Proverbs 21:21-25
 
Prov 21:21 (KJB)
He that followeth after righteousness and mercy findeth life, righteousness, and honour.
 
He that followeth - One who pursues
 
(Rom 3:11 KJV) There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. The Bible is very clear in Romans 3:11 that no one seeks after God because of the dead condition of the unbeliever. For a person to follow God, they must be regenerated and Proverbs 21:21 is speaking about a person who pursues after righteousness and mercy. The true believer is the one who pursues after righteousness and mercy. (Mat 6:33 KJV) But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Matthew 6:33 is aimed at the believer that once we become saved we must strive to live a life of righteousness. When we do that, we are then finding real life. The life of an unbeliever is not a real life because it ends in judgment. The life of the believer continues on into eternity. That life of righteousness continues on and in Psalm 91:15, God states that when we call upon Him, we are in essence stating our weakness and inability to handle problems, so we call upon the Lord and He takes care of them. (Psa 91:15 KJV) He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. He honors us with eternal life as He makes us part of His eternal family.
 
Prov 21:22 (KJB)
A wise man scaleth the city of the mighty, and casteth down the strength of the confidence thereof.
 
Scaleth - To ascend, mount, or climb
Casteth down - Go down or descend
Confidence - Security
 
Here we have a verse which speaks about a person who wants to take a city but instead of taking the city with many men, he sits down and ponders his move, using wisdom instead of military might. To take a city stealthily rather than risk losing many men is a very wise way of doing battle. (Eccl 7:19 KJV) Wisdom strengtheneth the wise more than ten mighty men which are in the city. Wisdom always pits the strength of the mind against the strength of the body. In World War 2, General MacArthur chose to bypass many of the Japanese held islands and focused only on strategic islands in his push toward Tokyo. Roman General Fabius Maximus used wisdom on the battlefield to defeat Hannibal and the Phoenicians. Instead of attacking them head on, he would attack the flanks and would attack small portions of their army, thus slowly dwindling their ranks and causing lowered morale.
 
(Luke 11:21-22 KJV) When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace: {22} But when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils. There is also a great spiritual lesson in Proverbs 21:22. The wise man is the Lord Jesus Christ who ascended to Mount Calvary to die for His Elect and that death spelled the end of the kingdom of Satan. Revelation 14:8 speaks of Babylon falling, that is, her end has come. Babylon is called “that great city.” (Rev 14:8 KJV) And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. That great city is the kingdom of Satan which will come to a complete end on the last day. Satan’s kingdom looked mighty in the world since we see that so many are against Christians and the world looks so mighty with all its weapons and schemes. However, the Lord Jesus Christ assaulted the kingdom of Satan, not through military might but through the wisdom of God. Now after the Lord went back to Heaven, the major assault on Satan’s kingdom began with Pentecost. (Luke 11:49 KJV) Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute: Now every believer preaches the word of God, thus assaulting the kingdom of Satan. The confidence that pervades the kingdom of Satan is nothing more than deception because it will have an abrupt end as we read in Revelation 14:8 and more fully in Revelation 18. The Lord destroyed the confidence of Satan’s kingdom with truth.
 
Prov 21:23 (KJB)
Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles.
 
Keepeth - Guards
Troubles - Distress or affliction
 
(Psa 39:1 KJV) I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me. David knew the power of words and he determined to keep his testimony, especially while he was in the presence of the wicked. This needs to be our approach also. We must be very careful what we say to people because if we speak the wrong things, then it is a guarantee that those words will come back to us in the form of troubles. Not only will it be troubles, it will also affect our testimony. We do not want to be caught in any type of falsehood because if we lose our testimony of truth, then we forfeit the right to bring the Gospel. If we cannot be trusted in earthly things then how could anyone trust us with eternal things. We must always be careful whenever we speak. We must think out our answers and the possibility of repercussions.
 
Prov 21:24 (KJB)
Proud and haughty scorner is his name, who dealeth in proud wrath.
 
Wrath - Excess or outburst of anger
Proud - To behave insolently or presumptuously
 
A person who continually has outbursts of anger or hatred toward someone will rightfully inherit the moniker of a proud scorner or mocker. (Jude 1:18 KJV) How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts. Jude warns us that there is going to be mockers in the last days and that these unbelievers will be walking after or living in their own ungodly lusts. These people never tire of making false accusations against the true Gospel and Christians. They attack with a boastful vengeance thinking they are going to silence the Gospel. Not only in the spiritual realm are there mockers but in every sphere of life. Whatever a person does not understand, they mock, to their own destruction.
 
Prov 21:25 (KJB)
The desire of the slothful killeth him; for his hands refuse to labour.
 
Desire - Longing, appetite, or lust
 
The covetousness of the lazy person eats him from the inside like a cancer. He is jealous of others who are prosperous but refuses to work to earn a living. Eventually if a person refuses to work they will not have enough money to buy food and clothing and soon they may starve to death. It is not like they can’t work, they refuse to work, yet they are always lusting after things other people, who work, have. Laziness is also a catalyst for criminal activity since they don’t work, their desire for somebody else’s goods will haunt them until they attempt to do something about it, like steal it. We must always check ourselves to make sure that we are not adopting a lazy lifestyle in any manner. Now let me say here that if someone is collecting unemployment because they lost their job, it does not mean they are lazy but they need to check what they are doing while they collect unemployment.

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