Proverbs (Part 106) - Pro 9:8-9

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8. Pro 9:8 - "Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee." A. Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: i. Wisdom continues her warning to the simple concerning reproving scorners which she began in Pro 9:7. ii. If you reprove a scorner, there is a high probability he will hate you. a. Scorner n. - 1. One who scorns, derides, mocks or contemns; esp. one who scoffs at religion. b. Hate v. - 1. trans. To hold in very strong dislike; to detest; to bear malice to. The opposite of to love. c. Scorners despise instruction and reproof (Pro 1:7; Pro 15:5), and they hate those who reprove them (Pro 15:12; Amo 5:10). d. To prevent being hated, don't reprove them (Pro 23:9), but rather forsake them (Pro 9:6; Pro 14:7). e. Lest conj. - 1. Used as a negative particle of intention or purpose, introducing a clause expressive of something to be prevented or guarded against. iii. Scorners need to be smitten (Pro 19:25), punished (Pro 21:11), and cast out (Pro 22:10), not reproved. B. rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee. i. Even wise men need rebuked sometimes. a. Wise adj. - 1. a. Having or exercising sound judgement or discernment; capable of judging truly concerning what is right or fitting, and disposed to act accordingly; having the ability to perceive and adopt the best means for accomplishing an end; characterized by good sense and prudence. Opp. to foolish. b. Rebuke v. - 1. trans. To beat down or force back; to repress or check (a person); to repulse. Obs. 2. To reprove, reprimand, chide severely. c. Even the apostle Peter needed rebuked by Paul for his foolish action (Gal 2:11-14). d. The great patriarch Abraham needed rebuked for his foolish decision he made based on a lack of faith (Gen 20:9). e. Abraham did not hate the man who reproved him (Joh 8:40). ii. One easy way to identify a wise man is by his love for those who rebuke him and his response to the reproof. a. A wise man wants to be corrected so that he can be right and be wiser. b. A wise man welcomes the painful reproofs of righteous men (Psa 141:5). c. It's better to hear the rebuke of the wise than to hear the song of fools which validates and approves of your foolish ideas (Ecc 7:5). iii. I thank God for my wife and others who love me enough to rebuke me when I'm wrong. 9. Pro 9:9 - "Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man, and he will increase in learning." A. Give instruction to a wise man, i. Instruction n. - 1. The action of instructing or teaching; the imparting of knowledge or skill; education; information. ii. Wise adj. - 1. a. Having or exercising sound judgement or discernment; capable of judging truly concerning what is right or fitting, and disposed to act accordingly; having the ability to perceive and adopt the best means for accomplishing an end; characterized by good sense and prudence. Opp. to foolish. iii. Wise men are willing to be taught because they have sound judgment and discernment, and therefore they realize that there is a lot they still have to learn. iv. A wise son hears his father's instruction (Pro 13:1). v. A wise man accepts reproof (Pro 15:31; Pro 17:10). vi. Conversely, fools despise wisdom and instruction (Pro 1:7) because they think they know everything (Pro 26:12, 16; Pro 21:2; Isa 5:21; Rom 12:16). vii. This verse teaches us several things. a. Teachers need to instruct wise men as well as simpletons. b. Wise men need to be taught despite already having wisdom. c. Wise men are wise enough to know that they need continuous instruction. d. None of us will ever get to the point that we don't need instruction, no matter how wise we become. viii. The instruction that wise men need to be given is instruction from the scriptures (2Ti 3:16-17). B. and he will be yet wiser: i. In that a wise man can become wiser, there are therefore degrees of wisdom. a. Daniel had excellent wisdom (Dan 5:14). (i) Excellent adj. - 1. Of a person or thing: That excels or surpasses in any respect; preëminent, superior, supreme. Of qualities: Existing in a greater, or an exceptionally great, degree. (ii) Daniel therefore had an exceptionally great degree of wisdom. b. Solomon was wiser than all men of his day (1Ki 4:31). c. Jesus was wiser than Solomon (Mat 12:42). d. The children of this world are many times and in many ways wiser than God's children (Luk 16:8; Eze 28:3-5). ii. Some animals such as ants, conies, locusts, and spiders are exceeding wise (Pro 30:24-28). a. We should consider their ways and be wise (Pro 6:6). b. We should be wiser than animals (Job 35:11). iii. A man can (and should) become wiser than he was in the past. a. Jesus increased in wisdom as He grew up (Luk 2:52). (i) Jesus was 12 years old (Luk 2:42) when this was said of Him, which means He increased in wisdom through His teenage years. (ii) Most teenagers and 20-somethings (and oftentimes these days, people of all ages) decrease in wisdom until reality hits them like a 2x4 between the eyes. b. Solomon became more wise than others (Ecc 2:15). c. A wise man who hears instruction from men who are wiser than he is will increase learning (Pro 1:5). d. We can be wiser than our enemies by reading and keeping God's word (Psa 119:98). e. A student can have more understanding that his teachers if he studies and meditates in God's word (Psa 119:99). f. A young man can understand more than old men if he keeps God's precepts which he learns (Psa 119:100). g. If a man was not wise in his earlier years, he can and should strive to be wise in his latter years by hearing counsel and receiving instruction (Pro 19:20). C. teach a just man, and he will increase in learning. i. Just adj. - 1. That does what is morally right, righteous. just before (with) God or, simply, just: Righteous in the sight of God; justified. Now chiefly as a Biblical archaism. ii. A righteous man who has been justified by the grace, blood, and faith of Jesus Christ (Rom 3:24; Rom 5:9; Gal 2:16) will increase in learning when taught. iii. Unlike an unjust, natural man, a just man has the ability to hear and understand the word of God (1Co 2:12-14). a. He can learn. b. Learn v. - I. To acquire knowledge. 1. a. trans. To acquire knowledge of (a subject) or skill in (an art, etc.) as a result of study, experience, or teaching. c. When a just man in taught, he will increase in learning. d. Learning n. - 1. The action of the vb. learn. a. The action of receiving instruction or acquiring knowledge. e. He is bidden by Christ to come unto Him and learn of Him (Mat 11:28-30). iv. The heart of a wise and just man teaches himself and adds learning to his lips (Pro 16:23).