Proverbs on Speech
Part 3: Good Words (continued)

Baxter T. Exum (#1772)
Four Lakes Church of Christ
Madison, Wisconsin
February 16, 2025

Good morning and welcome to the Four Lakes congregation! It is good to be together this morning, and if you are visiting with us today, we are especially happy to have you with us, and we’d like to ask that you fill out a visitor card – either online or on a card from the pew in front of you. And we also invite you to pass along any questions or prayer concerns in that way.

In terms of our calendar, let’s remember the SOUP, SLURP, SING, next Sunday right after worship, at Patsy’s place up in Sun Prairie. The address is on the bulletin board, and John and Yonnie have a sign-up sheet. Bring soup and stuff if you can, and join us for lunch, and then we plan on singing together after lunch, usually for about half an hour or so. Unfortunately, Gary and Sara will be up in Green Bay getting Gary’s mom moved into a new place, so John and Yonnie are helping to coordinate this in their place.

As we begin this morning, I’d like to share a brief update on some awesome work that’s being done in North Carolina. Project Unify is a mission work started Cody Michael, a friend who came up to Wisconsin to help us with our youth camp a few years back. Cody and his team do disaster relief with the goal of sharing Jesus in the process, and they have done some amazing things over the past few months. Cody is on the right up here, and he actually grew up in Lynchburg, Tennessee, where my grandfather preached for about 13 years. Well, Cody and his team have been collecting campers from God’s people and delivering these campers to those whose homes were destroyed in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene last year. Well, Cody posted a few days ago, and he says that, “This is Glenn, he lives in Asheville North Carolina. He was living in a camper by the river when the hurricane hit. He watched his camper get swept down river and was left homeless. Thanks to the Sycamore church of Christ along with Double Springs church of Christ that's not the case anymore. Together a camper was purchased, prepared, and delivered. We had biblical conversation, but will be returning for deeper studies. Please keep our friend Glenn in your prayers! And a prayer of gratitude for congregations like Sycamore and Double Springs for not only the efforts made, but sending a worker along to make sure everything is in order. To God be the glory!” That is awesome! And if you have a camper you’d like to donate, I will put you in touch with Cody, and I would not be surprised if he would be willing to come up here and get it, but they are doing a great work, and I thought you guys might want to know about it.

Before we get to our study of the Word today, we want to make sure that we preach the good news. God loves us and sent his only Son to this earth to identify with us and to offer himself on the cross for us. He was buried, but then he was raised up alive on the third day. We obey this good news by believing it, by turning away from sin, by publicly confessing our faith that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and by allowing ourselves to be immersed with Jesus for the forgiveness of sins. And, as usual, we do have several examples to share this week, starting with an update from the Stanley Avenue congregation down in Andalusia, Alabama. They posted this week and say that, “Our hearts were made to rejoice yesterday when Eden Sabey obeyed the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Thessalonians 1:8), washing away her sins (Acts 22:16), and has been raised to walk in newness of life (Romans 6:4). We are thrilled for her and welcome her to the family of God! She and her son, Mason, will be a welcomed addition to our growing church family!”

These three come to us from the Upper West Manhattan congregation. They have had five people baptized over the past month or so, and they do it in a portable baptistery that they set up and fill in one of their apartments. They say that, “We feel incredibly blessed and grateful for these precious souls!”

This next one comes to us from Vienna, West Virginia. It sounds like two congregations worked together on in this one, “...baptizing 86 year-old Anne Roush in the YMCA swimming pool. Anne studied the gospel with [one of their members] while in a physical rehabilitation facility, where the chaplain argued that immersion was not necessary.” They go on to explain that they will “...keep up with our new sister who lives just a couple streets from our building. Anne came up crying and praising God for His salvation!” So good to see it!

And the last one this morning comes to us from the Great Oaks congregation down in Memphis. They say that, “Earlier this week, Cornelius Fabre was baptized into Christ here at Great Oaks! Cornelius was a contact through our program this winter, going out to help supply the homeless in our area with sleeping bags, gloves, and other items to keep them warm. Through this act of service, an opportunity to share the Gospel arose and led to Cornelius making the best decision of his life, despite his physical ailments. Please keep him in your prayers, and encourage our new brother!” That is awesome! But, as always, we share these pictures as our invitation to you to obey the gospel just as these people have done. If we can help in any way, if you’d like to study together, please let us know. Pull me aside after worship, or give me a call or send a text to 608-224-0274.

This morning we are returning to our study of SPEECH in the book of Proverbs, and this is now our third and final study where we’re looking at the GOOD USE OF WORDS, according to King Solomon. In the big picture, we have now looked at 49% of the Proverbs. Over the next few weeks, we hope to continue looking at Solomon’s advice on the words that we speak.

Today, though, we continue with the good use of words. There are eight of these, and just to make these a little easier to find, we plan on looking at these in canonical order, in the order in which they appear in scripture. So, as usual, I will put these on the wall up here (or on your screen at home), and I’ll be using the NASB, but there is a value to looking these up in your own copy of the Bible.

    1. But let’s start today with Proverbs 18:4, where King Solomon says that, “The words of a man’s mouth are deep waters; the fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook.”

So, we have two similes (or comparisons) here. On one hand, wise words are compared to “deep waters.” Most of us have probably heard a reference to somebody heading out into “deep water,” and it’s a reference to some kind of deep subject matter, it’s something that requires some deep thinking, it’s a deep subject. The wise man, then, is able to tackle deep subjects. The wise man is not superficial in his wisdom, but the wise man knows stuff, and he knows important stuff.

Secondly, though, the fountain of wisdom is compared to a “bubbling brook.” And we’ve discussed wisdom as a fountain, as a source of fresh water, already. And most of us probably understand the reference. True wisdom can be refreshing; and here, it’s pictured as an unlimited resource. When I think of a fountain of fresh water, I think of an artesian well up in Ashland, Wisconsin, between the road and Lake Superior. I had read about it, so I pulled over on a trip through the area in February a few years ago. They’ve directed the water with a pipe, they’ve built a little hut around it, they’ve put a grate underneath it, and you can fill up with fresh, clean water whenever you drive through that area – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, in all weather conditions. When I was there, it was below zero (as I remember it), and I refilled the 2-gallon jug I keep in the car as a water source for camping, and then I filled up a few of those 32 ounce Nalgene bottles. I’ve done this for several years now, and I would encourage you to stop by if you’re ever in the area. Bring bottles! Bring jugs! What an amazing blessing! And that’s how King Solomon pictures someone who speaks words of wisdom. Those words are described as “deep waters” and as a “bubbling brook.”

Well, in what way? I would suggest that those who are wise will be able to speak helpful words in a wide variety of circumstances. Those words will make an impact. Those words will make a difference. We think back to Solomon himself, 1 Kings 4, where God gave him that wisdom. The text tells us that, “...God gave Solomon wisdom and very great discernment and breadth of mind, like the sand that is on the seashore.” We find that “...Solomon’s wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all the sons of the east and all the wisdom of Egypt. For he was wiser than all men…and his fame was known in all the surrounding nations. He also spoke 3,000 proverbs, and his songs were 1,005. He spoke of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon even to the hyssop that grows on the wall; he spoke also of animals and birds and creeping things and fish. Men came from all peoples to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom.” If I could summarize: Solomon was worth hearing! His wisdom was deep, and he was willing to share it. We’ve benefited from this in these Proverbs. However, the Bible also tells us that Jesus was greater than Solomon, and we learn from Him throughout scripture. We don’t need some secret code; no, we just need to read the word of God. As Jesus says in John 7, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink,” and “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’”

    2. Our second proverb today comes a few verses later in Proverbs 18:20, where Solomon says that, “With the fruit of a man’s mouth his stomach will be satisfied; he will be satisfied with the product of his lips.”

We have some mixed metaphors here, to say the least! We have fruit, and a mouth, and a stomach, and lips! But I hope we don’t get too distracted. We back up a little bit, and we realize that the “stomach,” in Hebrew culture, was often used figuratively, to symbolically represent someones innermost spiritual being. In fact, in that passage from John 7 that we read just a moment ago, Jesus said that whoever believes him him, as the Scripture says, “From his INNERMOST BEING will flow rivers of living water.” Jesus wasn’t saying that literal water would shoot out of our literal stomachs, but he was speaking figuratively. The “innermost being” is a reference to who we are. Here in Proverbs 18:20, then, Solomon is saying that when we speak appropriately, our souls will be satisfied. To be “satisfied” is to be “full” – not stuffed to the point where we’re uncomfortable, but comfortably full. And that’s a good feeling, isn’t it? Sometimes, after a meal, I’ll say to my wife that I feel full, but in a good way. And we understand this, don’t we? There’s good full, and there’s bad full. This is good full! When we speak words of wisdom, Solomon says that we will be “satisfied.”

On one hand, it may be that when we speak with wisdom and kindness, others appreciate that, and they reciprocate. But on the other hand, it may help to think about the opposite of this. Have you ever said something you regret? That’s a really bad feeling, isn’t it? I know that when I say something I regret, there’s a sense of spiritual heartburn. Have you ever felt that? It’s almost like we’ve eaten something that doesn’t sit well with us. It may even keep us up at night. We think about it. We regret it. We toss and turn. We’re uneasy. Well, that’s the negative. The positive here, though, is that when we speak well and when we speak words of wisdom, we are “satisfied.”

By the way, speaking of mixed metaphors, I’m thinking of the song we sang right before today’s lesson. We may think it’s a song about the Lord’s Supper, but it’s really not, “Break Thou the Bread of Life, dear Lord, to me, as Thou didst break the loaves beside the sea.” At this point, most hymnals say, “Beyond the sacred page I seek Thee, Lord.” Today, we changed that to, “WITHIN the sacred page I seek Thee, Lord,” because the song continues, “My spirit pants for Thee, O Living Word.” That song is a song about the word of God. The last verse, in fact, says, “Bless Thou the truth, dear Lord, to me, to me, as thou didst bless the bread by Galilee; then shall all bondage cease, all fetters fall, and I shall find my peace, my all in all.” That song would be most appropriate either before or after the sermon or maybe a scripture reading. Nevertheless, Solomon tells us that speaking well brings satisfaction. We learn how to speak like this by studying the Proverbs, by looking for wisdom “within the sacred page.”

    3. We continue with a somewhat related Proverb in the very next verse in Proverbs 18:21, where King Solomon says that, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.”

Do we think about our words like this? Do we think about what we say as being a matter of life and death? It’s true, though. Some of you work in the field of medicine. Words matter. Some of you teach children. Words matter. Some of you may be training new employees. Words matter. Some of you are full time at home with little ones. Words matter. Words are truly a matter of life and death.

About a month ago, when I was camping in the Keweenaw Peninsula, I passed through Calumet, Michigan. And I got to stop by and see something I’d been wanting to see for years. Have you ever heard people discussing freedom of speech and mention “crying FIRE in a crowded theater”? In a nutshell, our constitution recognizes our God-given right to say stuff; however, there are times when our speech can cause tremendous damage. And that warning about “crying FIRE in a crowded theater” goes back to an incident in Calumet, Michigan, over a hundred years ago. Back in December 1913, thousands of copper miners had been on strike for five months. They were fighting for union representation, safer working conditions, shorter workdays, and better pay. Well, on Christmas Eve, hundreds had gathered in a ballroom on the second floor of the Italian Hall to attend a holiday party for workers and their families. As the children were heading up to the stage to get their presents, someone in the crowd yelled, “Fire!” At that point, people panicked and rushed for the exit. There wasn’t a fire, but many were trampled to death on the stairs. As the monument up here says, officially, 73 people died, with more than half of those being children under the age of 10. Even with a congressional hearing and investigation, they never figured out who yelled, “Fire!” in that theater. That brick archway is all that remains of the building. The names and ages of those who died are on the monument directly behind that archway. Well, that is certainly an extreme example, but Solomon told us long ago that “death and life are in the power of the tongue.”

    4. This brings us to Proverbs 20:15, where King Solomon says that, “There is gold, and an abundance of jewels; but the lips of knowledge are a more precious thing.”

So, if we could choose between a bag of gold and precious jewels on one hand, and knowledgeable speech on the other hand, King Solomon would suggest choosing the “lips of knowledge.” On one hand, then, we have gold and jewels. Solomon knew something about gold and jewels. At this point, Solomon was the wealthiest man on the face of the earth, blessed by God. He knew the value of gold. And gold is valuable. We talked about this a week or two ago, the fact that you can buy gold at Costco. If I had $2,800 laying around, buying an ounce of gold might be a bit tempting. But then, how do I spend it? Do they take it at Aldi? Probably not. And somebody may steal it. It might get destroyed in a fire. It might get stolen. I might lose it. Don’t get me wrong: Gold is valuable (and Solomon knew this), but he also knew that “lips of knowledge” are even more valuable than gold and jewels.

And just as we must work to acquire gold, so also we must work to gain “lips of knowledge.” Perhaps we study, we listen, we humble ourselves to receive instruction, we observe, we search for wisdom, and then we share it. Solomon reminds us, then, that wise speech is more valuable than gold. Wise speech will always be a good investment. A while back, I heard a commercial where Mike Huckabee talked about the uncertainty of the future, and he said, “I put my faith in gold.” Those were his words (I looked it up again a few days ago). I know what he was saying (in context), but Solomon would remind us that wise lips are more valuable than gold and jewels.

    5. This brings us to the next verse, Proverbs 24:26, where King Solomon says that, “He kisses the lips who gives a right answer.”

The translations are all over the place on this one. The NIV says that, “An honest answer is like a kiss on the lips.” The ESV says that, “Whoever gives an honest answer kisses the lips.” But, whether the person who gives a good answer gets kissed or does the kissing, or whether the answer itself is like a kiss on the lips, it seems to me (as we back away from this) that giving a right or honest answer is a good thing! The “kiss” and the “answer” are what nearly all translations have in common. So, we start with the “answer” part of this, and we realize that an “answer” is a response of some kind. Jesus was so good at this, and we are to follow his example. In 1 Peter 3:15, Peter tells us to, “...sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense [or give an answer] to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence.” But in any area of life, when we answer well, King Solomon is suggesting that such an answer is deserving of a “kiss on the lips.” I’m not sure what I think about that!

In our society, kissing is usually reserved for intimate partners. Around the world, though, kissing is more common. I’ve told you before about visiting the church in Rome, and our host (our connection who spoke English) was a woman from South Africa. We had emailed back and forth a few times before the trip, and when we finally met, it was like slow motion train wreck. It was obvious when we arrived at church that people were kissing, and when this woman came toward me, I went right as she went to her left, which means we had a collision of noses. At that moment, my introverted self nearly panicked, but I did survive, and we had a great visit! I’m just saying that kissing is more common in other cultures – not just between intimate partners, but as a greeting, as a sign of approval, as a sign of appreciation, and I think that’s what we have here: When somebody tells us the truth, when somebody answers well, we appreciate it. So, I think there’s a message for the teller of truth as well as for the receiver of truth here: A true friend is someone who speaks the truth to us. 

    6. We continue this morning with Proverbs 25:11, with perhaps the most famous of these, where King Solomon says that, “Like apples of gold in settings of silver is a word spoken in right circumstances.”

This has always been a weird one for me. It just sounds weird. So, when I saw this one coming, I was hoping that maybe we have a translation issue here. However, when I started digging into it, I discovered that nearly all of the major translations are almost identical on this one. After all, the actual words are pretty basic: Gold, and silver, and apples. The only wild card here was “settings.” But again, most major translations are agreed on this. One paraphrase refers to a “silver bowl,” and that may be it, but the word refers to a figure, perhaps carved; a piece of artwork, something from an artist’s creative imagination. So, we are back to a golden apple in some kind of picture, or frame, or carving made of silver. What we have here, then, is some kind of artwork that is both beautiful and valuable. We have some amazing artwork in our home, some paintings made by my sister. And these are beautiful, but not necessarily valuable (in terms of the materials she used) – they’re made of some kind of paint on canvas in simple wooden frames. They are valuable to us, but the materials she used are rather basic. Or I might think about the artwork on display at the Firefly Coffeehouse down in Oregon right now. I go there several times a week and spend a few hours studying. They rotate some amazing work by various artists, for maybe a month or so at a time. Right now they have some awesome work on display that looks like landscape paintings, but each piece is actually made out of maybe hundreds of pieces of wood. It is amazing, and the artist is selling those for hundreds, if not thousands of dollars. But I’m thinking that the materials themselves are probably pretty cheap, just scraps of wood. It’s all in the arrangement, of course. Or maybe I should ask: What is the most famous piece of art that’s been on the news over the past year or so? I think all of us have probably seen the banana taped to the wall. You’ve seen that? It was a banana taped to the wall at an art gallery. I think it sold for just over $6.2 million. Amazing. And if the artist can tape a banana to a wall and get $6.2 million? Good for him! But the banana itself is definitely not worth anything close to that.

The picture we have here in Proverbs 25:11, though, is of a beautiful arrangement, but the materials themselves are also valuable. We might imagine a golden apple in a silver bowl as an arrangement on King Solomon’s dinner table. Wealthy kings can do stuff like that. And Solomon uses this mental picture to help us understand the value of a good word being spoken at just the right time. Now, to do this, it seems to me that we need to have our ears open in two directions. On one hand, we need to open to receiving the “wisdom from above,” as James describes it. But on the other hand, we also need to be listening to those around us. We need to “read the room,” so to speak. And unfortunately, the ability to listen to God as we truly listen to those around us is a rare gift. Often, we are so immersed in our own issues that we fail to truly pay attention, even to those we love. In other words, I’ll never know what to say in a situation if I’m always thinking about myself (even though the people around me may really need a word of encouragement). Solomon, then, says that “a word spoken in the right circumstances” has amazing 1.) beauty and 2.) value, “like an apple of gold [arranged or displayed] in a setting of silver.”

    7. We continue with Proverbs 25:13 (just a few verses later), where King Solomon says, “Like the cold of snow in the time of harvest is a faithful messenger to those who send him, for he refreshes the soul of his masters.”

Most of us today have no real appreciation concerning the value of a faithful messenger. We make a call or we send a text, and we expect it to go through almost immediately, even over long distances. Some of you know that my sister has been in Costa Rica for a week or two. Before she left, she was concerned that her phone might not work down there, but she would have wi-fi, so she asked us to download Whats-App. And we have been able to communicate faithfully, even though she is so far away. We communicate almost instantly whenever we want to. In ancient times, though, kings would send messengers, and it was a true blessing when a king could trust his messenger to faithfully deliver the message. That’s what is happening here. And King Solomon describes this by picturing “the cold of snow in the time of harvest.” Now, when I first read this, I thought, “Well, that’s not good. I love snow, but I don’t really want it to snow as I am bringing in my harvest.” But upon closer examination, he’s actually talking not about snow itself, but about the “cold of snow.” So, it seems that we have two options here. Some commentators suggest that Solomon is talking about the cool weather that comes late in the year. And so, after working in the heat all summer, it’s nice to have a break from that; it’s nice to bring in those crops without the heat of summer. That’s one possibility. The other possibility is that during the time of harvest, landowners would bring down snow from the mountains to help cool off their workers as they wrapped up the season, as they brought in the harvest. I think of Crystal Lake, where I grew up down in Illinois. Crystal Lake got its name back in the days before refrigeration when workers would cut ice from the lake in the winter. They would store it in sawdust, and they would transport it by rail and sell it as they supplied ice to the City of Chicago during the summer. It was known for being clear, so the city came to be known as Crystal Lake. And maybe this is what Solomon is talking about. But either way, it’s good, isn’t it?
Good news from a faithful messenger is refreshing. The alternative here would be dealing with an unfaithful messenger. Maybe we can imagine a messenger who delays or gets distracted or sidetracked and never shows up. Or maybe we can imagine a messenger who forgets certain important details of the message. An unfaithful messenger would be so frustrating, but a faithful messenger is refreshing, “like the cold of snow in the time of harvest.”

Well, we apply this to us, and I hope we realize that many of us do deliver messages. We do serve others. But do we serve faithfully? Are we reliable? Do we show up on time? Do we get stuff done? Or do we procrastinate? Are we conscientious in our work? Or do we we make excuses? King Solomon would encourage us to be faithful in performing those duties we are assigned.

    8. We have time for one more today, so let’s wrap it up with a very similar message from Proverbs 25:25, where King Solomon says that, “Like cold water to a weary soul, so is good news from a distant land.”

As opposed to just the faithful delivery of a message (as in the previous proverb), this one specifically mentions “good news from a distant land.” All of us love and appreciate good news. We appreciate hearing from people we love. I’ve told you that I still have the letters my dad sent me when I was in college down in Tennessee, and before our daughter went to Tennessee for college, I realized that in 30 years she might not have any texts I’ve sent her. So, I decided to send her postcards on a regular basis, and the weirder the better. You guys know I love thrift stores, so every time I go to a thrift store I’ll check out the postcard section. I have sent her postcards from places we’ve been together, from places I’ve been that she’s never been, and I’ve sent her postcards from some weird places that none of us will ever go to. But my goal has been to communicate “good news from a distant land” in a way that at least has some chance of enduring through the years.

And the comparison is that such good news from a distant land is “like cold water to a weary soul.” We appreciate cold water when we’re hot and tired. I know we’re not supposed to drink out of the garden hose, but on a hot day working in the yard, I don’t care. I let it run for a while and then chug away. Several years ago, I started keeping matching 32 ounce wide-mouth Nalgene bottles in the fridge on a shelf that I’ve labeled “DAD WATER.” I know that I’ll always have cold water. It’s easy to grab on the way out the door or on the way in the door. But that’s the picture here: Good news is like cold water when we are thirsty. We think of Jacob thinking that Joseph was dead for so many years and then hearing the good news from Egypt that Joseph was alive. Nothing else mattered! Often, though, we are too busy to reach out to those who may be far away. Or even locally, sometimes we get disconnected. So, I would encourage all of us this week to get in touch with somebody we haven’t seen for a while – a distant relative or even a member of the congregation. Good news from a distant land is like a drink of cold water for the weary.

Conclusion:

This brings us to the end of today’s study, where we’ve learned from these eight Proverbs that good words are like deep waters and a flowing fountain, good words can satisfy, words have the power of life and death; we’ve learned that good words are more valuable than gold and jewels, we’ve learned that an honest answer is like a kiss on the lips, we’ve learned that appropriate words are like apples of gold in settings of silver, we’ve learned that a faithful messenger is refreshing like the cold of snow in the time of harvest, and we’ve learned that good news is like a drink of cold water to a weary soul.

Next week we hope to continue with more of what King Solomon has to say about the words that we speak; specifically, we’ll be looking at King Solomon’s advice to SPEAK LESS. There are times when we just need to STOP TALKING! And that’s what I plan on doing right now.

So let’s close today’s study in prayer:

Our Father in Heaven,

We need your help as we look for opportunities to encourage with the words that we speak. We pray for wisdom as we talk to the people around us. We pray that we would honor you in everything we say. Forgive us where we have fallen short, and empower us to say the right thing at the right time and in the right way.

We pray for Melissa as she prepares for surgery tomorrow, and we pray for Abe as he recovers. We pray for those who are caring for Abe today. Bless them for the work that they do.

We ask all of this in Jesus’ name. AMEN.

To comment on this lesson: fourlakeschurch@gmail.com