Endure Last-Day Godlessness
The Godlessness Timothy Must Endure (1-13)
In this section, Paul listed 20 characteristics of the godlessness that would grow and prevail in the last day they and we are living in (1-4). Timothy was to withdraw completely from such people (5) because they were perverse in behavior, preying on women already lust-driven due to the guilt of their choices (6-7).
Paul then gave a couple of well-known Jewish examples of people who were completely disqualified from faith: Jannes and Jambres were sorcerers who resisted Moses’ and God's authority in Egypt while the Lord was seeking to rescue the Israelites (8).Their folly was certain to be revealed (9). Paul then reminded Timothy of his example of life and how the Lord rescued him in trouble (10-11) and then that those who followed Jesus and imitated His life would be persecuted (12-13).
The Word Timothy Must Faithfully Preach (14-17)
Timothy was not to preach just any word but the one he had learned and believed (14), the word rooted in Old Testament scriptures, the word he had been devoted to from his childhood. This word birthed from Old Testament scriptures possessed three significant properties:
The word made one wise for salvation (15).
The word was breathed by God (16).
The word was profitable for instructing a person to be fully trained and equipped for good works (17).
This chapter begins the third section of Proverbs:.
Purpose of Proverbs (1:1-7)
Parental Proverbs (1:8-9:18)
Perceivable Proverbs (10:1-15:33)
I have defined this section as the “Perceivable Proverbs” because Solomon reveals life as it should or ought to turn out. The principles and views of life articulated are usually and normally true.
These next proverbs are quick and direct; they give no time to footnote qualifications, nor do they list exceptions to the rule. They are quick jabs; they mean to stun and get the attention of the reader. They will clearly state in a concise antithesis the contrast between two “perceivable” outcomes.
At first, it might appear difficult to see any arrangement of subject matter in these chapters, but consider the bookends, meaning the material at the beginning and end of each section of thought within the chapters.
Example: verse 1 contrasts a wise and foolish son, while verse 5 contrasts a lazy and diligent son; thus, what is between these two bookends is to be read and considered, thinking about diligence and laziness.
Verse 6 contrasts the blessings and abuse of the mouth, while verse 11 basically repeats the contrast. Between the bookends, we see the subject Solomon wants to be pondered in light of the blessing and abuse of our tongue.
In verse 12, hatred and love are contrasted, while in verse 18, concealing one's hatred is contrasted with speaking slander. Between these two bookends, we find the subject being considered is a heart lacking forgiveness.
Verse 19 contrasts the restrained and unrestrained tongue, while verse 32 contrasts the mouth of the righteous with the wicked.
Between verses 19 and 32 are four collections of proverbs with a single humorous proverb bridging the two sections. This is known as a “chiasmus” or a poetic form in which something is repeated in reverse order. This form of grammar is common among Hebrew writings. The rest of this chapter would look something like this:
A) Verses 19-21: The Three-Proverb Collection on the Tongue
B) Verses 22-25: The Four-Proverb Collection on Stability of Life
C) Verse 26: The Humorous Proverb on Laziness
B) Verses 27-30: The Four-Proverb Collection on Stability of Life
A) Verses 31-32: The Three-Proverb Collection on the Tongue
All of the material between verses 19 and 32 is to be considered in the light of the tongue.
The writer of the Proverbs was not just throwing subjects into a jar to be read in some kind of disjointed manner. Solomon was structuring his material to be read together, so depth of meaning and understanding could be enhanced.