Author: Stephen Ricker

In the beginning, when God created Adam and Eve, God had a family plan. “God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the […]

Trust is a firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something. Some say trust is earned and this is true to a degree for many degrees of trust exist. Trust is a mental decision. I trust more than I know. I trust all kinds of devices will work when I […]

Hoarding is our tight dress or a shirt and straight pants that are hidden in the back of our soul closet. Hoarding is a matching outfit with coveting. Hoarding comes out of the closet when scarcity arrives in our neighborhood. The hidden hoarding outfit is put on in times of social need. We put it […]

“The one who freely gives gains even more” and “The generous one will prosper”. and “The one refreshing another will be refreshed”. These nonsensical proverbs are made true through God. What makes a person freely refresh others? What gladly loosens tired purse strings? What causes a hand to willingly give rather than take? Love for […]

“The desire of the righteous ends only in good” (23). I seek that which ends in good. Then meditate to determine and understand what I really desire. Meditate on the righteous. Am I righteous? Do I desire as a righteous man or a religious man? The two are not the same for God determines righteousness […]

The opposite of love is to detest. The Lord loves and detests. The Lord loves when we express faith, hope, and love from the heart; especially love. (1 Corinthians 13;13) The Lord detests men of a perverse heart (20). A perverse heart resides in the wicked (21). The word detests (i.e. abomination) is a word […]

Raising crops has been an ongoing human activity for mankind since before the flood. Every culture has farmers with small gardens to 1,000-acre fields. Sowing seeds is a familiar practice. If a farmer wants a harvest of wheat they sow wheat seeds. If a farmer wants oats they sow oat seeds. If a farmer wants […]

Kindhearted women and kind men are celebrated. Kindness is selfless, compassionate, and merciful. Being kind means doing to others as I want them to be done to me. Being kind gain respect and benefits the giver and receiver. Jesus describes the kind person this way, ““You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, […]

Putting up security for another and striking hands in a pledge were talked about in detail in chapter 6 verses 1 thru 5. There the Father tells his son to escape such a trap as quickly as possible. These two phrases are referring to business responsibilities for someone else’s debt or for some other obligation […]

Civic righteousness is the subject of verses 11-14. The blessing of the upright comes from God’s blessing and teaching through them. The upright’s good influence and desire for justice for all as well as their prosperity are how a city and nation is lifted up out of the dregs. “Remove the wicked from the king’s […]

When the righteous prosper, the city rejoices. Surely this is true for the right way to live, interact with others, and do in God’s eyes surely brings prosperity to all. Joy and happiness fill the hearts of many. When the wicked perish, there are shouts of joy. Surely this is true for the wrong way […]

Making a straight way means easily and quickly reaching a goal. The righteousness of the blameless makes a straight way for them. How? The righteousness of the upright delivers them. Verse 4 says it delivers them from death. The delivery in verse 6 is from evil desires. Jesus taught, “Enter through the narrow gate. For […]

Integrity is a virtue all desire and fails more times than stacked stones fall over. Integrity is ethical and moral righteousness. Integrity does not guarantee that others will be righteous toward me. It is better to be a poor man whose walk is blameless than a fool whose lips are perverse (19:1) Integrity can be […]

Pride comes in many forms. Not all pride is harmful though most pride experienced is. Humility comes in many forms. Not all humility is good though most humility experience is. The most historically common definition of pride is a high or inordinate opinion of one’s own dignity, importance, merit, or superiority, whether as cherished in […]

Scales were used for many a millennium in almost all societies during commerce; the buying and selling of goods. Silver and gold would be placed on one tray and various stone weights were used on the other. The device was meant to make each exchange the same and fair. For as long as they have […]

Joining these two verses brings forth one of the themes of proverbs. “The way of the LORD is a refuge (strength) for the righteous; they will never be uprooted. The way of the LORD is the ruin of those who do evil; they will not remain in the land.” The way in the Hebrew here […]

Have hope for joy is in your future. A better day is ahead, a day of joy. The prospect of the righteous is joy. Though today might be mixed with doubts, fears, and disappointments, these will turn into joy. The hope of the righteous is gladness. Though I wake up in darkness, the sun will […]

Solomon has at this time in his proverbs well defined the righteous and the wicked. Simply looking at what each type of person loves and fears assists in understanding and believing this verse. “The fear of the LORD adds length to life, but the years of the wicked are cut short.” The things each believe […]

Jesus taught a parable about a wise person building a house on a rock and a fool building a house on sand. (Matthew 7:24-27) These verses revolve around that popular parable. The fool and the wicked experience the same fate. When troubles come the foolish wicked person has been swept away. Yet the righteous wise […]

God’s righteousness is what He does in fulfillment of the terms of the covenant that He established with His chosen people through Christ. The righteous person in the Bible is one who meets the demands of a variety of social relations (wife, children, family, friendship, city and nation, servants, foreigners) and has done righteousness before […]

The next verse in the journey through the proverbs of Solomon is fitting because for four straight days Facebook has put notices on BDBD posts on their site stating that independent fact-checkers say that they contain false information and yet they say that they have not checked the information. (Their notice to me has conflicting […]

A good parent will discipline their child because they want their child to be happy and successful in life. A good athletic coach will discipline the members of the team because he wants them to play their best and win. A good teacher will assign homework and projects because they want the students to learn […]

“Love covers all wrongs” (12) and “He who covers over an offense promotes love.” (17:8) The apostle Peter wrote, “Above all, love each other deeply because love covers over a multitude of sins.” (1 Peter 4:8) When someone expresses unkindness, injustice, and hate toward me I am to respond with love. Love can turn a […]

The proverb in verse 11 can be flipped for self-examination purposes. Reviewing the words I spoke in my past 24 hours through prayer and meditation I can determine if I was righteous or wicked. If my mouth was a fountain of life for others then I was righteous. If my mouth was overwhelmed with violence […]