Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.

Proverbs 18:2&3

A fool does not delight in understanding, But only in revealing his own mind. When the wicked man comes, contempt also comes, And with dishonor comes scorn. NASB

Two types of people who have broken off from sound wisdom are described in these verses, the fool and the wicked.

There are several words translated “fool” in the book of Proverbs. This word means to be fat with foolishness or folly and is known as a silly fool. Mind, in verse 2, means “heart” a footnote tells us in the NASB. What a fool believes will be revealed by what they say and do as we read in verses 6&7. Not only will his foolishness cause him harm but can also bring harm to those who listen to him. The fool can be naïve or ignorant but we need to be careful that we are not deceived by the fool’s foolishness.  

The words and actions of the wicked can do a lot of damage if one listens to them. Intent and motive come into play here. If we are to keep from being harmed by foolishness or wickedness we would be wise to apply verses 4&5 to what we are hearing. Seek sound wisdom and discard the rest.

Proverbs 7:1-3

My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments, with thee. Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye. Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the table of thine heart. KJV

The word “keep” means to build a hedge with thorns. The word “bind” means to weave together.

The heart is the seat of our emotions and our mind. It is like a sponge absorbing what we see and hear. These verses describe the importance of keeping our heart healthy and safe. In order to do that we must value the wisdom of God, verse 4, and filter out the so-called wisdom of the world, verse 5.

The temptation to follow the wisdom of the world is appealing but deceptive. A wise person with understanding will see the trap and not fall for it. However, a naïve person lacking wisdom and understanding will be much more vulnerable to deception. Deception is darkness, verse 9. Darkness in the Bible equates to the things and appeals of the world that promise fun, profit, pleasure, etc. but hides the destructive consequences from view. So, value wisdom, weave together a hedge, and guard the heart.

Proverbs 6:12

A worthless person, a wicked man, Is one who walks with a perverse mouth, NASB

In previous studies in this chapter, we have talked about being obligated for another person’s debt out of naivety. This was contrasted with the diligence of ants contrasted to a lazy person.

Starting with verse 12 and continuing on through verse 15 we are warned of the wicked man. Interestingly enough he seems to work as hard as the ant in verses 6-9 but they are completely different. Verse 14 tells us his heart is perverse. His core is set on wickedness. Therefore he works at continually devising evil. His works will usually be based on lies. Lies have a short “shelf life.” Eventually the truth will be found out but not before harm is done because of the strife that he causes. This is especially true if we are naive.

We see in these verses that he depends on deception not only of words but also deceptive actions and signals. We expect this in the world but Christians need to be aware that wicked people may be found hanging out in the church. Here are some passages that tell us what to watch for.

2 Thessalonians 2:2&3; 2 Timothy 3:1-7.