Posted by Jeff Short on August 5, 2017 · Leave a Comment
It is an abomination to kings to commit wickedness: for the throne is established by righteousness.
– Proverbs 16:12
The level of authority and responsibility a person has magnifies the severity of their sins (Luke 12:47-48). On the one hand, even good works can become abominable when mixed with the embrace of folly (Proverbs 28:9). Kings are in a special place of responsibility and accountability before God. They must be careful not to follow the counsel of the ungodly (Proverbs 20:18; 25:5). The word for
righteousness means justice and is explained as “faithfully judgeth the poor” in a similar proverb (Proverbs 29:14). Bearing authority with wisdom means upholding justice (Deuteronomy 1:17; 16:19; Proverbs 24:23; 28:21).
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Posted by Jeff Short on August 1, 2017 · Leave a Comment
Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues without right.
– Proverbs 16:8
Proverbs doesn’t denounce wealth in itself, just as the rest of Scripture, though wealth is never exalted as a goal or the ultimate mark of God’s favor. This proverb highlights wealth in relation to ethics and approaching legality. The terms,
righteousness and
right, refer to justice. The contrast is between having
little or
great revenues, or income. The proverb does not exalt poverty, for
little is what we would call a modest income. The point of interest is how the
little or the
great is obtained. It is better to be just in whatever we have, whether
little or
great (Proverbs 15:16; 21:6-7).
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Posted by Jeff Short on July 26, 2017 · Leave a Comment
All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the LORD weigheth the spirits.
– Proverbs 16:2
The word for
clean means pure and could be used to refer to something undiluted or without admixture. The first phrase means that a man’s motives and objectives for his
ways are reasonable and justifiable to him (Proverbs 21:2). This statement is a wisdom observation and general truth. It doesn’t have the negative tinge as in the similar, Proverbs 30:12. The contrast in the second is Yahweh
weigheth, evaluates as in a balance, the
spirits. This phrase refers to the sovereignty and omniscience of God to see and judge truly the hearts, or minds, of men (Proverbs 5:21; 24:12). He is a righteous and objective judge of motives, as is meant by
spirits as a figure, because they are unseen and intangible. God sees and judges what man cannot.
The point of this proverb is to give us wisdom to know our self-knowledge and self-evaluation are both incompetent. A man is not capable of properly evaluating his own heart (1 John 3:20; 1 Corinthians 4:1-5). For this reason, we trust God’s judgments (Psalm 19:9) and seek wise counselors among men, because only fools follow their own hearts (Proverbs 12:15).
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Posted by Jeff Short on July 20, 2017 · Leave a Comment
The LORD is far from the wicked: but he heareth the prayer of the righteous.
– Proverbs 15:29
Being far is contrasted with hearing prayer. The wicked go their own way, so God does not hear their cries (Proverbs 28:9; Psalm 34:16). The righteous walk in the way of wisdom that is pleasing to God. He is near to them and hears their prayers (Proverbs 15:8). The subject of prayer is infrequent in Proverbs.
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Posted by Jeff Short on July 19, 2017 · Leave a Comment
The heart of the righteous studieth to answer: but the mouth of the wicked poureth our evil things.
– Proverbs 15:28
This proverb is similar to Proverbs 15:2, but that one speaks of
wise and
fools and this speaks of
the righteous and
the wicked. The terms are not technically synonymous, but can be used for one another naturally because righteousness is a necessary consequence of wisdom, as wickedness is a necessary consequence of folly. The word for
studieth means to meditate or muse. The word for
answer means a response. In the first phrase, the reply of wisdom comes from the
heart, or the mind. Put simply, the wise think before they speak and, therefore, they say better things (Proverbs 15:2; 16:23). By contrast, the
wicked answer with their
mouth rather than their mind. The word for
poureth means to gush forth. Fools are quick to pour out their thoughtless opinions (Proverbs 10:19; 13:16; 29:11, 20; Ecclesiastes 10:12-14).
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Posted by Jeff Short on July 10, 2017 · Leave a Comment
The way of the slothful man is as an hedge of thorns: but the way of the righteous is made plain.
– Proverbs 15:19
The word for
slothful means sluggish and lazy. The first phrase indicates his personal affairs are a tangled mess. He is averse to hard work and will not receive wisdom (Proverbs 12:27; 19:24; 26:15-16). The immediate point is that laziness makes everything harder and more frustrating for others (Proverbs 10:26; 18:9). The word for
righteous in the contrasting phrase means upright or straight. The parallelism indicates there is unrighteousness with laziness. The
way of the righteous is clear and straight (Proverbs 3:6; 8:9).
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Posted by Jeff Short on June 27, 2017 · Leave a Comment
In the house of the righteous is much treasure: but in the revenues of the wicked is trouble.
– Proverbs 15:6
The
righteous and the
wicked are both gaining. The gain of the
righteous is stored up as
treasure, or wealth. The point of the first phrase is that through wisdom, the gains made by righteousness are a blessing (Proverbs 8:21; 21:20). These blessed gains come through honest and hard work (Proverbs 10:4; 21:5). The word for
revenues means income, or produce. The word for
trouble means to roil water, i.e., to stir up or disturb. The
wicked pursue gains hastily and craftily, so they come with much trouble (Proverbs 20:21; 21:5-7; 28:22).
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Posted by Jeff Short on June 20, 2017 · Leave a Comment
Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.
– Proverbs 14:34
The scope of Proverbs is usually the individual, but in some places it’s broadened. Here, Solomon speaks to a
nation and
people. The word for
righteousness means justice. A nation that pursues rightness and justice is exalted or lifted up. A nation that tolerates and approves sin by enculturating and codifying it, is brought to shame (Proverbs 11:11; Romans 1:32).
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Posted by Jeff Short on June 18, 2017 · Leave a Comment
The wicked is driven away in his wickedness: but the righteous hath hope in his death.
– Proverbs 14:32
Proverbs speaks of life and death often, but usually in the sense of life being a reward for wisdom and death being the same for folly (Proverbs 3:2; 5:23). Many commentators think the afterlife too advanced a subject for the time of the Proverbs, but this proverb is one place it is glimpsed. The word for
driven away means to be cast down. The wicked shall not stand in the judgment and riches cannot deliver them (Proverbs 11:4, 7). The contrast is the
hope, or refuge, of the
righteous in
death. Hope is had because righteousness delivers from death (Proverbs 11:4) and is the way of life (Proverbs 12:28).
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Proverbs 16:12
Posted by Jeff Short on August 5, 2017 · Leave a Comment
It is an abomination to kings to commit wickedness: for the throne is established by righteousness.
The level of authority and responsibility a person has magnifies the severity of their sins (Luke 12:47-48). On the one hand, even good works can become abominable when mixed with the embrace of folly (Proverbs 28:9). Kings are in a special place of responsibility and accountability before God. They must be careful not to follow the counsel of the ungodly (Proverbs 20:18; 25:5). The word for righteousness means justice and is explained as “faithfully judgeth the poor” in a similar proverb (Proverbs 29:14). Bearing authority with wisdom means upholding justice (Deuteronomy 1:17; 16:19; Proverbs 24:23; 28:21).– Proverbs 16:12
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