The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and the knowledge of the holy is understanding. Join us now for the Bible Institute of the Air. Welcome to another broadcast of the Bible Institute of the Air, coming to you from Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina. Today we present another in our continuing series of studies from the book of Proverbs. Our teacher today is Mr. Jesse Boyd, who until the time he went to be with his Lord, served as a member of the Bible faculty at Bob Jones University. Thank you and greetings, friends. Turn with me, please, in your Bibles to the book of Proverbs, chapter 28. And we're going to consider today verses 1 to 10. That's Proverbs, chapter 28. verses 1 to 10. We are in the fourth major division of this book, which is made up of copied Proverbs of Solomon, and this is the work, of course, of the men of Hezekiah. In chapter 28, in verse 1, we read, The wicked flee when no man pursueth, but the righteous are as bold as a lion. Here we have a proverb that deals with the function of the conscience. The wicked, those people who have a defiled conscience, a guilty conscience. They're suspicious. They flee when no man pursues them. But they think they are pursued. And this produces cowardice. So they become cowards. A wicked man, really, he may put on a bold front, but he is a coward. And he flees when no man pursues because he thinks he is But now look, the righteous are as bold as a lion. The righteous are those who have a good conscience, a conscience that has not been seared or a conscience that has not been defiled. And they have a sense of security. Therefore they can stand boldly before any kind of opposition or any situation in which they find themselves. And so they are courageous. The righteous, you see, are those who, first of all, are justified by faith. No man is truly righteous who has not been justified by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. And then he also practices righteousness. He puts on himself the blessed plate of righteousness in this warfare against evil, and this enables him to stand boldly with courage in an evil day. In chapter 28, verse 2, we read, 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. This speaks of the penalty for national sin. Notice, for the transgression of a land, a nation engaging in sin, what is the result? Many are the princes thereof. So it's a land that's in a state of revolt. The punishment of having many would-be rulers. We have a tremendous example of this in the northern kingdom of Israel after the kingdom was divided at the time of Jeroboam the son of Nebat. An interesting thing that through the 253 years of its history, the northern kingdom continued to move away from God. There were nine dynasties during that period. Nineteen kings. Only eight of those nineteen kings died a natural death. Seven were murdered. One committed suicide. One fell from an upper room and was killed. One went into captivity. And this whole period of the Northern Kingdom was marked by idolatry and immorality, anarchy and rebellion and injustice. and the last stages of it was nothing but mayhem. But, on the other hand, a man of understanding and knowledge, by this kind of a man, the state thereof shall be prolonged. That is, a person who rises in authority, who realizes the responsibility of a ruler in a land, that he must be just and ruling in the fear of God. This man is a man who has understanding of what it's all about to be a ruler is his responsibilities. He has knowledge of how to carry on his duties, and therefore the state is prolonged under that kind of righteous rule. So the man that rules over men must be just, and he must rule in the fear of God. In verse 23 we read, A poor man that oppresseth the poor is like a sweeping rain which leaveth no food. Now, the first word, poor man, literally means a poor man of power. That is, a man who has been in obscurity, and he all of a sudden is exalted to a place of power, of leadership, of rule. And he's apt to oppress the poor of his land, that is, those who are weak and helpless. And his rule, then, is like a torrential rain which sweeps away all food and grain and seed, and denudes the earth of its fertility, and drowns the cattle in the flock. What a deplorable condition a land would be like that when a poor man, that is, an obscure man, who is all of a sudden catapulted into a place of power and authority. who oppresses those who are weak and helpless. They that forsake the law praise the wicked, but such as keep the law contend with them. Evil men understand not judgment, but they that seek the Lord understand all things, or understand completely. They that forsake the law, the word law, Torah, literally means instruction. And when it's used in the Word of God, it frequently means divine instruction, as in this passage. All right, those who turn their back upon divine instruction, who will not be instructed by the Lord or by the Word of God, then what? It says here that they will praise the wicked. They extol the wicked. But such as keep the law, contend with them, those who keep God's law, those who listen to divine instruction and order their lives as such, then they will contend, they will resist the wicked rather than praising the wicked. The reason is given in verse 5. You see, the wicked, those who forsake the law, are evil men. They do not understand judgment. They do not understand that which is right and just, and therefore they praise wicked men. But those that seek the Lord, that is, they're the ones who keep the law, who listen to divine instruction. Those that seek the Lord understand completely about this business of justice. So if justice is to prevail, then it has to be in a land where men keep the law, and men seek truly the Lord. In verses 6 and 7 we read, Better is the poor that walketh in his uprightness, than he that is perverse in his ways, though he be rich. Whoso keepeth the law is a wise son. but he that is a companion of riotous men shameth his father. This has to do with the supremacy of integrity. Notice, better is the poor that walketh in his uprightness. That is, the poor, the weak, the needy, who orders his life according to true integrity. What about him? It says that it's better for that than to be the person who is perverse in his ways, that is, who is crooked and who is adamant in his sin, who refuses to hear and refuses to turn unto God. The poor that walks in uprights is far better than the person who is perverse in his ways, though he hath accumulated all kinds of material wealth. And then he goes on to say, Whoso keepeth the law is a wise son. He is a skillful son. He brings honor to his father. But he that is companion of the riotous shameth his father. And so here is a person who walks in the pathway of righteousness, he demonstrates his wisdom, he brings honor to his father. In contrast to the perverse in his ways and his double dealings with men, that person brings a shame to his father. Why? He becomes a companion of riotous men. And then verse 8 we read, He that by usury and unjust gain increaseth his substance, he shall gather it for him that will pity the poor. Here is a proverb that deals with retributive justice on extortioners. Those who use the matter of interest on their loans beyond what they should receive, and those who increase their prices and get unjust gain, well, one day God will bring about judgment upon such, and that gain will be for him that will pity the poor. And verse 9, we read, He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination. You see, a person who refuses to listen to the instruction of Almighty God, when he comes to pray to God, his prayer is abhorrent, his prayer is detested and contemptible. even in the sight of God. This speaks of nauseating hypocrisy. And then verse 10, the curse of evildoers. Whoso causes 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. An evil leader will direct one in the pathway of wickedness, But the Word of God says here there's coming a day when that person will fall into the pit that he digged for the person he leads astray. However, the upright, those who walk in integrity, those who are honorable, those who are righteous in their ways, one day will have good things in possession. Well, we'll pick up here in our next study together. And so I'll bid you good day and the Lord bless you. You've been listening to another lesson in our continuing studies from the Book of Proverbs on the Bible Institute of the Air. Today's study was by Mr. Jesse Boyd, who served as a member of the Bible faculty of Bob Jones University. We trust that the timeless truths taught in these studies, recorded by Mr. Boyd during his earthly ministry, will help you in your daily walk with the Lord. Join us again next time for more helpful studies on the Bible Institute of the Air. This program is a production of Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina.