Proverbs 28:1-28 “The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion. 2 For the transgression of a land many are the princes thereof: but by a man of understanding and knowledge the state thereof shall be prolonged. 3 A poor man that oppresseth the poor is like a sweeping rain which leaveth no food. 4 They that forsake the law praise the wicked: but such as keep the law contend with them. 5 Evil men understand not judgment: but they that seek the LORD understand all things. 6 Better is the poor that walketh in his uprightness, than he that is perverse in his ways, though he be rich. 7 Whoso keepeth the law is a wise son: but he that is a companion of riotous men shameth his father. 8 He that by usury and unjust gain increaseth his substance, he shall gather it for him that will pity the poor. 9 He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination. 10 Whoso causeth the righteous to go astray in an evil way, he shall fall himself into his own pit: but the upright shall have good things in possession. 11 The rich man is wise in his own conceit; but the poor that hath understanding searcheth him out. 12 When righteous men do rejoice, there is great glory: but when the wicked rise, a man is hidden. 13 He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy. 14 Happy is the man that feareth alway: but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief. 15 As a roaring lion, and a ranging bear; so is a wicked ruler over the poor people. 16 The prince that wanteth understanding is also a great oppressor: but he that hateth covetousness shall prolong his days. 17 A man that doeth violence to the blood of any person shall flee to the pit; let no man stay him. 18 Whoso walketh uprightly shall be saved: but he that is perverse in his ways shall fall at once. 19 He that tilleth his land shall have plenty of bread: but he that followeth after vain persons shall have poverty enough. 20 A faithful man shall abound with blessings: but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent. 21 To have respect of persons is not good: for a piece of bread that man will transgress. 22 He that hasteth to be rich hath an evil eye, and considereth not that poverty shall come upon him. 23 He that rebuketh a man afterwards shall find more favour than he that flattereth with the tongue. 24 Whoso robbeth his father or his mother, and saith, It is no transgression: the same is a companion of a destroyer. 25 He that is of a proud heart stirreth up strife: but he that putteth his trust in the LORD shall be made fat. 26 He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered. 27 He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack: but he that hideth his eyes shall have many a curse. 28 When the wicked rise, men hide themselves: but when they perish, the righteous increase.” Introduction Guilt Is The Parent Of Fear “Chapter 28 says “The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.” (verse 1) You guys, anybody remember before you were saved, being paranoid? Before I was saved, before I was a Christian, a police officer drove by, I froze, because usually I had something with me I shouldn’t have had with me. If he was behind me on the highway, your heart was going Ba-bump, ba-bump, ba-bump! and you’re driving so slow, and you don’t want to drive so slow that he’s getting suspicious, and then he finally drives by and you go, ‘Wheh!’ Just, because the wicked, they flee when no man pursueth. One old writer that I read from the 1800s, he said “Guilt is the parent of fear.” Guilt is the parent of fear, because the wicked have a guilty conscience. Look, it’s been that way from the beginning, ‘Adam, where art thou?’ ‘I hid myself because I was naked.’ ‘How did you know you were naked?’ ‘I was afraid,’ how did he know he was naked? He was guilty. “The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.” (verse 1) Rulers, Kings With Wise Counsellors Prolong Their Reigns “For the transgression of a land many are the princes thereof: but by a man of understanding and knowledge the state thereof shall be prolonged.” (verse 2) Civil law, the civil government, it says when things are crazy, when transgression is ruling the land, then there’s all kinds of men and women with all kinds of opinions, it says in the end of the Book of Judges ‘that there was no king in Israel in those days, and every man doing what was right in his own eyes.’ When a Daniel comes on the scene, a Nebuchadnezzar is well-served, and the land becomes stable. When a Joseph comes on the scene, all of Egypt is brought to stability and there is enough grain to feed Egypt and many of the neighbouring countries, and mankind is preserved. When there’s nothing but transgression then you have all kinds of insanity, all kinds of people in positions they shouldn’t be in, we’re probably thinking of the northern tribes of Israel, they had one wicked king after another, some of them would reign for 30 days, but in the south there were a number of righteous kings that had longer reigns [see http://www.unityinchrist.com/kings/1.html and check out the chart in the beginning, for the House of Judah in the south, from Solomon’s son Rehoboam to 721BC 11 kings reigned, but for the northern 10 tribes of the House of Israel, 20 kings reigned within that same historic time-span, a two-to-one ration]. “For the transgression of a land many are the princes thereof: but by a man of understanding and knowledge the state thereof shall be prolonged.” (verse 2) Rulers Taken From The Ranks Of The Poor Often Become Tyrants “A poor man that oppresseth the poor is like a sweeping rain which leaveth no food.” (verse 3) Often somebody taking from the poorest ranks, put in a high position of authority in government, they become tyrants, so often. Sadly, he says they become like a driving rain that doesn’t leave anything behind, because, you see the rain coming, the land is thirsty, supposed to be a blessing to the crops, but sometimes when the wind, in a driving rain, the wind is so strong, the rain is so pelting the ground, that it doesn’t leave anything behind. It says if a poor man ruling over, that oppresses the poor, it should be a blessing, ‘Oh, a poor man, he’s going to appreciate the position that we’re in,’ and it says he can become a tyrant, and it’s like the driving rain that doesn’t leave anything behind. The Law, The Word Of God Verses 4 to 9, the Law is mentioned 4 times, that means in this chapter it’s mentioned more often than in any chapter in the Book of Proverbs. When we talk about the Law in the Old Testament, we’re talking about the Word of God, not just the Torah, it’s certainly that, first five Books, but we’re also talking about the Word of the LORD. God would say to them, to ancient Israel in the Book of Deuteronomy, ‘What other people are you like, in the face of the earth who is like you, that God has stooped down and given ordinances and precepts and laws for civil government?’ Because if you study the Canaanites and Amorites, you study about their immorality, their idolatry, their murder of one another, the murder of their children [Baal worship], the uncleanness, God said ‘What other nation is like you? That God himself stooped down and gave you his Word, gave you his ordinances, gave you order for civil government, gave you a way to worship and so forth.’ So that was the Law to ancient Israel, it was the Word of God [which when Solomon wrote these Proverbs would have been the first five Books, Genesis through Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, 1st and 2nd Samuel, Ruth, and the Book of Job and the Psalms of David, that would be the whole Word of God by that time]. It says here, “They that forsake the law praise the wicked: but such as keep the law contend with them.” (verse 4) [I always call proverbs like this, and there are a few in the Book of Proverbs, this is what I call a “Birds of a feather flock together” Proverb. The wicked always tend to “flock” with the wicked, and the good, the righteous, always tend to “flock” with the righteous, and neither group tends to blend well with the other, like hawks don’t tend to blend well with Red-winged Blackbirds.] Look, understand that, those that forsake the law, they praise the wicked. Seen any of that on TV lately? Those that contend with them, contend with the wicked, it tells us here, are those that keep the Law.