Biblical Proverbial Wisdom and Truth (w/Axioms & Maxims) Applicable to Our World Today
Introduction
This post is simply a selected list of “Words of Wisdom” verses from the Bible, which, while they may not all be very well known, nonetheless have great importance, and particular salience, for all of us in this world in our day. Note also the close correlation between Psalm 37 and Psalm 73, which provides additional applicable insights. May these verses be a blessing to all who ponder them.
The Situation Today: The World is Only Getting Worse
When Jesus’ disciples privately asked Jesus in Matthew 24:3–14 (and also in Mark 13:3–13; Luke 21:7–19 ), “Tell us, when shall these things be? and what [shall be] the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?“, among the things mentioned were wars and rumors of wars, earthquakes and other natural disasters (pretty much what has always been the case). However, Jesus also made clear that those were simply precursors to what would follow. Jesus went on to say that among of the key signs of the nearing of the end of the world would be a period of great tribulation and affliction, that “false Christs” (including the Abomination of Desolation) would arise to deceive people, and that there would be great persecution of the church and the Gospel of Jesus Christ (Who Is The Only Way to Eternal Salvation and Eternal Life). When we look around the world today, we see a lot of things, consistent with those spoken of Jesus, coming to pass. Moreover, Jesus said, in Mark 13:20, “And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect’s sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days.“
Today, there is most certainly a lot of blatant wickedness and evil unlike that ever seen in the world before (comparable to that just before the Noachian Flood and in the days of Sodom and Gomorrah) that are negatively affecting all aspects of life on earth. Here are some things the Bible says that we should consider:
Psalm 12:8, “The wicked walk on every side, when the vilest men are exalted.”
Ecclesiastes 8:11-13, “Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and his [days] be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before him: But it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong [his] days, [which are] as a shadow; because he feareth not before God.”
Isaiah 32:5-7, “The vile person shall be no more called liberal, nor the churl said [to be] bountiful. For the vile person will speak villany, and his heart will work iniquity, to practise hypocrisy, and to utter error against the LORD, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail. The instruments also of the churl [are] evil: he deviseth wicked devices to destroy the poor with lying words, even when the needy speaketh right.”
Ecclesiastes 9:3, “This [is] an evil among all [things] that are done under the sun, that [there is] one event unto all: yea, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that [they go] to the dead.“
Proverbs 11:11 “By the blessing of the upright the city is exalted: but it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked.“
Proverbs 14:12, “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof [are] the ways of death.“
Proverbs 14:34, “Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.”
Proverbs 18:5, “[It is] not good to accept the person of the wicked, to overthrow the righteous in judgment.“
Proverbs 24:24, “He that saith unto the wicked, Thou [art] righteous; him shall the people curse, nations shall abhor him:“
Job 20:5, “That the triumphing of the wicked [is] short, and the joy of the hypocrite [but] for a moment?“
Proverbs 28:4, “They that forsake the law praise the wicked: but such as keep the law contend with them.“
Proverbs 28:5, “Evil men understand not judgment: but they that seek the LORD understand all [things].“
Proverbs 28:10, “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.“
Proverbs 28:15, “As a roaring lion, and a ranging bear; so [is] a wicked ruler over the poor people.“
Proverbs 28:16, “The prince that wanteth (lacks) understanding is also a great oppressor: [but] he that hateth covetousness shall prolong [his] days.
Proverbs 28:18, “Whoso walketh uprightly shall be saved: but [he that is] perverse [in his] ways shall fall at once.
Proverbs 28:20, “A faithful man shall abound with blessings: but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent.“
Proverbs 28:28, “When the wicked rise, men hide themselves: but when they perish, the righteous increase.“
Proverbs 29:2, “When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice:but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.“
Proverbs 29:4, “The king by judgment establisheth the land: but he that receiveth gifts (bribes) overthroweth it.“
Proverbs 29:12, “If a ruler hearken to lies, all his servants [are] wicked.“
Proverbs 29:27, “An unjust man [is] an abomination to the just: and [he that is] upright in the way [is] abomination to the wicked.“
Isaiah 48:22, “[There is] no peace, saith the LORD, unto the wicked.”
Jeremiah 17:9, “The heart [is] deceitful above all [things], and desperately wicked: who can know it?”
Daniel 4:17, “This matter [is] by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.“
1 Timothy 6:10, “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
2 Timothy 3:12, “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.“
James 1:9, “¶Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted: But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away. For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth: so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways.“
Clear warnings regarding Abominations
A number of other verses describe exactly what is happening today in blatant and open fashion, as opposed to times past when such things were only done in darkness and secret.
Exodus 23:1, “¶Thou shalt not raise a false report: put not thine hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness. Thou shalt not follow a multitude to [do] evil; neither shalt thou speak in a cause to decline after many to wrest [judgment]:” Do not tell lies against another, but tell the truth so as to not indict an innocent man. Do not join mobs, and do not add your voice to those who are against the laws and justice that are meant to protect society. Additional commentary can be found here.
Proverbs 17:15, “He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both [are] abomination to the LORD.”
Isaiah 3:9, “The shew of their countenance doth witness against them; and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide [it] not. Woe unto their soul! for they have rewarded evil unto themselves.“
Isaiah 3:12 “[As for] my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause [thee] to err, and destroy the way of thy paths“.
Habakkuk 1:2-4, “O LORD, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! [even] cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save! Why dost thou shew me iniquity, and cause [me] to behold grievance? for spoiling and violence [are] before me: and there are [that] raise up strife and contention. Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth.“
Romans 1:24-27 “¶Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves. Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. ¶For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet (just).“
Leviticus 18:22, “Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it [is] abomination.“
Matthew 19:4, “¶And he (Jesus) answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made [them] at the beginning made them male and female,“
Leviticus 20:13, “If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood [shall be] upon them.“
Deuteronomy 22:5, “The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman’s garment: for all that do so [are] abomination unto the LORD thy God.”
Leviticus 19:28 “Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I [am] the LORD.”
Isaiah 5:20, “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!“
Isaiah 5:21, “Woe unto [them that are] wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!“
Micah 2:1, “¶Woe to them that devise iniquity, and work evil upon their beds! when the morning is light, they practise it, because it is in the power of their hand.”
Deuteronomy 19:18, “And the judges shall make diligent inquisition: and, behold, [if] the witness [be] a false witness, [and] hath testified falsely against his brother; Then shall ye do unto him, as he had thought to have done unto his brother: so shalt thou put the evil away from among you. And those which remain shall hear, and fear, and shall henceforth commit no more any such evil among you.“
1 Timothy 1:8-10, “¶But we know that the law [is] good, if a man use it lawfully; Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for men stealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine;“
1 Co 3:19&20, “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.”
1 Corinthians 6:9&10, “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers,nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.“
2 Thessalonians 2:11, “And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”
Reaping What You Sow
Job 4:8, “Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same.“
Proverbs 22:8 “He that soweth iniquity shall reap vanity: and the rod of his anger shall fail.“
Galatians 6:7, “¶Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.“
Hosea 8:7, “For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind: it hath no stalk: the bud shall yield no meal: if so be it yield, the strangers shall swallow it up.
2 Samuel 3:39, “…the LORD shall reward the doer of evil according to his wickedness.“
God’s Instruction and God’s Remedy
Psalm 37 and Psalm 73 are Biblical Bookends that tell the believers not to worry or fret. This is because God has it ALL under control, and the wicked will soon perish forever.(If at all possible, please read All of the verses found in those chapters…below are merely a sample)
Psalm 37 Security of Those Who Trust in the LORD, and Insecurity of the Wicked.
Psalm 37:1 “[[A Psalm of David.]] “Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.“
Psalm 37:7, “Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.“
Psalms 37:8-10, “Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil. For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth. For yet a little while, and the wicked [shall] not [be]: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it [shall] not [be].“
Psalm 37:38-40, “But the transgressors shall be destroyed together: the end of the wicked shall be cut off. But the salvation of the righteous [is] of the LORD: [he is] their strength in the time of trouble. And the LORD shall help them, and deliver them: he shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in him.”
Psalm 73 The End of the Wicked Contrasted with That of the Righteous.
Psalm 73:3, “For I was envious at the foolish, [when] I saw the prosperity of the wicked.“
Psalm 73:6-10, “Therefore pride compasseth them about as a chain; violence covereth them as a garment. Their eyes stand out with fatness: they have more than heart could wish. They are corrupt, and speak wickedly [concerning] oppression: they speak loftily. They set their mouth against the heavens, and their tongue walketh through the earth.”
Psalm 73:12, “Behold, these [are] the ungodly, who prosper in the world; they increase [in] riches.”
Psalm 73:16-19, “When I thought to know this, it [was] too painful for me; Until I went into the sanctuary of God; [then] understood I their end.“
Psalm 73:18, “Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction. How are they [brought] into desolation, as in a moment! they are utterly consumed with terrors.”
Psalm 73:22-28, “So foolish was I, and ignorant: I was as a beast before thee. Nevertheless I [am] continually with thee: thou hast holden [me] by my right hand. Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me [to] glory. Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth [that] I desire beside thee. My flesh and my heart faileth: [but] God [is] the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever. For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish: thou hast destroyed all them that go a whoring from thee. But [it is] good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all thy works.“
Other Similar & Pertinent Verses Regarding the State of the Godless
Job 27:8, “For what [is] the hope of the hypocrite, though he hath gained, when God taketh away his soul? and is not this exactly what Jesus said in Matthew 16:26, “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” and Luke 12:20&21, “But God said unto him, [Thou] fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? ¶So [is] he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
We also read further in Job, Chapter 27, some other statements by God against the wicked rich hypocrites of which this is just a sample: Job 27:13&14, “This [is] the portion of a wicked man with God, and the heritage of oppressors, [which] they shall receive of the Almighty. If his children be multiplied, [it is] for the sword: and his offspring shall not be satisfied with bread.” and Job 27:19&20, “The rich man shall lie down, but he shall not be gathered: he openeth his eyes, and he [is] not. Terrors take hold on him as waters, a tempest stealeth him away in the night.”
Job 31:3, “[Is] not destruction to the wicked? and a strange [punishment] to the workers of iniquity?“
Psalm 7:11, “God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry [with the wicked] every day.”
Psalm 32:10, “Many sorrows [shall be] to the wicked: but he that trusteth in the LORD, mercy shall compass him about.“
Psalm 49:16&17, “Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, when the glory of his house is increased; For when he dieth he shall carry nothing away: his glory shall not descend after him.“
Note how this verse is corroborated in James 1:9, “¶Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted: But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away. For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth: so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways.“
Proverbs 1:19, “So [are] the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; [which] taketh away the life of the owners thereof.“
Proverbs 23:17, “Let not thine heart envy sinners: but [be thou] in the fear of the LORD all the day long.“
Proverbs 24:1&2, “¶Be not thou envious against evil men, neither desire to be with them. For their heart studieth destruction, and their lips talk of mischief.”
Proverbs 24:19&20, “Fret not thyself because of evil men, neither be thou envious at the wicked; For there shall be no reward to the evil [man]; the candle of the wicked shall be put out.“
Ecclesiastes 5:8, “¶If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and violent perverting of judgment and justice in a province, marvel not at the matter: for [he that is] higher than the highest regardeth; and [there be] higher than they.” We must always remember what God tells us in Romans 12:19, “Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but [rather] give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance [is] mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.“
A Day of Reckoning Coming
Isaiah 2:11&12, “The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day. For the day of the LORD of hosts [shall] be upon every [one that is] proud and lofty, and upon every [one that is] lifted up; and he shall be brought low:“
Isaiah 13:11“And I will punish the world for [their] evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy (גָּאוֹן (gā’ôn) H1347) of the proud (זֵד (zēḏ)s H2086) to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.”
1 Corinthians 15:33, “¶Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.“
Ecclesiastes 12:13&14, “¶Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this [is] the whole [duty] of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether [it be] good, or whether [it be] evil.”
In Jeremiah 5:25, we read “Your iniquities have turned away these [things], and your sins have withholden good [things] from you. For among my people are found wicked [men]: they lay wait, as he that setteth snares; they set a trap, they catch men. As a cage is full of birds, so [are] their houses full of deceit: therefore they are become great, and waxen rich. They are waxen fat, they shine: yea, they overpass the deeds of the wicked: they judge not the cause, the cause of the fatherless, yet they prosper; and the right of the needy do they not judge. Shall I not visit for these [things]? saith the LORD: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?“
Ecclesiastes 7:20, tells us plainly “For [there is] not a just man upon earth, that doeth good,and sinneth not.” and the same in Romans 3:10-18, “¶ As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat [is] an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps [is] under their lips: Whose mouth [is] full of cursing and bitterness:Their feet [are] swift to shed blood: Destruction and misery [are] in their ways: And the way of peace have they not known: There is no fear of God before their eyes.“
This is and always has been the state of natural man apart from the Saving Grace and Mercy of God through the Sacrifice of the LORD Jesus Christ.
Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin [is] death; but the gift of God [is] eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.“
Conclusion
God, through His Word, the Bible, tells us that:
- God is completely Sovereign, and oversees everything that is going on in all of this creation. God has created all things for Himself, and continues to ordain and maintain them for His Glory, both good and evil (Isaiah 45:7; Proverbs 16:4; Romans 9:21-23).
- The Believers are not to fret or worry about all the evil, and the wicked evil doers, as the judgment and punishment of the wicked is sure. God makes clear that Judgment Day is definitely coming, and that Jesus will Judge everyone in the world according their works. Revelation 1:13-18, describes Jesus in allegorical language to describe some of Jesus’ attributes as the Judge, “And in the midst of the seven candlesticks [one] like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and [his] hairs [were] white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes [were] as a flame of fire; And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance [was] as the sun shineth in his strength. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: I [am] he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.” Sadly, the vast majority of the world will be sent to Hell. Jesus makes this clear in Matthew 7:13&14, “¶Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide [Is] the gate, and broad [Is] the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait [is] the gate, and narrow [Is] the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.“
- When Jesus comes back on Judgment Day, the universe as we know it will be destroyed, but Jesus will create new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness. 2 Peter 3:10-13, ¶ But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. [Seeing] then [that] all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in [all] holy conversation and godliness, Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
- Luke 10:27, “And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.“
- Ecclesiastes 12:13, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this [is] the whole [duty] of man.“
POSTSCRIPT
Jesus warns us on what to expect in the days just prior to Judgment Day when Jesus sends the majority of mankind to Hell.
Matthew 24:36, “¶But of that day and hour knoweth no [man], no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.“
Luke 17:26, “And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.“
Luke 17:28-30, “Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed [them] all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.“
Mark 13:19 “For [in] those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be.“
Matthew 24:32-35, ҦNow learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer [is] nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, [even] at the doors. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
Mark 13:23, “But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things“.
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