Posted by Jeff Short on April 28, 2017 · Leave a Comment
There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing: there is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches.
– Proverbs 13:7
This proverb seems ambiguous. It is a wisdom observation and doesn’t immediately make a value judgment. One way to take it is as an ironic statement. Some people have great wealth but really have nothing and are poor because wealth is all they have. Some have no wealth but are truly rich because of all they do have in terms of people and relationships. The moral in this case would be that money is not everything. Another way to take it, and the way that seems most natural, is as a character observation. Men are not always what they seem to be. Some pretend to be rich and they are not. Others pretend to be poor and they are not. Wisdom then will look beyond superficial appearances.
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Posted by Jeff Short on April 27, 2017 · Leave a Comment
Righteousness keepeth him that is upright in the way: but wickedness overthroweth the sinner.
– Proverbs 13:6
The contrast is simple between
righteousness and
wickedness. There is a safety in righteousness, or a deliverance from certain troubles that affect the wicked. The word for
righteousness means justice and is often used in context of interpersonal relations (Leviticus 19:9-18). The word for
wickedness means wrong and is also often used in context of interpersonal relations (Ezekiel 18:27). Wickedness brings its own punishments (Proverbs 5:22; 11:3, 5-6; 21:12).
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Posted by Jeff Short on April 26, 2017 · Leave a Comment
A righteous man hateth lying: but a wicked man is loathsome, and cometh to shame.
– Proverbs 13:5
The
righteous deal in honesty. They hate, or make themselves the enemy of lying. So the righteous abominate what is false (Proverbs 6:17). The contrast is with the person of the
wicked man. The word for
loathsome means to stink and
shame means to blush. The wicked deal and trade in lies and slander and come to shame (Proverbs 3:35; 6:12-14; 16:27-28).
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Posted by Jeff Short on April 25, 2017 · Leave a Comment
The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat.
– Proverbs 13:4
This proverbs contrasts wanting and having. The word for
sluggard means indolent or lazy. We might even say sluggish to do anything. To desire is to wish for or to want something. The sluggard here has a desire for things but has nothing. The sluggard is a certain type of fool in the Proverbs. His character is sketched in vivid pictures. He is hinged to his bed (Proverbs 26:14). He produces outlandish excuses, such as a lion in the street (Proverbs 26:13). The sluggard is pure laziness (Proverbs 26:15). Sluggards tend to have plenty of ideas but they find out talk is truly cheap (Proverbs 14:23). The contrast is with the
diligent and their being
made fat. Fatness is a reference to abundance or plenteousness. The general tenor of the Proverbs is that diligence, hard work, is rewarded with profit (Proverbs 14:23). The diligent also desire like the sluggards do, but the difference is the diligent get up and work in order to have (Proverbs 21:5).
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Posted by Jeff Short on April 24, 2017 · Leave a Comment
He that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life: but he that openeth wide his lips shall have destruction.
– Proverbs 13:3
This proverb is about controlling one’s mouth, or speech. Keeping one’s mouth refers to guarding or keeping watch over your mouth. Regulating speech is a recurring theme in the Proverbs (Proverbs 10:19). In most cases, it is better to say too little than too much. The indication in the first phrase is that keeping the
mouth also keeps the
life (Proverbs 21:23). The word for
openeth wide in this context means to be talkative. “The mouth of fools poureth out foolishness” (Proverbs 15:2). The consequence of open-mouth talking is
destruction, or ruin (Proverbs 12:13).
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Posted by Jeff Short on April 23, 2017 · Leave a Comment
A man shall eat good by the fruit of his mouth: but the soul of the transgressors shall eat violence.
– Proverbs 13:2
This proverb relies on the general principle of sowing and reaping. In this case, words are the seed sown and either
good or
violence is reaped. The first phrase deals with wise words and their return of
good (Proverbs 12:14; 18:20). The word for
transgressors means traitors. It indicates acting deceitfully. Such men use their words deceitfully to fulfill their plans (Proverbs 1:11-13). Their love and pursuit of
violence through their speech brings it back on their own heads eventually (Proverbs 1:31).
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Posted by Jeff Short on April 22, 2017 · Leave a Comment
Chapter 13 continues the first section of the Proverbs of Solomon. The proverbs in this chapter mainly have a two-line antithetical structure. The proverbs in this chapter touch on words, or speech, wealth and poverty, pride, parenting, and wisdom generally.
A wise son heareth his father’s instruction: but a scorner heareth not rebuke.
– Proverbs 13:1
Training in wisdom begins at home with one’s parents. The word for instruction means discipline and so includes correction. A wise son is characterized as one who receives instruction and correction, which sets him at odds with a fool (Proverbs 15:5). The contrast is with a scorner, which is the hardest form of a fool, or the final progression of the fool. A scorner despises correction and hates those who try to correct him (Proverbs 9:7-8; 15:12). The word for rebuke means a chiding and is stronger than in the first phrase. The tenor of the proverb is that a son who chafes at the discipline of his father at home is on his way to becoming a scorner. Scorners ultimately find themselves scorned by God at the last (Proverbs 3:34).
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Proverbs 13:7
Posted by Jeff Short on April 28, 2017 · Leave a Comment
There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing: there is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches.
This proverb seems ambiguous. It is a wisdom observation and doesn’t immediately make a value judgment. One way to take it is as an ironic statement. Some people have great wealth but really have nothing and are poor because wealth is all they have. Some have no wealth but are truly rich because of all they do have in terms of people and relationships. The moral in this case would be that money is not everything. Another way to take it, and the way that seems most natural, is as a character observation. Men are not always what they seem to be. Some pretend to be rich and they are not. Others pretend to be poor and they are not. Wisdom then will look beyond superficial appearances.– Proverbs 13:7
Listen to the Proverbs sermon series
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