GET INTO THE STUDY 10 minutes DISCUSS: Refer to the picture (PSG, p. 136) as you lead the group to respond to Question #1: What s the most generous act you ve witnessed? GUIDE: Direct attention to The Bible Meets Life (PSG, p. 137). State that when we ve worked hard for decades, we can be tempted to store up all of what we ve earned for ourselves. We might even think we deserve to do such. However, part of being a good steward is being generous with what God has placed in our hands. Explain that in this final session in our study about managing our money wisely, we focus on how our generosity toward others expresses our trust in God. Introduce The Point (PSG, p. 137): Use what you have to invest in the lives of others. SESSION 12 GIVE MONEY GENEROUSLY The Point Use what you have to invest in the lives of others. The Bible Meets Life There is great value and virtue in working hard, earning money, and managing it well without waste. But our money is not for ourselves alone. The Bible calls us to be generous. We belong to God and, therefore, all we have belongs to Him. We are to earn, use, and manage our money wisely, but our money is ultimately for His glory. We express our trust in Him and further His kingdom by meeting the needs of others. The Passage Proverbs 11:23-29 The Setting Proverbs 11:23-27 focuses on generosity and selfishness. Verses 23 and 27 serve as the framework for the rest of the passage, noting that in life a person reaps exactly what is sown in terms of how he or she behaves. Verses 24-26 explore this idea in terms of giving versus hoarding. Proverbs 11:28 12:4 form another unit, again focusing on the relationship of one s actions and their repercussions. Verses 11:28-29 and 12:3-4 teach that the true foundation of providing for one s family s well-being is righteousness, while 11:30 12:2 again emphasize a person s reward or punishment is based upon his or her behavior, whether righteousness or wickedness is pursued. 140 Session 12
1 This section of the Book of Proverbs (10:1 22:16) follows a different literary form from the first nine chapters. This section is comprised of short witty sayings conveying spiritual truths (the definition of a proverb) that are usually contained in two lines which contrast or complement each other. The proverbs in 11:23-29 deal with money and righteousness. We began with a focus on having the proper view of money a view that looks first to God and trusts Him rather than money. We express that trust in our willingness to share generously with others. We give money away for the benefit of others, trusting God to take care of us. Proverbs 11:23-26 23 The desire of the righteous turns out well, but the hope of the wicked leads to wrath. 24 One person gives freely, yet gains more; another withholds what is right, only to become poor. 25 A generous person will be enriched, and the one who gives a drink of water will receive water. 26 People will curse anyone who hoards grain, but a blessing will come to the one who sells it. Be generous with what you have. Verse 23. At first glance, Proverbs 11:23 does not refer directly to financial matters as verses 24 26 do. However, it contrasts the righteous character of people and this outcome with the wicked character of other people and that outcome. Finances are neither good nor bad. All we have are gifts from God. We are to be good stewards of all that God graciously gives us, including our finances. Therefore, how people deal with their finances (their motives, their plans, and their actions) is either good or bad. Proverbs 11:23 focuses first on the word desire. To desire means to long for, wish for, and crave (all in a good sense). This word also means lust in the sense of a strong desire (usually in a negative sense). The desire is of the righteous. To be righteous is to be just, correct, right, and lawful; it is to act like God. This word first appears when God called Noah a righteous man (Gen. 6:9). STUDY THE BIBLE Proverbs 11:23-26 20 minutes GUIDE: Before getting into the passage for this session, remind the group of what they have studied so far: > > View Money Properly (The Point: Contentment and security rest in God, not in money.) > > Make Agreements Cautiously (The Point: Avoid financial obligations that could sink you.) > > Earn Money Productively (The Point: Work isn t always easy, but it s necessary.) > > Manage Money Diligently (The Point: Act responsibly with what God has given you.) > > Invest Money Wisely (The Point: When it comes to your money, plan and invest wisely.) (LEADER PACK: Point to these titles on Item 6: Re-Finance. ) GUIDE: Use the introductory information in the Bible commentary 1 to set the stage for the focal passage. SUGGESTED USE WEEK OF AUGUST 21 141
THE POINT Use what you have to invest in the lives of others. READ: Invite a volunteer to read Proverbs 11:23-26. GUIDE: Note that Solomon recognized one of Scripture s great paradoxical truths in this passage: he who gives has all that he needs, but he who holds onto what he has will lose it. Draw attention to Luke 6:38 and 2 Corinthians 9:6, which are printed on PSG page 138. Stress that Jesus and Paul taught the same principle. READ: Ask a volunteer to read each passage. Give, and it will be given to you; a good measure pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you (Luke 6:38). The person who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the person who sows generously will also reap generously (2 Cor. 9:6). 142 Session 12 The remaining words in Proverbs 11:23a are turns out well. This reflects what Bible scholars call the deuteronomic formula: do good and you will be blessed; do evil and you will be punished (Deut. 28:1,15). When God s people act in God s ways (righteousness), generally the normal result is blessing (good). The converse is also true: when people act against God s ways (sin), generally the normal result is punishment (bad). Proverbs 11:23b expresses that. Many of the words in the second half of this verse stand in direct contrast to the words in the first half. Verse 23a speaks of desire; verse 23b speaks of hope. Verse 23a refers to the righteous; verse 23b refers to the wicked. Verse 23a mentions turns out well; verse 23b mentions wrath. Verse 24. In Proverbs 11:24 26 the general topic is generosity vs. selfishness (hoarding); this is expressed positively in this section s focus on being generous in what we have. Verse 24 continues the comparisons we saw in verse 23. One person gives freely, yet gains more. One English translation phrases the first part of verse 24 as cause/result: Give freely and become more wealthy. 1 This translation certainly reflects Jesus statement, Give, and it will be given to you (Luke 6:38). This is also reflected in Paul s words to the Corinthians, The person who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the person who sows generously will also reap generously (2 Cor. 9:6). The second half of verse 24 contrasts with the first half: another withholds what is right, only to become poor. The New Living Translation continues the cause/result phrasing: be stingy and lose everything. 2 This is perhaps best reflected in the story of Nabal (1 Sam. 25). Verse 24 is a paradox an outcome that is the opposite of what is expected the person who gives grows richer. The point of verse 24 is that generosity produces a reward, gains more; likewise stinginess (hoarding, selfishness) produces a punishment, become poor. Did Solomon intend for this verse to apply to our money? Certainly. But does it also apply to our possessions? Our time? Our talents? Our work? Our service at church? How might the answers to these questions impact the way you are generous? Verse 25 continues this reasoning. Verse 25. This verse carries on the main idea of the previous verse: doing what is right brings blessings. Phrased in the form of a proverb, this paradox uses parallelism, a primary
component of Hebrew poetry. Specifically, verse 25 is called synonymous parallelism (the meaning of the first line is repeated in the second line). Thus, the meaning of the first line of verse 25, a generous person will be enriched, is reflected in the second line, and the one who gives a drink of water will receive water. Water is refreshing because it is essential for life. In arid or semi-arid regions (found in both ancient and modern Israel), water is sometimes difficult to get. Therefore, water is frequently mentioned as a blessing (see especially John 4:14; Rev. 21:6). What makes a generous person? A person whose heart is right, a person who has a heart for God and is like God. Repeatedly throughout both the Old Testament and the New Testament, God shows His concern for the needy and His contempt for the selfish particularly those who are selfish and rich. Does this mean that we give to everyone who has a sign that reads Hungry, Need Help, or Willing to work for food? At the moment of salvation we receive (are brought into relationship with) God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit; we can t receive them separately because they are trinity (a contraction for tri [three] and unity [one]). As Scripture teaches Listen, Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one (Deut. 6:4). A generous Christian has God s wisdom (through His Holy Spirit) to distinguish between the truly needy and those who are merely lazy. Does generosity involve more than money? Absolutely. Generosity may involve our time, our talents and skills, and our possessions. It is reflected in our attitudes as well as our actions. Generosity is one of the many qualities of God that He desires to see reflected in the lives of His people. To be like God, we must be generous in giving and investing in the lives of others. If you were more generous this week, what might happen in your family? Your church? Your community? Verse 26. Proverbs 11:26 introduces another type of literary device, antithetical parallelism (where the second line is the opposite of the previous line). Whereas verse 25 spoke of generosity, verse 26a speaks of the opposite, hoarding, and verse 26b returns to generosity. The idea behind verse 26 comes from the marketplace. Sometimes wealthy landowners would store their grain (anyone who hoards grain) in hopes that the scarcity of grain at a later time would cause the price to rise (the law of supply and demand). This would give the landowners a larger profit but would cause hardship on most people (some of whom would starve); many people would curse the landowners because of this practice. GUIDE: Review the Scripture passages printed on PSG page 139: > > John 3:16; > > Galatians 1:3-4; > > Ephesians 5:2; > > Titus 2:14. Stress that the ultimate example of generosity is God Himself. DISCUSS: Question #2 (PSG, p. 139): What moves you to be generous? (OPTION: As you ask the question, hold up a check book or some cash.) SUMMARIZE: Review three reasons to be generous (PSG, pp. 139-140) 1. All we have belongs to God (Deut. 10:14; 1 Tim. 6:7). Recognizing that God owns all we have enables us to hold finances, possessions, and talents loosely because, ultimately, none of it belongs to us. 2. All we have is a gift of grace from God (2 Cor. 9:8-11; Jas. 1:17). God is good, and we do not need anyone or anything else to meet our needs. He is more than enough! 143
THE POINT Use what you have to invest in the lives of others. 3. Giving is an act of worship (Matt. 6:21; Luke 21:1-4). True worshipers are generous givers. Our giving is an outward expression of our inward praise, obedience to the Word, and recognition of our full dependence upon God through faith in Christ. DISCUSS: Question #3 (PSG, p. 140): What does generosity look like for people living on a fixed income? (Alternate: How do we make giving an act of worship?) DO: Invite volunteers to share how they responded to It Looks Like Generosity (PSG, p. 140). Perhaps this practice that was so hurtful to many poor people served as the background for Jesus parable of the rich fool (Luke 12:16 21). Throughout the Old Testament, and especially in the writings of the prophets, God denounced harmful business practices which may have been legal but often hurt people. The same is true in our legal system today: just because something is legal does not make it right (abortion, gay marriage, persecution of Christians). Proverbs 11:26b returns our thoughts from hoarding back to generosity: but a blessing will come to the one who sells it. The Bible contains other examples of this verse. A negative example is Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, who refused to sell food to the Israelites as they journeyed to the promised land and was curse by God (Deut. 2:26 31). A positive example is Joseph, who sold Pharaoh s grain to people during a famine and was blessed by God (Gen. 41:56-57; 47:13 20). The Hebrew term for the one is more literally translated the head of. The phrase was used frequently in Hebrew to stand for the person as a whole. The brilliant use of various literary devices leads us to conclude that the person God used to write this passage of poetry was well-educated and therefore probably wealthy. Solomon certainly fulfilled these qualities. The focus of this section has been on being generous with what you have. Verse 23 begins this section by speaking of the kind of people God desires for us to be: righteous. Some Bible scholars classify verse 27 s focus as looking back to verse 23. Others see the focus of verse 27 to be introducing another section, a classification we will use. 144 Session 12
Proverbs 11:27-29 27 The one who searches for what is good finds favor, but if someone looks for trouble, it will come to him. 28 Anyone trusting in his riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like foliage. 29 The one who brings ruin on his household will inherit the wind, and a fool will be a slave to someone whose heart is wise. Honor God and seek to do good with your money. Our focus in verses 27 29 is on how we can honor God by seeking to do good with our money. We can summarize these verses in this way. When we trust our riches, we are more likely to hoard what we have. When we trust in God and seek to live in His righteousness, we recognize that all we have is from Him and we will desire to use our riches to honor Him. This summary reminds me of one of Jesus focal points in His longest recorded sermon, the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5 7). Jesus said But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you (Matt. 6:33). Verse 27 reflects the focus on verse 23 but also introduces this section. Verse 27 begins with a positive then contrasts that with a negative. Verse 28 does just the opposite; it begins with a negative and continues with a positive. Verse 29 focuses on the negative in both lines (both halves of the verse). However, we will draw a positive application even though verse 29 is stated in negative ways. Verse 27. The first line of verse 27 reads: The one who searches for what is good finds favor. One translation phrases this line as an if then (condition/result or conditional sentence) construction: If you search for good, you will find favor. 3 Other translations add the qualifier diligently (KJV) before searches. The Hebrew word translated searches suggests looking for dawn and rising up early to seek. This word implies a repeated, ongoing, diligent, or earnest search. Caleb exemplified this seeking and finding (Josh. 14:6-13). Proverbs 11:27a also reflects the basic idea in verse 25a; that idea is reaping what you sow. Theologically, this is classified as God s retributive justice, TRANSITION: Display a church bulletin, or if your group meets after the worship service, invite members to look at the bulletin they received during the service. Circle or highlight the time of offering in the order of worship. Talk about how giving is an act of worship, a way of honoring God. Stress the connection between generosity and trusting God. STUDY THE BIBLE Proverbs 11:27-29 10 minutes READ: Invite a volunteer to read verses 27-29. GUIDE: Call attention to the quote from Martin Luther on PSG page 141: I have held many things in my hands and have lost them all; but whatever I have placed in God s hands, that I still possess. 145
THE POINT Use what you have to invest in the lives of others. GUIDE: Emphasize that when we place our trust in our material wealth, we are more likely to hoard it, not share it. When we trust God and seek His ways in our lives, we recognize Him as the Source of all we have. Then our desires turn toward using our financial blessings to honor Him instead of merely pleasing ourselves. DISCUSS: Question #4 (PSG, p. 142): How do we move from seeing giving as an obligation to viewing it as a privilege? GUIDE: Call attention to David Livingstone s words on PSG page 144: People talk of the sacrifice I have made in spending so much of my life in Africa. Can that be called sacrifice which is simply paid back as a small part of a great debt owing to our God, which we can never repay? 146 Session 12 as the second line of verse 27 reflects. Verse 27b reads: but if someone looks for trouble, it will come to him. The principle is: we get what we search for. Like most proverbs that draw their truth from common everyday examples, this is more of a general principle than a specific promise true in every situation. Will God help us find good when we make the effort to search for it? Absolutely. Will every person who looks for good find it every time in every situation? Probably not. Yet when we search for evil, likely it will be easy to find or it will find us. So the question becomes, what do I want to spend my time searching for, good or evil? And what do we want to find, good or evil? If we want to find good, then we need to spend our time searching for that. Verse 28. Both lines of verse 28 continue to express cause and result. However, the second part of the verse stands in contrast with the first (antithetic parallelism opposites that drive home a point). Verse 28a reads, Anyone trusting in his riches will fall. A conversational way to state this is Trust in your money and down you go! 4 Instead of will fall, some Hebrew scholars suggest the text should read will wither, a phrase which correlates with the foliage mentioned in the next part of the verse. Most societies throughout history appear to have adopted the principle that you can trust in riches. This line in the proverb points out the folly of trusting in money and/or possessions. Since obviously we shouldn t trust in riches, in what or whom should we trust? God points us to the answer in the second part of verse 28. Verse 28b reads but the righteous will flourish like foliage. Once again, we refer to Jesus words: But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you (Matt. 6:33). The answer to the previous question is rather than trusting in riches, we should trust in God as we seek Him and His righteousness, living lives of obedience to God that reflect His character and His ways. What would happen if we spend our lives seeking His righteousness daily? What would happen in our families? Our churches? Our communities? What did Solomon mean when he referred to the righteous? All Christians are made perfectly righteous at the moment of salvation meaning they take on Christ s righteousness. When a person trusts Christ for salvation, he or she is forever justified before God all the believer s
sins (past, present, and future) are forgiven through the blood of Christ and the believer is clothed in the perfect righteousness of Christ (Rom. 10:4). However, while we have Christ s righteousness, as believers we must still make the daily choice to resist sin and live out our lives in that righteousness. Perhaps the righteousness mentioned in this verse refers more to this daily righteousness, acting like God does. The principle in this proverb is the righteous will flourish like foliage. If we re not flourishing like green leaves in the spring, what does that indicate about our righteousness? Verse 29. Our final focal verse for this study continues the cause/effect we ve seen in other verses. The first part of the verse reads, the one who brings ruin on his household will inherit the wind. The phrase will inherit the wind is a poetic way of saying will get nothing. The last part of verse 29 reads and a fool will be a slave to someone whose heart is wise. The fool [who] will be a slave is parallel with the one who brings ruin. The phrase someone whose heart is wise reflects the theme of the Book of Proverbs in teaching a person how to be wise. Wisdom is the ability to use knowledge (information, facts) in ways that produce the type of life that God wants His people to have. Wisdom has both spiritual and practical components and is characteristic of people who are successful in God s eyes. The opposite of the wise is the fool. When we follow God s instructions, we become wise and lead successful lives. When we are wise, we use what we have to invest in the lives of others. Challenge members to look at their finances with an eye toward opportunity instead of lack. Remind them that God looks on the motive of the heart, not on the size of the gift. DISCUSS: Question #5 (PSG, p. 144): What can we do as a group to honor God with our money? (Alternate: How would you summarize the warnings in these verses?) 1. The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, IL 60189 USA. All rights reserved. 2. Ibid. 3. Ibid. 4. Ibid. 147
THE POINT Use what you have to invest in the lives of others. LIVE IT OUT 5 minutes GUIDE: Emphasize The Point: Use what you have to invest in the lives of others. Review Live It Out (PSG, p. 145; see text to the right). Invite group members to consider what God may be saying to them about investing in the life of another person. Wrap It Up GUIDE: Encourage your group to remain faithful to show the love of Christ to all people who come into their lives by seeking opportunities to be generous with what God has placed in their hands. LIVE IT OUT Generosity should flow from the hearts of God s people because it flows from the heart of God. How will you be generous and invest in the lives of others? Consider which of the applications God is leading you to adopt. > > Seek God s kingdom. Write Matthew 6:33 on a card. Carry it with you, or place it in a prominent place in your home. Throughout your day and week, read this verse and let its truth sink in. Commit the verse to memory and let it shape your lifestyle. > > No expectation of return. As you go about your regular routine this week, ask God to show you someone to whom you could be generous in a tangible way someone who cannot pay you back. > > Generous for as long as it takes. Invite several members of your group to meet together and identify a person or a family who is need. Agree to pool your resources together, and commit to one another to continue this ministry as long as necessary. PRAY: Father, strengthen our faith in Christ, so that we may walk faithfully in His love each day. Make us generous people who seek to invest in the lives of others. Amen. 148 Session 12
ILLUSTRATOR PHOTO/TERRY EDDINGER Dates outside of modern Baghdad. The following excerpt is from Food Storage and Preservation in insinuations that the pastoral country life was more godly than the farming culture of the Canaanites in their cities. That the three greatest heroes of the Old Testament Abraham, Moses, and David were shepherding when the Lord called them is hardly a coincidence. In much later times, when farming became the norm for Israel, the pastoral life remained the ideal. Thus, Jesus referred to Himself as the good shepherd (John 10:11,14) never the good farmer. SHARING THE GOOD NEWS Generous giving is a hallmark for a Christian. We give freely to others in thanks to the One who graciously gave His life for us. Each week, make yourself available either before or after the session to speak privately with anyone in your group who wants to know more about becoming a Christian. See the article, Leading Someone to the Greatest the Ancient Near East (Spr. 2014), which can be purchased at www. lifeway.com/biblicalillustrator. Read The Tithe in the Summer 2016 issue. Previous articles Debt in the Ancient Near East (Sum. Decision of All, on page 2 for guidance in leading a person to Christ. Ancient Israel emerged from a semi-nomadic pastoral society a shepherding tradition rather than a farming one. Genesis depicts the patriarchs lifestyles as those of semi-nomadic pastoralists rather like the Bedouins of 2008), Wealth, Trade, Money, and Coinage in the Biblical World (Win. 2003-04), and Poverty in Ancient Israel (Sum. 1993) can be purchased at www.lifeway.com/ biblicalillustrator. Look for Biblical Illustrator for Bible Studies for Life. Remind group members that page 2 in the PSG offers guidance in how to become a Christian. Encourage believers to consider using this article as they have opportunities to lead others to Christ. more recent times. Genesis and other books of the Pentateuch are replete with stories and Subscribe to Biblical Illustrator at www.lifeway.com/biblicalillustrator, or call 1-800-458-2772. > > Get expert insights on weekly studies through the Ministry Grid (MinistryGrid.com/web/BibleStudiesFor Life). >Grow > with other group leaders at the Groups Ministry blog (lifeway.com/groupministry). > > Additional ideas for your group are available at BibleStudiesFor Life.com/blog. 149