The Believers’ Response
Faith and Faithfulness Are Better Than Refusing and Rejecting (11:1-13:25)
As we come to this last chapter, it is as though these verses were added to the manuscript of the sermon as some final instructions.
How to Respond to Others (1-7)
He gave seven actions to consider:
Brotherly love (1)
Hospitality (2)
Compassion for the imprisoned (3)
Honor of marriage
Sexual purity (4)
Contentment (5-6)
Imitation of their leaders’ faith (7)
How to Respond to Deceased Leaders (8-9)
He comforted them, for while their former leaders had died, Jesus never changed; He was the same forever so they should guard against being led astray (8). A constant stream of leaders would seek to introduce strange teachings, mostly leading people back into ritual food disciplines and away from God’s grace (9).
How to Respond to Replacement Leaders (10-17)
He then informed them that the believer had come to a special altar, and those who served at the earthly tent of legalism had no right to eat at this altar (10). The altar was, of course, the cross; the food was the Lord’s Supper; and that altar was outside the camp of structured Jewish ritual (11-12). He called them to go outside the city and bear the reproach of being cultural outsiders while looking for another City, the one to come (13-14).
Because they were looking for the City to come, they were to:
continually offer up praise as a sacrifice (15)
do good and to share (16)
obey and submit to leaders (17)
Final Prayers and Greetings (18-25)
In conclusion, the author asked for prayer for himself so he would be honorable and be restored to them soon (18-19). He gave them the benediction of peace, asking for them to be equipped with everything necessary to do God’s will (20-21), and then requested they endure his exhortations as he closed with a few exchanges of greetings (22-25).
Piecemeal Proverbs (22:17-31:9)
We come now to another group of proverbs in this piecemeal section. They, by internal identification, are Solomon's proverbs collected by the scribes of King Hezekiah (1).
In verses 2 through 5, Solomon tells future kings (leaders) how to make policy.
In verses 6 through 8, Solomon gives instruction on how one should act before a leader.
In verses 9 and 10, Solomon warns the king to be cautious not to reveal a secret and be named a gossip.
In verses 11 through 16, Solomon gives qualifications for those whom a king would use to speak for him.
A messenger must be:
timely in his communication (11)
able to take criticism (12)
trustworthy (13)
one who makes good on his word (14)
soft of speech (15)
Solomon warns future kings to be:
moderate (16-17)
honest (18)
good discerners of character (19)
The future king should be careful not to celebrate personally when others are hurting (20) and careful to be a lover of his enemies (21-22).
Solomon finally ends with an array of subjects and facts such as:
Gossip creates anger (23)
Loneliness is preferred to contention (24)
Good news is always refreshing no matter how far removed it might be from those who hear it (25)
Giving into the wicked pollutes the heart of the king (26)
Too much honey and too much self-honor are not good (27)
The king without self-control leaves his home unguarded (28).