Acceptance of Commands (Proverbs 10:8)

The Proverbs are full of comparisons between the foolish and the wise. In today's reading, nothing has changed. However, today we will encounter a word that we will come across only two other times in the Bible and one in this same chapter.

"The wise in heart will accept and obey commands, the the foolish of lips will fall headlong." Proverbs 10:8, Amplified

The wise in heart listen and obey any command given by an authority. The the person in the armed forces it is the commanding officer, to the Christian it is God. In either case, the obedience will bring him or her blessing. In the original King James, we only get the word "receive" in this verse, so it reads, "The wise in heart receive commands..." Reception brings with it the idea of acceptance. As Christians I do not feel that the Lord will ever give us commands that would violate our good conscience, however they may be contrary to our flesh. Though the command may be contrary to the flesh, the wise in heart still receive, accept and obey that command. This is the qualifier for any real Christian, to be able to deny his flesh to follow his Master.

In the second portion of this verse we hear about the fool. The Amplified Version already translates the word "prating" for us as one who is "foolish of lips". Prating appears only two other times in the Bible; one more time in this chapter in verse 10 and the third time in the New Testament in 3 John verse 10. The "prater" is a babbler or a trifler according to Strong's Concordance. This prater will fall for one reason, he is to busy talking and listening to the commands. It is like the commanding officer giving instructions to a raid that is to be executed. The babbler is too busy babbling to hear what is being said and places himself in grave jeopardy.

Another aspect that is not covered in this verse is that of placing others around him in jeopardy as well. The babbler must babble to someone. However, the wise in heart keep their attention glued to the commanding officer. The wise in heart take the place closest to the commanding officer so as not to miss anything that he has to say. I suggest that if we are one's who enjoy talking to inspect our hearts and see if we are wise in heart. Do we babble over the word of the Lord? Are we talking so loud that we cannot receive His commands?