Proverbs 20:11-15
 
Prov 20:11 (KJB)
Even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure, and whether it be right.
 
Right - Reliable, upright, or straight
 
(Mat 7:16 KJV) Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? When a child is young, their future attributes may begin to manifest themselves by certain actions. Early on, they may show an inclination toward mathematics or a child of a Christian couple might begin to start showing interest in biblical things. Dr. John Bois, one of the King James Bible translators read the Bible in Hebrew by the age of five and by the age of six was writing and speaking Hebrew. It is always wise for a parent to pay close attention to their children as they begin to show traits which may shape their future. This verse also points to the Christian as a child of God and his spiritual condition will become known by their works. If they do works in keeping with the will of God and according to Scripture, then you can safely say they are a child of God because no unbeliever is going to do works for the Kingdom of God that will not bring them notoriety. The unbeliever does things that bring glory to themselves.
 
Prov 20:12 (KJB)
The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the LORD hath made even both of them.
 
Here we have a verse that gives us a hint of creation. The Lord is the one who has made the eyes and the ears, which means He is the creator of all humans. (Exo 4:11 KJV) And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD? The Lord even takes responsibility for making ears that do not hear and eyes that do not see and a mouth which cannot speak. This verse has a great spiritual application in that it is God who spiritually opens the eyes and ears of His children, granting them salvation. (Luke 24:31-32 KJV) And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight. {32} And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures? The pilgrims on the road to Emmaus had their spiritual eyes opened which resulted in having the Scriptures opened to them. So we do not open our own spiritual eyes and ears. Only God opens the ears and eyes of those He is going to save. It is all of the Lord and none of us.
 
Prov 20:13 (KJB)
Love not sleep, lest thou come to poverty; open thine eyes, and thou shalt be satisfied with bread.
 
Do not be comatose to the physical and spiritual world around you as the lazy man is. Life and opportunity pass the lazy man by and since he is self-centered, despair and poverty will come upon him. God warns us to stay awake, become involved, focus on others and you will be blessed. We are not to have a love affair with laziness. (Lev 25:25 KJV) If thy brother be waxen poor, and hath sold away some of his possession, and if any of his kin come to redeem it, then shall he redeem that which his brother sold. In Israel if a person becomes very poor they would be permitted to sell some of their possession. Laziness could cause a person to lose their inheritance since they would not be working the land and it would lie fallow. If they have no income, they must sell to just to buy the necessities of life. Laziness has all kinds of effects not only upon the lazy man but upon all those he is related to because it may place an extra burden upon them.
 
Prov 20:14 (KJB)
It is naught, it is naught, saith the buyer: but when he is gone his way, then he boasteth.
 
Naught - Evil
 
In the Middle East, even today, the art of bargaining is alive and well. In this verse we have the buyer coming into a store and bargaining with the seller telling him that his prices are so high they are evil and if the seller brings down his price and the buyer agrees to purchase at that price, he goes his way and brags that he did a good job forcing the prices down. (Prov 23:23 KJV) Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding. Proverbs 20:14 holds a great spiritual truth. The buyer is the one who comes into the store where salvation is preached but when he hears the true Gospel being preached and that he can do nothing to gain his own salvation, he then says that the teaching is evil and so the buyer gets the price down where everyone can afford it, that is, he cheapens the message of the gospel by rewriting the requirements to be saved. He now takes salvation out of the hand of God and places it in the hand of man and claims that by saying a few words, you can be saved, or you can be saved any time you want. So now that he has a man-centered gospel, he brags of how easy it is to be saved and that if you follow his gospel, you will be assured of going to Heaven. Man can do nothing to procure salvation, he doesn’t even seek God, never mind salvation. (Rom 3:11 KJV) There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
 
Prov 20:15 (KJB)
There is gold, and a multitude of rubies: but the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel.
 
Precious - Great honor, dignity, and respect
 
Solomon points to the fact that in this world there is gold and a multitude of rubies, both of which signify very valuable and desired things. In this world there are millions who pursue wealth but very few ever attain to wealth. Here a comparison is made between the wealth of the world and eternal, spiritual wealth which is called knowledge, which is knowledge of the Gospel. Those who have the lips of knowledge, possess something that is eternal in nature, but here in the present, is considered something of great honor or dignity. Many people will seek the favor of someone who has wealth but many more seek people who have wisdom to help them in everyday situations. The reality is that those with wealth makes themselves unapproachable but those with wisdom can be relied upon to help a person. The precious jewel of the Gospel is given by those who are saved and that is one jewel which will never lose its value, both now and into eternity.

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