A WISE REPROVER – Proverbs 25:12
Proverbs 25:12 As an earring of gold, and an ornament of fine gold, so is a wise reprover upon an obedient ear.
What is your response when you are reproved? Do you change your ways, or do you continue to do what seems right in your own eyes.
Look at the life of King Saul and King David. Both men sinned. However, when God sent a prophet to confront the two men, their responses were completely different. Some would say that the sin of Saul was not nearly as bad as the sin of David; in fact, some people today would even justify the sin of Saul. Nonetheless, sin is sin, and the response of Saul when confronted is just one of the reasons God did not allow Jonathan to take the throne.
Saul was commanded by God to go to war and to destroy the Amalekites and everything that they owned. Saul obeyed, but not completely. Saul spared the king of the Amalekites and he spared the best of the flocks. When Samuel came and confronted Saul, Saul made excuses and stated that they were saving the animals for sacrifices to the Lord.
David made a decision to not go out to war as the other kings did at that time. David chose to do that which was right in his own eyes and he committed adultery with Bath-sheba and then killed her husband Uriah. When Nathan confronted David, David responded by immediately repenting to God. David understood that he had sinned against God and he desired to maintain a clear conscience before God.
All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. The important thing is, how will you respond when you are reproved?
However, in this passage, it is not the individual who is reproved who is compared to an earring of God, it is the reprover. Both Samuel and Nathan were used by God to reprove kings for their transgressions. Nathan would have been considered a wise reprover because of how he approached David when he confronted him of his sins. Nathan approached David with a story that caused David to see the iniquity that he had committed.
There will come a time in your life where God will desire that you confront someone for their sin, how will you approach them. Will you be like Samuel and simply confront them straight on and make them immediately go on the defensive and try to justify their actions? Or will you be like Nathan who was a wise reprover?
It takes great wisdom to think outside the box and to confront the sins of others in a way that they will want to repent. It is easy just to come straight out and confront someone who you know has done great evil and try to bully them into repentance. It is not your job to convict someone of their sins – that is the responsibility of God. However, it may be your duty to confront someone in a wise manner so that God can work on their hearts and return them to the fold.
You will never be a wise reprover until you have a very close relationship with God. It is God who will give you the wisdom in how to approach your child, a friend, or an acquaintance so that your reproofs will go upon obedient ears. This means that you need to spend time adding knowledge of the ways of God so that you understand exactly how God desires you to approach others. It is God that will give you the wisdom so that you are a valuable tool in HIS sight.