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Pro 10:15-32 “The rich man’s wealth is his strong city”

[Study Aired February 13, 2025]

This section of proverbs talks a lot about the mouth and the lips, so I thought it would be instructive to start off with these two contrasting verses, (Mal 2:7, Mat 15:8), that show us the negative and positive application of these words.

Mal 2:7 For the priest’s lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts.

Mat 15:8 This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.

Little and by little the lips of the elect are being purified (Exo 23:30, Isa 6:7), so that we can lay up treasure in heaven in a “strong city” (Eph 4:26, Heb 11:10) that represents Christ and His christ, where “neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal” (Mat 6:19-20, Rev 21:23-27). This is the foundation of good works that we talked about last week that God’s elect are blessed to lay up, as we present our whole lives as living sacrifices unto God (Mal 3:10, Mat 6:33).

Christ is our strong city who enriches our lives with the tree of life, or the book of life, within us. Here are some verses, (Gen 3:24, Pro 3:18, Pro 11:30, Pro 13:12 , Pro 15:4), that demonstrate how we can become spiritually wealthy in the Lord who is “a tree of life”; and the rest of these proverbs in chapter ten reveal the blessing of being God’s elect, with the life of Christ within them now, and what powerful promises and hope we have as a result of God’s mercy being shown to us in this age (Rom 11:31-32) via the relationship that we have with our Father and Christ, “At that day” (Joh 14:20, Joh 17:3).

Pro 15:4 A wholesome tongue is a tree of life: but perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit.

As long as we are in these earthen vessels, these proverbs will serve to show us the light and dark side of the pillar within us, admonishing us and keeping us spiritually alive and quickened (Joh 6:63) as we are given to rightly divide the message that will “give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion” (Pro 1:4).

Pro 10:15 The rich man’s wealth is his strong city: the destruction of the poor is their poverty.

A “city” in God’s word represents ‘a church’, and the “general assembly and church of the firstborn” (Heb 12:23) is where “the rich man’s wealth” is found, the rich man being Christ who is the head of the church that is “his strong city”. We are of course talking about spiritual riches that come in the form of the words of eternal life that Christ gives freely to those who thirst for them (Joh 6:68, Joh 7:37-38).

Joh 7:37 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.[Mat 5:6]

One day all the world will hunger and thirst for righteousness, and will be brought to acknowledge their own blindness and spiritual poverty that currently has the churches of this world thinking they are rich and increased with goods and in need of nothing (Rev 3:17-18).

Pro 10:16 The labour of the righteous tendeth to life: the fruit of the wicked to sin.

Our labour in this life must tend to the life of Christ within each of us (Col 1:27), and if Christ is in us, our love and concern for one another will grow and be reflected in the communion and discipleship we’ve been called to continue in through this life (1Co 10:16-17, Joh 13:35, Joh 8:31-32).

Joh 13:35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

Joh 8:31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
Joh 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

The “fruit of the wicked” needs to be rooted and burnt out of us. The self-centered man in me does not come to serve his body, but looks only to my needs and not the needs of others (Php 2:3-8). That is “the fruit of the wicked to sin”, which is rich toward itself and not sacrificial toward others (Luk 21:1-4, Luk 12:16-21, Mat 25:40, Mat 25:45).

Php 2:3 Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.
Php 2:4 Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.

Luk 21:1 And he looked up, and saw the rich men casting their gifts into the treasury.
Luk 21:2 And he saw also a certain poor widow casting in thither two mites.

Luk 12:21 So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

It is the witness of “two mites” that are put into the treasury (in Luk 21:2 above) that represent the life of Christ within us who is the only one who can give us the power (Php 2:12-13, Rev 11:3) to be presented as living sacrifices [witnesses] who lay down our lives for one and other (Rom 12:1-2, Heb 12:1-2) . The poor widow’s gift is symbolically being laid up in heaven (Mat 6:20-21), whereas the self-righteous many wonderful works that we do in the earth without acknowledging the hand of God in all, is the treasure that is in fact buried in the treasuries of the earth to bear witness against us, where we receive our reward of men in this age (Mat 7:22, Mat 25:25, Mat 25:18, Mat 25:24-30, Mat 6:2).

Mat 6:20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
Mat 6:21 For where your treasure is (2Co 4:7), there will your heart [Eze 36:26] be also.

Mat 25:25 And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.

Mat 7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? [“Strong delusion”] and in thy name done many wonderful works? [“hid thy talent in the earth”]

Pro 10:17 He is in the way of life that keepeth instruction: but he that refuseth reproof erreth.

Last week we talked about the importance of laying up store, and this proverb is another admonition for us to not grow weary in well doing for in due season we will reap if we faint not. Our labours in the Lord are not in vain and the way of life is to keep instruction, and we find our safety in the body of Christ through the counsel that God provides as spiritual meat in due season through the church (Eph 3:10) [“He is in the way of life that keepeth instruction”].

God willing, He will give us that hunger and thirst for righteousness that can come from him alone (Mat 5:6), so that we remain intreatable like a humble child (Jas 3:17, Mat 18:3) not refusing the reproof that God gives every son whom He loves and receives in this life (Pro 10:17). These verses below show the result of being one who receives reproof, or one who becomes hardened through not receiving God’s reproof.

positive reactions to reproof:

Job 26:11 The pillars of heaven tremble and are astonished at his reproof.

Pro 1:23 Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.

Pro 15:31 The ear that heareth the reproof of life abideth among the wise.

negative reactions to reproof:

Pro 1:25 But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof:

Pro 1:30 They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof.

Pro 5:12 And say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof;

Pro 15:10 Correction is grievous unto him that forsaketh the way: and he that hateth reproof shall die.

both negative and positive reactions to reproof:

Pro 12:1 Whoso loveth instruction loveth knowledge: but he that hateth reproof is brutish.

Pro 13:18 Poverty and shame shall be to him that refuseth instruction: but he that regardeth reproof shall be honoured.

Pro 15:5 A fool despiseth his father’s instruction: but he that regardeth reproof is prudent.

Pro 15:32 He that refuseth instruction despiseth his own soul: but he that heareth reproof getteth understanding.

Pro 17:10 A reproof entereth more into a wise man than an hundred stripes into a fool.

Pro 29:15 The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.

This last verse regarding ‘reproof’ reminds us that “all the promises of God in him are yea” (2Co 1:20), and are all profitable unto the one that God is working with in this age:

2Ti 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

Pro 10:18 He that hideth hatred with lying lips, and he that uttereth a slander, is a fool.

God sees our hearts, and we are deluding ourselves if we think otherwise [like Adam and Eve trying to hide from God in the garden of Eden]. Hiding hatred is akin to having a root of bitterness that goes unexamined. God must grant us to be introspective and examine ourselves that no root of bitterness, toward God or man exists in our heavens (Eph 4:31, Heb 12:15)

Eph 4:31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:

Heb 12:15 Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;

We lie to ourselves when we don’t see the need to go to our brother ‘between you and him alone’, or if we refuse to confess our faults when we’ve done wrong to someone. Lying lips have to be purged by God in this life if we are going to be profitable servants who don’t slander. ‘Slander’ is the exact opposite of covering each other’s sins, and such foolish behavior is destructive and hated of our Father (Pro 6:16, Pro 6:19)

Pro 6:16 These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:

Pro 6:19 A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.

Pro 10:19 In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise.
Pro 10:19  When words abound, transgression is inevitable, but the one who restrains his words is wise. (NET)

Another couple of verses that correlate with this proverb are these: (Ecc 5:2, 1Co 14:19, Mat 23:12).

Ecc 5:2 Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God (When words abound, transgression is inevitable): for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few (he that refraineth his lips is wise).

1Co 14:19 Yet in the church I had rather speak five words with my understanding, that by my voice I might teach others also, than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue.

Mat 23:12 And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased (When words abound, transgression is inevitable); and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted (he that refraineth his lips is wise).

Pro 10:20 The tongue of the just is as choice silver: the heart of the wicked is little worth.

A repentant heart, a contrite and broken heart (Isa 66:2), is someone who has a tongue of “choice silver” because of the fiery process of repentance that they have endured making it possible for living waters to spring forth from their bellies, symbolized by the “five words” spoken with the understanding mind of Christ (1Co 14:19). God is producing rivers of living waters through each joint that supplies, as He works in our lives and destroys the heart of the wicked that is of “little worth” within us (1Co 3:17) as it defiles the temple of God.

1Co 3:17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

Pro 10:21 The lips of the righteous feed many: but fools die for want of wisdom.

Many are called, but few are chosen to have our initially defiled lips purified in this age so that in time the purified bride of Christ will “feed many”. In order for this to happen, the fool within me who thinks he can obtain the kingdom by my own might and power, by my own wisdom, must be destroyed daily so that the living waters can spring forth via the power of God (1Co 2:3-6).

Pro 10:22 The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.

The spiritual blessing of the Lord enriches our life and leads to a liberty that cannot be produced in Babylon where we are promised liberty but it is never found because of our inability at that time to be led of the spirit of God, where there will be true liberty (2Pe 2:19-20, Rom 8:14-15, 2Co 3:17).

2Pe 2:19 While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.
2Pe 2:20 For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.

2Co 3:17 Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

“The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it”, because He has promised that He will meet our every need (Rom 5:10) via the riches that God supplies through Christ (Php 4:19).

Rom 5:10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.

Php 4:19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

Pro 10:23 It is as sport to a fool to do mischief: but a man of understanding hath wisdom.

The wisdom of Christ within the body of Christ keeps us from the mischievous spirits of this world where we once ran to the same excess (Eph 2:1-5) following the pulls of our foolish flesh which we must still continue to keep under all our days in order to be a man of understanding who has wisdom and knows how to make war against the powers and principalities we wrestle against by God’s power within us (Eph 6:12, Zec 4:6).

Eph 2:1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
Eph 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:

Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Pro 10:24 The fear of the wicked, it shall come upon him: but the desire of the righteous shall be granted.

Perfect love casts out fear (Rom 5:1-4, 1Jn 4:18), and it is a curse to have debilitating fear in this life. Scripture shows us that victory over fear is a gift from God who sheds his love abroad in our hearts (Rom 5:5-6).

He does not always take away the circumstances that may cause us to start to fear, but when we pray and come boldly before the throne of God, “the desire of the righteous shall be granted”. That desire to overcome fear is something God will grant His children and freely give to us, as we boldly face our fears and conquer them through Christ (Rom 8:28, Rom 8:32). That carnal Adamic fear is replaced with a Godly fear of our Creator, and with such a spirit within us, we are as Christ was (1Jn 4:17) and we are heard of God (Heb 5:7).

Heb 5:7 Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared;

Pro 10:25 As the whirlwind passeth, so is the wicked no more: but the righteous is an everlasting foundation.

It takes the Lord raising the storm in our life (Psa 107:24-25, Eph 2:10), “the whirlwind^H5492 that does pass”, to create the foundation of Christ in our hearts and minds, “but the righteous is an everlasting foundation” (Mat 16:18).

Psa 107:24 These see the works of the LORD, and his wonders in the deep.
Psa 107:25 For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof.

Eph 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Mat 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Whirlwind H5492 sûphâh soo-faw’
From H5486; a hurricane: – Red Sea, storm, tempest, whirlwind, Red sea.
Total KJV occurrences: 16

Pro 10:26 As vinegar to the teeth, and as smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to them that send him.

Both experiences of vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes are indicators of what the sluggard produces spiritually. Both ingredients are irritants, one to the teeth and the other to the eyes. Vinegar  symbolizes the word of God that has been improperly stored, not preserved correctly by the slothful man in me who forgets God’s words of reproof and cannot produce spiritual meat in due season (wine gone bad). Smoke is produced more abundantly when a fire is not kindled properly, which produces an unclean environment, just like a wick that has not been trimmed (Mat 25:7). Christ sends our first man Adam into the wilderness and this is all we can produce at first, vinegar and smoke, until the Lord gives us power to do otherwise.

Here’s an interesting translation from the [CAB] version: Pro 10:26 As a sour grape is hurtful to the teeth, and smoke to the eyes, so iniquity hurts those that practice it.

It is the iniquity in our lives which is self-righteousness that causes us to produce these types of fruit, vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, that reveal that it is our works being manifested and not the power of God that preserves us (Php 3:9, 1Co 2:5).

Pro 10:27 The fear of the LORD prolongeth days: but the years of the wicked shall be shortened.
Pro 10:28 The hope of the righteous shall be gladness: but the expectation of the wicked shall perish.

God is going to preserve His saints by doing a quick work in the body of Christ. The quick work is the destruction of our old man in this life, “the years of the wicked shall be shortened”. The result of this adamic destruction in this age is that our days will be prolonged because of our fear of God working in our lives so that we can be heard of our Father, we can be judged in this age, we can be dragged to Christ, and we can inherit the Kingdom and be in that blessed and holy first resurrection (Heb 5:7, 1Jn 4:17).

Heb 5:7 Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared;

1Jn 4:17 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.

Our hope of glory is in Christ (Col 1:27), and we understand that our deceitful and desperately wicked hearts (Jer 17:9) shall perish and not inherit the kingdom of God (1Co 15:50). This is “The hope of the righteous” that makes us ‘glad’.

1Co 15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

Pro 10:29 The way of the LORD is strength to the upright: but destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity.

If we truly believe that Christ is our righteousness, our strength, our wealth, then the workers of iniquity, which is self-righteousness will be destroyed by the brightness of his coming into our lives (2Th 2:8). God must grant us that we decrease and that our Lord increase, and if He is building that spiritual house within us in this age, that is what is going to happen (Joh 3:30, Psa 127:1).

Pro 10:30 The righteous shall never be removed: but the wicked shall not inhabit the earth.

This proverb confirms that there is no rapture, as we’re reminded the “righteous shall never be removed” however the wicked shall not inherit the earth. Inwardly this is the main point for God’s elect today, as we are called to notice the foundation of Christ’s life being formed within the body of Christ that shall never be removed (Mat 16:18, Mat 24:40-42).

Mat 24:40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
Mat 24:41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
Mat 24:42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.

Pro 10:31 The mouth of the just bringeth forth wisdom: but the froward tongue shall be cut out.

Christ has to cut out the froward tongue in our lives if we are going to become just stewards of His word who bring forth wisdom. It’s not just our tongue that must be cut out (Mat 5:29-30), but anything that is going to hinder our reaching the mark of the prize of the high calling in Christ (Php 3:14) that awaits those who have respect unto the recompense of the reward and demonstrate that respect by holding “fast the profession of our faith without wavering” (Heb 10:23).

Mat 5:29 And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
Mat 5:30 And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.

Heb 10:23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised:)

Pro 10:32 The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable: but the mouth of the wicked speaketh frowardness.

We are naturally froward unless God is humbling us by the life of Christ within us who makes it possible for us to be accepted of our Father (Eph 1:6), through the judgement and trials that humble us. Christ is the one who delivers us daily from our otherwise froward spirit, humbling our hearts through affliction, persecution, tribulation and suffering so that His power can rest upon us and we can be found with His righteousness in our lives and not our own (Php 3:9). That is the narrow way God’s elect have been called unto that is found through a lifetime of judgement (1Pe 4:16-19) which will produce great spiritual riches within the body of Christ, [“The rich man’s wealth is his strong city” (Psa 19:13-14)].

Eph 1:6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

Php 3:9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

Psa 19:13 Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.
Psa 19:14 Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.

Amen!