Proverbs Chapter 24
Proverbs
Chapter 24
1-2. Do not envy wicked men, do not desire their company; for their hearts plot violence, and their lips talk about making trouble. This counsel has been given recently (23:17). But it is very difficult in the false glare of this world's glory to walk by faith as evidence of what is not seen. In the confined atmosphere of impatience and unbelief, the spirit that lives in us envies intensely (James 4:5). This evil spirit, if it does not bring the scandal of open sin, curses our blessings, withers our virtues, destroys our peace, clouds our confidence, and stains our Christian profession. The full cup in the house of evil men stirs up the desire to be with them. Take away the delusive veil and who would envy them? Let me only desire to be with the man of God. The Christian is the only person in the world who should be envied. The apparent blessings that wicked men receive are God's heavy curses. If we stand right with heaven, every cross is a blessing, and every blessing is a pledge of future happiness. If we are not in God's favor, all his benefits are judgments, and every judgment prepares the way for perdition.
3-6. Why should we envy the prosperity of the wicked? Even if they build a house, it cannot be established because it is built on iniquity. "It is only the snow-palace built in the winter, and melting away under the power of the summer's sun" (Geier). The wise woman builds her house on piety and prudence, which is a far more solid structure.
Heresy is restrained by conceding supreme authority to the Bible. Anyone who is not enlightened by divine truth has but a feeble grip on God's teaching as he imbibes evil opinions. Growth in spiritual, as distinct from speculative, knowledge will always be accompanied by growth in grace.
We should also note how God has laid the foundations of the spiritual house, shaped and framed the materials by his own divine wisdom, and filled... its rooms ... with rare and beautiful treasures. "Oh, the transcendent glory," exclaimed Martyn, "of this temple of souls; living stones, perfect in all its parts, the purchase and work of God."
Another advantage of wisdom is that a wise man is strong. He has great power. Every view confirms Lord Bacon's far-famed aphorism that "knowledge is power." The discovery of the mechanical forces and the power of steam has increased the strength of machinery over 100 times. Intellectual knowledge, wisely applied, has immense moral ascendancy. It restrains the king from entering into foolish wars. The man of spiritual knowledge is a giant in strength. Conscious ignorance is the first principle of knowledge. "I am but a little child," said the wisest of men. This humility of wisdom was the foundation of establishing his kingdom. For the people who know their God will be strong.
7. Wisdom is too high for a fool; in the assembly at the gate he has nothing to say. The commendation of wisdom continues. The person who is richly endowed with wisdom comes with authority and speaks at the gate among the wise. The fool, destitute of wisdom, is barred from such an honor. The simple and diligent prove that the treasure is not really out of reach; but it is too high for a fool. His groveling mind can never rise to so lofty a matter. He has no understanding of it, no heart to desire it, no energy to hold it. Its holy spirituality is too high for his reach. Nobody seeks his counsel. His opinion, if given, is of no account. While he may have a babbling tongue in the street, at the gate he has nothing to say. He is totally unfit to give judgment in the presence of wise and judicious men. This is not the result of any natural defect, but the result of deliberate perverseness. His Lord had committed at least one talent to him, but he frittered it away and did not trade with it. Let wisdom be sought while it is still within reach, as it is so freely promised.
8-9. What a picture of human depravity is given here. We see its active working, its corrupt source, and its fearful end! Talent, imagination, and an active mind are so debased as to be all concentrated on Satan's own work.
The plots and the schemes of evil people are sinful. "But what guilt," it is asked, "can there be in a thought? It is but an idea; it is next to nothing. It can do nothing. A malicious thought does not hurt anyone. A covetous thought cannot rob. What guilt or danger belongs to such an insignificant being?" If it were left to us to judge man, all this might possibly be thought of as mere trifles. But as the thought is the source of the action, God judges the thoughts as well as the actions and holds us responsible for them. The smallest sin involves us in breaking the whole law (James 2:10-11).
10. If you falter in times of trouble, how small is your strength!
May this word strengthen and encourage us. The marvel is that those who do not know where to look for a refuge when the storm is breaking over their heads do not always falter. Natural courage, or a deeper involvement in the world as a diversion from sorrow, may raise them above their troubles for a time, but it drives them further from God.
Every Christian's heart responds to the confession that he tends to falter. "The strongest and holiest saint on earth is subject to some qualms of fear" (Bishop Hall). This arises not from the greatness of the danger but from the weakness of his faith. Remember that when we seek strength from our own resources, when faith gives way to distrust, praise to complaining, hope to despondency, then we falter in times of trouble.
A Christian may be tired with his burden, but he will soon be at rest eternally in his Father's arms. He will never be called to a martyr's trial without a martyr's faith. "Be of good heart," said Ridley to his brother Latimer with a wonderfully cheerful look, running to him, embracing him, kissing him, "for God will either assuage the fury of the flame, or else strengthen us to abide it." The rod of punishment is the seal of everlasting love. The temporal cross comes from the same hand as his everlasting crown. "Never believe," Christian, "that your tender-hearted Savior, who knows the weakness of your constitution, will mix the cup of affliction with one drachma weight of poison" (Rutherford). Commit yourself daily to him, for his supply of grace is sufficient for you. So go forward, weak and strong at the same time—weak in order to be strong, strong in your weakness.
11-12. Imagine a fellow creature who is in imminent danger, as he is being led away to death. Excuses will always be at hand as to why we should pass over his sad condition. We excuse ourselves by saying, "But we knew nothing about this." But the true reason is, as Bishop Sanderson has stated, "We lack charity but abound in self-love. Our defect is seen by our reluctance to carry out our duties to our brethren, while we excel in excusing ourselves." But does not God, who knows the condition of every heart, know your brother's needs, the sorrow of his heart, and the grief that presses down his soul? Does he not view your excuse of ignorance as a cover for selfishness? In vain do you plead ignorance before the all-seeing God.
What should we say about such apathy? How do we respond to such sayings as, "We have no right to judge," "Am I my brother's keeper?" or "It is no concern of mine"? Would not many souls have started to move away from ruin if they had known about the danger they were in before it became too late? Other people may expect us to look after the bodies of our fellow creatures, but God commits their souls to our care.
13-14. Honey is the choice product of Canaan, eaten by its inhabitants and even by its children. It is sweet to your taste. "So when the spiritual senses are exercised, you will find the knowledge of wisdom unimaginably delightful to your soul" (Bishop Hall). The knowledge of Christ, without which we are helpless, makes us supremely happy.
15-16. The wise man breaks off his affectionate counsel to the children of God with a solemn warning to the wicked man. Should we exclude him from the circle of instruction? If he is left unconverted, it is his own guilt. But if he is not warned, not instructed, we will be accused of neglecting to help him.
Hatred toward the righteous is deeply rooted in wicked men. They imagine, especially if they are in power, that they can tyrannize them with impunity. But remember that anyone who touches any of God's followers touches the apple of God's eye (Zechariah 2:8). So, poor, afflicted soul, take courage. Look your enemy in the face, and sing that although you may fall you will rise again. Many trials cannot overwhelm the righteous. But one trial is enough to sweep away the wicked. He is brought down by calamity. And he does not recover. He lies where he falls, and he perishes where he lies. Yet, sinner, whatever your wickedness is, the Lord can save you from the millstone of condemnation for the persecuting of God's saints.
The just man rising again from his fall is wrongly applied to the perseverance of the saints. The word "fall" often appears in the Book of Proverbs, but always in reference to trouble, not to sin (11:5 [kjv], 14; 13:17; 17:20; 26:27). The antithesis obviously fixes the meaning. "There are plain texts enough to prove every scriptural doctrine. But pressing texts into any particular service, contrary to their plain meaning, not only serves to deceive the inconsiderate but to rivet the prejudices and confirm the suspicions of those who oppose the teaching. Just as bringing forward a few witnesses of suspicious character would cause all those, however deserving of credit, who should be examined in the same cause to be suspected also and create a prejudice against them in the middle of the court and of all present" (Scott).
17-18. Do not gloat when your enemy falls; when he stumbles, do not let your heart rejoice, or the Lord will see and disapprove and turn his wrath away from him. But did not God's chosen people rejoice with divine exultation when their enemies fell at the Red Sea? No; this joy was due to the triumph of the righteous. It adored heaven at the manifestation of God's glory. But how different this sublime sympathy is in the triumph of the church from the malignant joy of private revenge! A secret, if not an avowed, pleasure in the fall of an enemy is natural. But what has grace done for us if it has not overcome nature by a holier and happier principle?
19-20. This fretting must be a deep-rooted disease to need such repeated discipline (verse 1; 23:17). One moment's recollection of our mercies might show how little reason there is for it. Mercies infinitely more than we discover might be sufficient to sweep the clouds from our sky and make us ashamed of our despondency.
We are reminded that the evil man has no future hope. Leave him to his judge. His lamp, despite all his efforts to keep it burning, will be snuffed out. Sometimes people are bold enough to snuff out their own candle. "I give," said the godless Hobbes, "my body to the dust, and my soul to the Great Perhaps. I am going to take a leap in the dark." Alas, was it not a leap into darkness forever?
Take then the balance of eternity. Learn neither to overvalue the fancied sunshine of the wicked, nor to undervalue our own real happiness. Do not... be envious of the wicked. "His candle burns, his prosperity flourishes, until it has kindled hellfire, and then it is extinguished; whereas the lamp of the godly is put out here to shine as a star in heaven" (Jermin).
21-22. We have here another affectionate exhortation to fear the Lord (see 23:17). And no wonder! Is this not the substance of our holiness and our happiness? Oh, reverence his majesty. Acknowledge your dependence on him. Be as careful in walking before him in your secret thoughts as in your outward behavior.
The link between the fear of the Lord and the king is not accidental. Our Lord and his apostles have thus linked together the throne of his supremacy in heaven and the throne of his majesty on earth (Matthew 22:21; 1 Peter 2:17). The one principle indeed is the spring of the other. Disloyalty has often been a libel on godliness. But the Christian is loyal because he is godly. Yet there is no doubt about which is the primary obligation. Solomon "puts God before the king, because God is to be served in the first place, and our obedience is to be given to the king only in subordination to God, and not in those things that are contrary to the will of God" (Poole).
Man's independence, however, naturally kicks against submission. Men love change for the sake of change. To become leaders of a party, they disturb the public peace by proposing changes, without any promise of solid advantage. "He who goes about," says our judicious Hooker, "to persuade men that they are not so well governed as they ought to be shall never lack attention and favorable hearers." Beware of the destruction that the Lord and the king may inflict on those who despise their authority.
23-26. Here we have a solemn exhortation to the people, words of the wise. It is important that truth, not favor, be considered. To do otherwise is an evil in the church as much as in the state. No responsibility is more momentous in our sacred high places than to do nothing from partiality. "Reverence and awe unto the prelates, whom Christ has placed in seats of higher authority over me" suggests that "the ancient canon be especially remembered, which forbids a bishop to be led by human affection in bestowing the things of God" (Hooker). Man, corrupt as he is, often abhors unrighteous judgment. A bad magistrate deprives us of the blessing of good laws.
On the other hand, there is no greater national blessing than a government that rebukes the wicked. But we are not rulers. Yet are not many of us in authority, as parents, heads of families, teachers, and guardians of the young? Uprightness and consistency alone can maintain that influence so essential to usefulness. For a spiritual ruler's saying that the guilty are innocent is a cruel deceit to immortal souls. It hides the ruin that God is bound to reveal. It acts the part of a minister of Satan under the cover of a minister of Christ. Even the people who hate both his Master and his message will kiss the lips of a person who gives an honest answer, a reluctant but honorable witness to his faithfulness.
27. Finish your outdoor work and get your fields ready; after that, build your house. This prudent rule applies to all worldly matters. Religion, so far from forbidding, inculcates care and forethought. Much inconvenience and suffering flow from its neglect. Acting on this useful direction, the wise builder first finishes his outdoor work. He collects his materials and then shapes them and so builds his house. Preparations for Solomon's magnificent temple were made before his house was built. The spiritual house is similarly made of materials that have been prepared and fitted and so grow into a holy temple in the Lord (Ephesians 2:21-22).
But ponder well the care with which the great work should be finished. Lay deep foundations on the Rock. Pray all the time for divine strength. Avoid that outward display that brings shame on the thoughtless builder, who starts to build without making adequate preparations. Build your spiritual house so that it honors God and is of service to his church.
28-29. The welfare of society may sometimes constrain a witness to testify against his neighbor, but this must never be without cause. Yet when compelled to this unpleasant duty, whatever the temptation or consequence is, do not use your lips to deceive. Speak plainly, truthfully, the whole truth.
Profit is the bait to the thief, lust to the adulterer, revenge to the murderer. But it is difficult to say what advantage the witness gains from testifying against his neighbor. The allurement of this sin is the same as Satan himself feels—that is, the love of sin for its own sake.
As for indulging in personal resentment, it is natural to say, "I'll do to him as he has done to me; I'll pay that man back for what he did." But do we dare to take the sword from God's hands and place ourselves on his tribunal? Vengeance belongs to the Lord. "Let wisdom and grace be set to work to extinguish the fire from hell, before it gets ahead" (Matthew Henry). Far sweeter will be the recollection of injuries forgotten than those we have taken revenge for. But grace alone can enable us to forgive from the heart. "The excellency of the duty laid down in Matthew 18:35 is sufficiently proclaimed by the difficulty of the practice. For how hard is it, when the passions are high, and the sense of injury strong, and the way of revenge possible, for a man to deny himself in that luscious morsel of revenge! To do violence to himself instead of doing it to his enemy!" (South). And yet too often the exercise of this duty is so feebly cherished that natural feelings gain the ascendancy. But the wise man sets out in this Book of Proverbs the true rule, which is enforced by the divine example. Humility and tenderness mark the self-knowing Christian, who forgives himself little, his neighbor much.
30-34. Everything around us is a useful lesson to an observant eye. Every particle of creation may be taxed to furnish its quota to our store of knowledge. We can extract good even from evil and gather grapes from thornbushes. Solomon describes with his usual descriptive style a sight that we have all seen: the field of the sluggard ... thorns had come up everywhere, the ground was covered with weeds, and the stone wall was in ruins. Instead of turning away, Solomon applied his heart to what he observed and learned a lesson from what he saw. In the solemn contemplation of this picture of desolation, he could not but turn his thoughts to the wretched owner. He imagined him in his house, stretched out on his bed, and crying out under the noonday sun, A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest. Stimulated by this effusion of the torpid animal, the response almost unconsciously forced itself: and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man.
And yet by some strange delusion the sluggard thinks of himself as being wise (26:16)! But let us look at the spiritual sluggard. If a neglected field is a melancholy sight, what is a neglected soul! Such a soul, when it is left to its own barrenness, instead of being sown with the seeds of grace becomes overgrown with thorns and nettles. Time, talents, and opportunities have been given. But the soul sleeps on and shuts both eyes and ears to everything that may disturb his slumber. Everything ends up in devastation and ruin.
Christian, is there no danger of this evil creeping into our religion? No habit is so ruinous. It enervates, and at length stops, the voice of prayer. It hinders the active energy of meditation. It weakens the influence of watchfulness. The way to heaven is steep, rough, hard to climb, immeasurably long, full of toil. Such a false apprehension checks every step of progress. So, instead of the soul being a well-watered garden, it relapses into its former wilderness state. It is laid open to every temptation and all too often is ultimately a prey to sensual appetites.
Look forward, not backwards. Do not complain, but make decisions. Do not only pray, but work. Always link privilege with practice. Prove the principles of moral character as well.