involved in our life and if we plan according to His will, He will be there to guide and establish firmly our goal. If a man devises an evil scheme, he can never expect the Lord to guide him, in fact, the Lord may derail that scheme or He may allow it to grow, which can be a bigger trap than having it quashed at an earlier stage.
 
Prov 16:10 (KJB)
A divine sentence is in the lips of the king: his mouth transgresseth not in judgment.
 
Many of the kings in ancient times believed that when they ruled on a matter, it was coming from the lips of their god. This would have been true in civilizations like Egypt where the Pharaoh was considered a relative of the gods. You also had the Code of Hammurabi which was made about 1550 B.C. Other ancient civilizations did the same thing. Here Solomon is stating that he is basing his decisions upon the wisdom of God as was evidenced by the two harlots who bought a single child before Solomon to judge who would receive the living child. He would seek counsel also from Godly men such as the High priest and that is why when he made a decision, it was considered a decision that was not transgressing true judgment. This verse is also telling us that the Lord Jesus, who is a King, also will dispense a judgment and since He does it in absolute wisdom, there is always going to be a right result in the judgment. This also points to the believer who is called a king (Revelation 1:6) that when we are called upon to make a decision, we must invoke the wisdom of God through prayer and His word to ascertain a proper, unbiased judgment.

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