The Tongue Has the Power of Life and Death
Questions for Study 18
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I. A Fool's Lips and Mouth (18:1-9)
1. What drives us to isolationism, what is the result, and how can it be avoided? What could the fool in verse 2 do to improve his or her life? What are the sequence of events in the proverb in verse 3?
2. How do words set the mood of an encounter or occasion? Does a person need to be a magistrate to apply the proverb in verse 5? How are the proverbs in verses 16 and 17 related? Since a wrongly spoken word can be very destructive, can the damage be corrected?
3. How is gossip similar to the fool's word in verses 5 thru 7? Why is working better than doing nothing and expecting hand-outs?
II. The Heart, the Ears (18:10-15)
4. What does it mean that the name of the Lord is a strong tower? Why is the fortitude of wealth misleading?
5. How do the heart conditions of pride and humility eventually effect our lives? Why is hearing better than speaking?
6. What is "spirit" in verse 14? What is the secret to obtaining knowledge revealed in verse 15?
7. What is a way to gain an audience with social, financial, and political power? (16) Why is it important to consider both sides of a case when required to make a judgment?
III. A Mouth, the Tongue (18:16-24)
8. Why did people cast lots and what is it? (18) Why do siblings hold a grudge?
9. When does our words satisfy? (20) How does the proverb in verse 21 reveal the extent of the power of words?
10. How should a husband respond to the proverb in verse 22? What happens in the human heart when they become rich? (23) Who is the friend that sticks closer than a brother? (John 15:14-17; Matthew 12:48-50)
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