December 16, 2025 -- Proverbs 16:22 -- Conquering sin by relationship with the Source of All Good

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Good sense is a fountain of life to him who has it,
but the instruction of fools is folly.
Proverbs 16:22 ESV

The proverbs are notoriously hard to translate. There are snippets of wisdom packed closely together and the context changes so rapidly. No wonder one translation varies so much from others. The underlying Hebrew gives wonderful access to the meaning of the words. A variant translation, emphasizing the Hebrew word order would read like this: “A fount of life is wisdom for its owner, but the instruction of fools is folly”. At first glance it just seems like there is a slight change in word order, but more is going on.

The word fountain can mean a deep well, like a deep well of knowledge or good sense, and it can mean a fountain, a welling up of water to eternal life. It is ever flowing. It is fresh and pure. The word “good sense” is wisdom as one who is in relationship with God. It is the contrast to those who are fools, or foolish—that is, godless in their thinking. The one with good sense, that is someone who has moral wisdom that flows from a living, deep relationship with God, is said to be husband to such wisdom. The blasé ESV version renders it “has it”, it being a reference to wisdom. The original language uses the word master or husband. Wisdom is such a key component of the believer’s life that he is married to it. He is faithful to it. He is devoted to wisdom, as much as a man who loves his wife is devoted to her.

Fools on the other hand get their instruction, or their education from folly, or godlessness. They are unteachable. Ungovernable. Stagnant in their thinking. It is a very dark description of the condition of the mind of a fool. Scripture notes that a fool is anyone who says, or lives, as if God is not fully in charge of all things. He is a fool because all of life declares the nearness and the glory of God and he is putting his hands over his eyes, and his ears and shutting his mind to any form of learning which might lead him to know God as Father, Jesus as the Redeemer and the Holy Spirit as the instructor in all truth.

What is sin? According to this passage in the Proverbs, sin is a stubborn, persistent unwillingness to know God. Sin is the refusal to see what is plainly evident in all of creation. Sin is the obtuse refusal to consider God the Father as the source of all good. 

What is the antidote? It is to get married to wisdom. When you first enter a relationship, you meet someone you’re interested in and there is much joy. You ask questions. You spend time. You can’t wait to meet again. Eventually, you marry this person. It is the intimate giving up of oneself wholly to the other. You realize at the one-year mark, you didn’t really know who you’d married, there is much more to learn and know. At the ten-year mark there is still so much unexplored, as children enter into your life and you realize the complexity of your partner which is highlighted by this new stage in life. So it is with knowing God. The more time you spend with Him, the more you desire Him. The more you desire Him and know Him the more you realize He is a purifying fountain of life, welling up within you. He leads you by His Spirit. He refreshes your soul. He enables you to understand your life—both the good times and the times of hardship and pain. As you look back and review your life, you realize that the longer you know God, the more there is to know. What joy unspeakable and full of glory there is in wisdom that is anchored in a relationship with God.
 
Your word promises, “blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD”. Faithful Father, that is so true and we confess to robbing ourselves of Your rich, varied, persistent blessings because of our half-hearted-low-tolerance-for-pain relationship with You. By the reconciliation You have worked through Jesus Christ, give us the joy of Your salvation. By the bond of the Holy Spirit renew in us a dedication to obey You and whole-heartedly serve You, with the result that the more we do serve You, the more we desire to do so. May we then find, the more we begin to serve You, we realize we hardly know You at all, but what we know of You leads us to adore You, longing to adore You more. We love You, longing to love You more. We find in holy service to You, our life’s calling and greatest pleasure, and our zeal to serve You is multiplied and enriched, leading to a more profound desire to know You. Amen. 

https://youtu.be/oeqDmSwllRY?si=PhZr7j9aM-6wRQNc “The Trumpet Shall Sound”
 

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