Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Proverbs 16:4
The LORD hath made all [things] for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.
4. for himself ] for his own purpose, R.V. marg.; or, for its own end, R.V. text. The two meanings really run into one another, for he who makes a thing to serve its own purpose makes it to serve his own purpose in so making it. The second clause of the verse extends the application of this truth from the physical to the moral sphere of action. But it creates no real difficulty. It is not said that God makes a man wicked, for He “made man upright” (Ecc 7:29. Comp. Gen 1:26-27; Gen 1:31), but that being wicked by his own choice he comes under the irrevocable law which dooms him to “the day of evil,” of calamity and punishment. By this, the Apostle teaches us, even in its final and most awful form, is revealed not the arbitrary predestination, but “the righteous judgement of God.” Rom 2:5-11.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
For himself – Better, The Lord has done everything for its own end; and this includes the appointment of an evil day for the wicked who deserve it.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Pro 16:4
The Lord hath made all things for Himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil
Of Gods disposing all things to their proper ends
No light on this passage comes from the context.
The words may be taken–
I. In the sense that God created all things merely for His own good pleasure, without any external motive. Then the latter part of the verse contains a great difficulty–how can God be said to have made the wicked for Himself, for the manifesting of His glory in the day of punishment? It is impossible that God could have any external motive, when in the universe there was nothing existing without Himself. The good pleasure of God is the only reason why things were brought into being at all. God has declared Himself by a clear revelation to persons of all capacities to be the Creator of heaven and earth, and of all things that are therein. His goodness moved Him to bring creatures into being on which He might display that goodness, and to whom He might communicate His happiness. The glory of God is not anything properly relating to Himself, any advantage or benefit to Him; it is the communicating of His goodness, by creating the world; the promoting His likeness among rational creatures, by the practice of righteousness. But how can God be said to have made even the wicked for Himself? Some have contended that God has on purpose made many creatures necessarily inclined to wickedness, that He might manifest His power and authority in their destruction. But nothing can be more blasphemous than to imagine that He created any beings with design that they might be wicked and miserable. Nevertheless, because it is certain that nothing comes to pass without His permission, nothing subsists but by His power and concurrence, nothing is done but by the use or abuse of those faculties which He has created, therefore in Scripture phrase, and in acknowledgment of the supreme superintendence of providence over all events, God is represented as doing everything that is done in the world.
II. Consider the text as meaning, the Lord has made all things suited to each other: yea, even the wicked to the day of evil. This is the more natural sense. The only question that arises is, How can God be said to have fitted the wicked to destruction? In the Jewish language all that is meant is, that God causes wickedness and punishment to be proportionable. It is only an instance of the wisdom and exact adjustment of the works of God. The adjustment of mens condition to their deserts is the true greatness and glory of a kingdom. It is the natural tendency of things to get conditions fitted to deserts; and God takes care, by the positive interposition of His power and authority in the world, that every evil work shall have its proper recompense in the day of evil.
1. We may justify God, and give glory to Him in all His proceedings.
2. If we would escape the day of evil, we must avoid the wickedness to which it is annexed. (S. Clarke, D.D.)
Wicked men, the providential instruments of good
All things are in Gods hands, and He makes use of all things as He pleases; for He created them all. However the wicked may be set upon mischief, they can proceed no further than God permits; being instruments only in His hand, to afflict others; to exercise good men with trials, or to punish the wicked. All kinds of calamities and disasters that may befall mankind may therefore be ascribed to God as the supreme arbitrator, and disposer of all events. Mankind were very apt to suspect that there were two opposite powers in the world, one the fountain of good, and the other the fountain of mischief. Scripture teaches that both good and evil, both prosperity and adversity, proceed from the same fountain, and are both to be ascribed to one and the same God. God serves Himself of angels and men as His instruments, and permits them to act no further than He can turn to good.
I. Open and illustrate the general doctrine. The Lord orders and disposes all things so as one way or other to serve His own wise purposes. Whatever second causes there are, or however they act, still it is God, and God alone, that governs the world. Events that seem merely casual and accidental are in reality providential. The most mysterious part of Gods government of the moral world is His ordering even the wicked in a way consistent with human liberty, and so as to serve the ends of His providence, and to promote His glory. The fact is certain, the manner how is beyond our comprehension. This we can see, it was kind and gracious in God to create men, though He knew that many of them would prove wicked. And God makes use of the wicked men, who are His creatures, to serve the ends of His providence. They mean nothing but evil, while God turns it to good. Consider the power of God over the minds and hearts of wicked men. But does not Gods making use of the sins of men look like concurring with, and countenancing their iniquities? Men commit the sins, God does but control, curb, and regulate.
II. The practical use and improvement of this doctrine.
1. It is both our duty and interest to submit all our concerns to Him, upon whom all success, and every blessing, depend. A question may arise as to the use of means, and the necessity or serviceableness of human care or industry. But miracles are not to be expected in the ordinary course of affairs. Success in affairs is proposed by God as the reward consequent upon proper care and application.
2. God controls and bridles wicked men in all their machinations. Therefore we need never be afraid of wicked men, or of devils. Wicked men, however malicious or mischievous, are weak in themselves. They are held in as with bit and bridle.
3. Refer all the hard usage, all the injuries or troubles we meet with from men, to God, the real author of them.
4. Learn to estimate aright the ordinary stream of affairs, the common course of this world. It may be very bad: it is being over- ruled.
5. Fix in the mind an assurance of the constant working of Divine Providence. (D. Waterland, D.D.)
God made all things for Himself
Scholars render this verse, The Lord hath made everything for its purpose. The meaning of which is, that eventually the use and condition of every person and thing in the universe will be found to correspond with its character. But the form given in the authorised version sets forth a sublime and indubitable truth. How can we gain right views of the infinite majesty of God? God Himself aids us, inwardly, by His Spirit quickening our moral powers, and outwardly, by the means of light and instruction which He has put within our reach–the books of nature and of providence, and His inspired Word. Duly considered, our text may help us to find our proper place in the great system of things, and to see and realise our beings true end and aim. What was Gods purpose in giving being to this universe? The answer of Scripture is that God made not only us but all things for Himself. Look at the necessity of the case. How else could it be? The whole universe must have one great object. All things now existing, save God, once did not exist. Everything was wrapped up in the bosom of God. His purpose embraced the creation of the universe. His purpose must have been derived from Himself, and have centred in Himself. When God spake the creative word, it was of and for Himself. There was no other conceivable source or object. When He made all things for Himself, and the promotion of His glory, He acted under a necessity of His nature as the infinitely perfect God. No doubt God willed the happiness of the creatures whom He made; but back of this, He purposed to promote His own glory.
1. Apprehending this is designed to teach us a lesson in self-knowledge. What we are as creatures we can never know as we ought, save by studying the Uncreated. It is in the contemplation of the nature, purposes, and works of God, that we can best see the insignificance of man. We should be humbled not merely as beings, but much more as moral beings. The greatness of God fearfully enhances the guilt of man.
2. The doctrine we are considering inculcates a lesson in active duty, as well as self-knowledge and humility. It urges a plea for Gods service, before which every pretext for disobedience must be hushed. Did God make all things for Himself? There can be no higher reason for obeying Him, and to disobey Him is made thereby infinitely irrational, impious, and vain. The fact that God seeks His own glory in all things should not only determine the form of our duty, but also be its motive and its end. To give this prominence to Gods glory clashes with no real interest of man, and does no violence to any original principle of His nature; on the contrary, in aiming at it, man is aiming at his greatest good. Why should not the infinite and perfect God be capable of engrossing and satisfying the whole mind and heart of His creature man? The frame of mind is not indeed natural to man, and it cannot be attained in the independent exercise of his natural powers. It is only by Gods Spirit that he can be made thus spiritual. Only by looking to Jesus in a simple, earnest, exclusive, and habitual faith, can any one learn to make God and His glory the end of his being. (W. Sparrow, D.D.)
The universal sovereignty of God
The word made is not here created, but it is used in the more general sense of do, work, perform. The Lord Jehovah hath wrought, performed, all things for Himself. The final end of all Divine proceeding is Gods own glory. This hidden and ultimate purpose of all the works of God is revealed in the text.
1. The Lord hath made all things for Himself in creation. And man is part of His creation.
2. The principle of the text applies to the work of redemption. It is of Gods sovereign will and pleasure, and for His own eternal glory, that God hath been pleased to choose a Church outer this fallen world, to be glorified in His Son, Jesus Christ. This view of redemption tends to humble the sinner.
3. God hath made all things for Himself in providence. Every event or circumstance in this worlds history has been arranged or ordered for the glory of Jehovah. It is impossible that anything shall ever happen which shall not tend directly or indirectly to this great end. Sin is essentially the fault of the creature. God is not the author of evil. The wicked were not created as such. They are, however, appointed unto the day of evil as their fitting punishment. (W. E. Light, M.A.)
The Lord hath made all things for Himself
Here attention is directed to God, to His general formation of all things, and to the arrangements which, in that creation, He has unquestionably made. God is the universal Creator. Yet philosophers, ancient and modern, have always been trying to find another maker of things than God. Wherever there is existence, there the hand of God has been put forth in conferring that existence. God has made everything just as a Being absolutely perfect ought to make it. Though God made man upright, He did not make man a sinner. Man has made himself a sinner. God made all things for Himself. He is the origin, and He is the end. There are, indeed, subordinate ends, but they lose themselves, as it were, in God, the great end of all. In saying that the Lord made the wicked for the day of evil, we must recur to His foresight. He allows some sinners to go on in their guilt till death finds them ready for eternal destruction from the presence of the Lord; and therefore, at every stage in which these wicked ones may be contemplated, they are still to be considered as the works of God, supported by Him, provided for by Him. The day of evil looks to the final retribution of all things. We are to ascribe to God the existence, the support, the maintenance, of those individuals who are rising up every moment in rebellion against Him. The wicked are as much in the hands of God to be punished by Him as the good are in His hands to receive undeserved kindness. (James Maclean, D.D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 4. The Lord hath made all things for himself] He has so framed and executed every part of his creation, that it manifests his wisdom, power, goodness, and truth.
Even the wicked for the day of evil.] vegam rasha leyom raah. The whole verse is translated by the Chaldee thus: “All the works of the LORD are for those who obey him; and the wicked is reserved for the evil day.”
As raah literally signifies to feed, it has been conjectured that the clause might be read, yea, even the wicked he feeds by the day, or daily.
If we take the words as they stand in our present version, they mean no more than what is expressed by the Chaldee and Syriac: and as far as we can learn from their present confused state, by the Septuagint and Arabic, that “the wicked are reserved for the day of punishment.” Coverdale has given, as he generally does, a good sense: “The Lorde doth all thinges for his owne sake; yea, and when he kepeth the ungodly for the daye of wrath.” He does not make the wicked or ungodly man; but when man has made himself such, even then God bears with him. But if he repent not, when the measure of his iniquity is filled up, he shall fall under the wrath of God his Maker.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Hath made; or, hath wrought or doth work; for the Hebrews express the present as well as the past thee by this tense: he ordereth or disposeth; for this may be understood either of the works of creation or of providence.
All things, and especially all men, for himself; for his own service and glory; for the discovery and illustration of his own wisdom, power, goodness, truth, justice, and his other most glorious perfections.
The wicked, wilful and impenitent sinners,
for the day of evil; for the thee of punishment, as this phrase is used, Psa 49:5; Jer 17:18, and elsewhere; of which the Scripture frequently speaks, both to warn sinners of their danger, and to satisfy the minds of them which are amazed and disquieted with the consideration of the present impunity and felicity of wicked men. Men make themselves wicked, and God therefore makes them miserable.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
4. for himself“for itsanswer,” or “purpose,” that is, according to God’splan; the wicked are for the day of evil (Psa 49:5;Jer 17:18); sinning and sufferinganswer to each other, are indissolubly united.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
The Lord hath made all [things] for himself,…. This is true of the Lord with respect to the creation of all things by him. All things are made by him, the heaven, earth, and sea; and all that are in them, angels, men, beasts, birds, fishes, and all creatures: and these are made for himself, and not another; not for the pure or good men, as Aben Ezra, though all things are for the elect’s sake; but for God himself, besides whom there was no other before the creation, nor is there any other God but him, who is the first cause and last end of all things: nor were those all things made for him, through any want he had of them, being God all sufficient and blessed for evermore, but to show his greatness, and communicate his goodness; they are made for his service, which all creatures are obliged unto, and whom all in their way obey, and for his honour and glory. It is also true of his works of providence, and of his ordering and disposing of all things in the course of that, to answer ends of his own glory; his kingdom of providence rules over all; there is a general providence, which respects all creatures and things; and there is a particular providence attending the Lord’s own people; and in all the glory of his wisdom, justice, truth, and goodness, is conspicuous: but this is chiefly, if not solely, to be understood of God’s decrees and purposes; and of his ordering and appointing all things to bring about his own glory. Every thing is appointed of God; he has foreordained whatever comes to pass; there is a purpose for everything under the heavens, and a time fixed for the execution of it. Junius restrains it to “all men”; but it is true of all creatures and things, though especially men: all things are appointed by the Lord, respecting the temporal estate of men; their birth, and the time of it, with all the circumstances attending it; the place of their abode, their calling, station of life, and usefulness; all adverse and prosperous dispensations; their death, with all the events leading to it: and so likewise all things respecting their spiritual and eternal estate; the choice of them to salvation; their redemption by Christ; the time of his coming, sufferings, and death, and the circumstances thereof; the conversion of God’s elect, the time, place, and means; these are all according to the purpose of God; as are also all their times of affliction, temptation, desertion, and of joy and comfort. In a word, the final state of all men, good and bad, is fixed by the Lord; and all this is “for himself”, which some render, “to answer to himself” c; all creatures are made to answer to his original design in making them, to the laws of their creation, and to answer his ends and purposes; and which is ultimately his own glory: or for his praise, as Jarchi; for his will and pleasure, as R. Isaac; for the thing in which he is well pleased, as R. Jonah or for his own sake, as Kimchi; and all which agree, as with the sense of the words, so with Re 4:11. The Targum and Syriac version very wrongly render them,
“all the works of God, or the Lord, are for them that obey him;”
yea, even the wicked for the day of evil; this is added to illustrate the general proposition in the preceding clause, and to obviate an objection, that might be taken from the destruction of the wicked, against all things being for the glory of God; for even the destruction of the wicked, which is under a divine appointment, is for his glory. It is not the sense of this text, nor of any other passage of Scripture, that God made man to damn him; nor is this to be inferred from the doctrine of predestination: God made man, neither to damn him, nor to save him, but for his own glory; and that is secured, whether in his salvation or damnation; nor did or does God make men wicked; he made man upright, and he has made himself wicked; and, being so, God may justly appoint him to damnation for his wickedness, in doing which he glorifies his justice. “The day of evil”, or “evil day”, is the day of wrath and ruin, unto which wicked men are reserved by the appointment of God, agreeably to the Targum, Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions. This is true of wicked angels, wicked men, and particularly of that wicked one, the man of sin and son of perdition, antichrist; the word here used is in the singular number.
c “ad responsum suum”, Cocceius, Gejerus, Michaells; “ad responsum proprium ejus”, Gussetius, p. 623. “ad responsum sui”, Schultens.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
4 Jahve hath made everything for its contemplated end;
And also the wicked for the day of evil.
Everywhere else means answer ( Venet. ), which is not suitable here, especially with the absoluteness of the ; the Syr. and Targ. translate, obedientibus ei , which the words do not warrant; but also propter semet ipsum (Jerome, Theodotion, Luther) give to 4b no right parallelism, and, besides, would demand or . The punctuation , which is an anomaly (cf. , Isa 24:2, and , Ezr 10:14), shows (Ewald) that here we have, not the prepositional , but with the subst. , which in derivation and meaning is one with the form abbreviated from it (cf. , ), similar in meaning to the Arab. ma’anyn , aim, intention, object, and end, and mind, from ‘atay , to place opposite to oneself a matter, to make it the object of effort. Hitzig prefers , but why not rather , for the proverb is not intended to express that all that God has made serve a purpose (by which one is reminded of the arguments for the existence of God from final causes, which are often prosecuted too far), but that all is made by God for its purpose, i.e., a purpose premeditated by Him, that the world of things and of events stands under the law of a plan, which has in God its ground and its end, and that also the wickedness of free agents is comprehended in this plan, and made subordinate to it. God has not indeed made the wicked as such, but He has made the being which is capable of wickedness, and which has decided for it, viz., in view of the “day of adversity” (Ecc 7:14), which God will cause to come upon him, thus making His holiness manifest in the merited punishment, and thus also making wickedness the means of manifesting His glory. It is the same thought which is expressed in Exo 9:16 with reference to Pharaoh. A praedestinatio ad malum , and that in the supralapsarian sense, cannot be here taught, for this horrible dogma ( horribile quidem decretrum, fateor , says Calvin himself) makes God the author of evil, and a ruler according to His sovereign caprice, and thus destroys all pure conceptions of God. What Paul, Rom 9, with reference to Exo 9:16, wishes to say is this, that it was not Pharaoh’s conduct that determined the will of God, but that the will of God is always the antecedens : nothing happens to God through the obstinacy and rebellion of man which determines Him to an action not already embraced in the eternal plan, but also such an one must against his will be subservient to the display of God’s glory. The apostle adds Rom 9:22, and shows that he recognised the factor of human self-determination, but also as one comprehended in God’s plan. The free actions of men create no situation by which God would be surprised and compelled to something which was not originally intended by Himself. That is what the above proverb says: the wicked also has his place in God’s order of the world. Whoever frustrates the designs of grace must serve God in this, (Rom 9:22).
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
4 The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.
Note, 1. That God is the first cause. He is the former of all things and all persons, the fountain of being; he gave every creature the being it has and appointed it its place. Even the wicked are his creatures, though they are rebels; he gave them those powers with which they fight against him, which aggravates their wickedness, that they will not let him that made them rule them, and therefore, though he made them, he will not save them. 2. That God is the last end. All is of him and from him, and therefore all is to him and for him. He made all according to his will and for his praise; he designed to serve his own purposes by all his creatures, and he will not fail of his designs; all are his servants. The wicked he is not glorified by, but he will be glorified upon. He makes no man wicked, but he made those who he foresaw would be wicked: yet he made them (Gen. vi. 6), because he knew how to get himself honour upon them. See Rom. ix. 22. Or (as some understand it) he made the wicked to be employed by him as the instruments of his wrath in the day of evil, when he brings judgments on the world. He makes some use even of wicked men, as of other things, to be his sword, his hand (Psa 17:13; Psa 17:14), flagellum Dei–the scourge of God. The king of Babylon is called his servant.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
The Lord Is Maker Of All
Verse 4 declares that the LORD made all. He did not make some wicked and others righteous; but created all with capacities to manifest the glory of God and freedom to accept or reject the means of salvation graciously provided, 2Pe 3:9; Jas 1:13. The wicked will one day acknowledge the unquestioned glory of God, Rev 5:10-13; Php_2:9-11; a glory all could share but many refuse.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
CRITICAL NOTES.
Pro. 16:4. For Himself. Many read for its own purpose, or end. There is much in favour, however, of the reading of the authorised text.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF Pro. 16:4
ALL THINGS FOR GOD
I. There is one Person in the universe who knows the history of all things. Jehovah knows all things because He made all things. Some men know the history of their nation and the history of many nations. Others know the history of the philosophies of the world, can tell when and by whom certain ideas were first promulgated and certain methods adopted. There are other men who are acquainted with the history of natural objects, and whose knowledge is so extensive that it embraces the heavens above and the waters under the earth. But there is only One Being who can claim a knowledge of all things and all persons, and that is the Maker of all things. The smith who has beaten a ploughshare out of rough iron can give us the history of the share because he made it. The sculptor who calls into shape and form a beautiful statue knows the day and hour when that statue ceased to be a thing of the imagination only by the first application of his chisel. And he can give the history of its progress from that day until this because he is the author of its existence. So God, having called all things into being at first, and having upheld them ever since by the word of His power, has a perfect knowledge of their history. But He goes farther. No human worker knows anything of the essential nature of the material out of which he fashions his workhe finds that ready to his hand, and can tell us but little about it. But God is the Creator of matter; He called it into being at first, and therefore knows not only the history of the formation of things as we see them but the essential qualities of the material out of which they are formed.
II. Creation is the work of One Being. Most things made by man need co-operation. Although they are but inanimate objects they cannot be made by the unaided efforts of one creature. He must have the skill and strength of others to help him, either in the actual work itself, or in the preparation of the material, or the tools which he uses. A palace can be built only by the united effort of many hundreds of intelligent creatures, and when they have finished it they have only made a lifeless thing. A ship when in full sail is as much like a thing of life as any work of man, yet the movement that makes it look so life-like is not in itself but comes from an external power. Yet inanimate though it is, how many a man gave his toil and his strength to bring into existence this new thing. One thing made by man requires the strength and skill of many, and when made is without life; but the One God is the maker of all things that we see around us, many of which are full of life.
III. The world is not co-eternal with God. Matter is one of the all things which He has made. This being the case it is not as old as God. He was before the material was out of which in the beginning He created the heavens and the earth.
IV. The One God is the absolute Lord of all His creatures. This is the thought which must be expressed in the second clause of this verse. In considering it we must remember
1. That the infinitely good God can do no wrong. In proportion as men are good, certain acts are impossible to them. There are human beings whom we feel are incapable of certain immoral acts. In proportion as men approach in their characters to the character of God it becomes a moral impossibility for them to do wrong to any creature. It is, therefore, conceivable that if we could find a man who was perfectly true and good we should find a being who could do no wrong. We cannot find such an absolute being among fallen men, but we have such a Being in God. He is absolute goodness and righteousness and truthas to His character, He is light, and in Him is no darkness at all. It is, therefore, impossible for Him in any way to be the author of sin. Being absolute goodness, He cannot make a wicked man. He hates sin, and cannot increase it by creating wickedness. It is an impossibility for him to be the author of wrong in any way.
2. That all His plans and purposes are manifestly directed to making men good. If any person were to declare that God delighted or purposed that His creatures should live in darkness, we should point to the sun in the heavens as a direct refutation of such a statement. To any who declare that God is indifferent as to whether men live in sin or not, we point to the Bible and to the incarnation and death of His Son as the most emphatic denial of such an assertion. And if, in the face of such facts, it is impossible to believe that God is indifferent as to human character, it is a thousand times more impossible to conceive the possibility of His creating a wicked man.
3. Therefore no man can be brought to a day of evil except by his own consent. No man can be brought to perform an evil deed except by his own consent, and consequently he cannot be brought to the consequences of evil without the exercise of his own free-will. The human tempter cannot destroy the virtue of his victim unless he first gain his consent, and whatever evil day comes as the consequence, the sinner feels that it is the fruit of his own act. The sting would be removed if he felt that it had come upon him without any deed of his own. Satan certainly believes that he can bring no man to a day of evil without that mans consent. Consequently his great work is that of a temptera persuaderhis great aim is to win the will of every man as he won that of our first parents. Nor can God bring a man to a day of evil unless that man consent. He has made man free, and His nature forbids Him to tempt His creatures to evil (Jas. 1:13), much more it makes it impossible that he should coerce their will to the committal of sin, which is the sole cause of all the evil that is found in the universe. The declaration of the text therefore is:
1. That all men exist by the will of God, who desires them to use their present life, so as to be fitted for a higher one.
2. That if a man crosses Gods desires and purposes in this matter, he will come to a day of evil.
3. God will use the actions of those who oppose His will against themselves, and for the furtherance of His own purpose. God was the Author of Pharaohs existence, and if he had yielded to the Divine will he would by obedience have been raised to a higher condition of life. But when he opposed the will of God, and put away from him the opportunities of Divine enlightenment, then it might be said that God created him for the day of evilthen God over-ruled His opposition to His glory and to Pharaohs destruction. And so he deals with all who exalt themselves against His will, refusing to fall in with His purpose of mercy towards them.
OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS
Even the wicked for the day of evil, i.e., to experience the day of evil, and then to receive His wellmerited punishment. It is not specifically the day of final judgment that is directly intended (as though the doctrine here were that of a predestination of the ungodly to eternal damnation), but any day of calamity whatsoever which God has fixed for the ungodly, whether it may overtake him in this or in a future life. Comp. the day of destruction (Job. 21:30), the day of visitation (Isa. 10:3).Langes Commentary.
The day of evil is generally understood, and I have myself been accustomed so to explain it, of the day of final visitation and suffering to the wicked themselves. But I am now inclined to doubt whether the day of evil has here this meaning at all. There is another, of which it is alike susceptible, and which, in Scripture, it frequently bearsnamely, the day of primitive visitation, in the infliction of judicial vengeance, in the course of Gods providential administration. I question if the suffering of the wicked be intended, and am disposed to refer the phrase to the instrumental agency of the wicked. The Lord hath made all things for Himself will thus mean that He employs all as instruments in effecting His purposes, and that thus He makes the wicked as a part of His agency: employing them, without at all interfering with their freedom and their responsibility, as the executioners of wrath, when He cometh out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity, thus rendering their very passions the means of accomplishing His designs, making the wrath of man to praise Him, and restraining the remainder of wrath.Wardlaw.
If by Gods making all things for Himself be meant that He aimed at and intended the manifestation of His wisdom, and power, and goodness in the creation of the world, tis most true that in this sense He made all things for Himself; but if we understand it so, as if the goodness of His nature did not constrain Him thereto, but He had some design to serve ends and necessities of His own upon His creatures, this is far from Him. But it is very probable that neither of these is the meaning of this text, which may be rendered with much better sense, and nearer to the Hebrew, thus, God hath ordained everything to that which is fit for it, and the wicked hath He ordained for the day of evil; that is, the wisdom of God hath fitted one thing for another, punishment to sin, the evil day to the evil-doer.Tillotson.
God made things without life and reason to serve Him passively and subjectively, by administering occasion to man to admire and adore his Maker; but man was made to worship Him actively and affectionately, as sensible of, and affected with, that Divine wisdom, power, and goodness which appear in them. As all things are of Him as the efficient cause, so all things must necessarily be for Him as the final cause. But man is in an especial manner predestinated and elected for this purpose. Thou art mine; I have created him for my glory; I have formed him; yea, I have made him (Isa. 43:1-7).Swinnock.
God, in His revelations, hath told us nothing of the second causes which He hath established under Himself for the production of ordinary effects, that we not perplex ourselves about them, but always look up to Him as the first cause, as working without them, or by them, as He sees good. But he hath told us plainly of the final cause, or end of all things, that we may keep our eyes always fixed on that, and accordingly strive all we can to promote it.Beveridge.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
(4) The Lord hath made all things for himselfi.e., to serve His own purposes, that His wisdom, goodness, &c, may be thereby revealed. Or the passage may be translated, hath made all for its own end or purpose. The assertion that He has made the wicked for the day of evil, does not mean that He created any one for punishmenti.e., predestined him for destruction. It only teaches that even the wicked are subservient to Gods eternal purposes; that Pharaoh, for instance, by his rebellion could not change Gods plans for the deliverance of His people, but only gave Him an occasion for showing forth His power, justice, goodness, and longsuffering. The day of evil, i.e., punishment, at last overtook Pharaoh in accordance with the law and purpose of God that the wicked, if unrepentant, shall be punished, and thereby serve as a warning to others; but God by his longsuffering shewed that He was not willing that he should perish, but rather that he should come to repentance (2Pe. 3:9). This appears to be also the teaching of St. Paul in Rom. 9:17, sqq.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
4. Hath made all things for himself This text has been used in support of the Calvinistic theory of election and reprobation. Many modern Calvinists, however, abjure the old rendering and exegesis, and concur in the sense approved by non-Calvinists. So Stuart, Zockler, Conant, etc. The translation and note of the Speaker’s Commentary, which we can scarcely improve, is this: “ The Lord hath wrought every thing for its own end, that is, ‘ hath ordered all things well,’ and this includes the appointment of an ‘evil day’ for the wicked who deserve it. The Authorized Version, ‘for himself,’ is not justified by the Hebrew, and suggests an untrue view of the divine government.”
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
All Is In Accordance With YHWH’s Purposes, With The Consequence That The Proud Will Be Punished, Whilst Those Who Fear YHWH Will Depart From Evil And Find That Both YHWH And Their Enemies Are At Peace With Them ( Pro 16:4-7 ).
In s specific YHWH subsection, we learn that YHWH has made everything for a purpose, even the unrighteous for the time of calamity (Pro 16:4); that the proud in heart are an abomination to Him and will be punished (Pro 16:5); that the iniquity of those who turn to Him is atoned for through His compassion and faithfulness (Pro 16:6 a); that by the fear of YHWH men will depart from evil (Pro 16:6 b); and that YHWH will make even the enemies of the righteous man to be at peace with him (Pro 16:7).
The subsection is presented chiastically as follows:
A YHWH has made everything for its own end, yes, even the wicked for the day of evil (Pro 16:4).
B Every one who is proud in heart is an abomination to YHWH, though hand join in hand, he will not be unpunished (Pro 16:5).
B By covenant love and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for, and by the fear of YHWH men depart from evil (Pro 16:6).
A When a man’s ways please YHWH, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him (Pro 16:7)
Note that in A everything has been determined and brought about by YHWH with His determined purpose in view, including the disposition of the unrighteous, and in the parallel that includes the attitude of the enemy of the righteous to the truly righteous. In B the proud in heart are an abomination to YHWH, and will be punished, whilst in contrast in the parallel men depart from evil by the fear of YHWH, and will find atonement through His (or their) covenant love and faithfulness.
Pro 16:4
YHWH has made everything for its own end,
Yes, even the wicked for the day of evil.’
We are reminded in this bold statement that God has made everything for a purpose, for ‘its answer’. There are no loose ends or exceptions. All that is has God’s aims in view, and will at some time be brought into the reckoning. And this would especially so of what we ‘roll on YHWH’ of all that we do, which is why our purposes will be established (will come to accomplishment) (Pro 16:3). This is the kind of majestic statement that ties in Solomon’s vision of YHWH, when he says of Him, ‘even the heaven of heavens cannot contain you, how much less this house that I have built’ (1Ki 8:27). It is a description of the universality of YHWH’s sovereignty.
‘For its own end, for its appropriate end’ is literally ‘for its answer’ connecting up with Pro 16:1. In Pro 16:1 men devised their own schemes, but it was the answer of YHWH’s word (tongue) that decided issues. Here in the same way everything will be determined by YHWH’s ‘answer’, that is, by His word, as He brings all things into His reckoning, including the activities of both the righteous and the unrighteous.
Thus there is even a purpose for the unrighteous, who are also His creations, and that purpose is that they might face the evil day, the day of calamity (Pro 1:26-27; Pro 6:15). The indication would appear to be that in order for God’s purposes to be fulfilled the existence and punishment of the unrighteous was necessary.
Pro 16:5
‘Every one who is proud in heart is an abomination to YHWH,
Though hand join in hand, he will not be unpunished.’
And this included the ‘high of heart’ who are ‘an abomination to YHWH’. They see themselves as raised above others, as not having to take others into account, as superior beings. They are thus contrary to all that God, Who is a God of compassion Who lowers Himself in order to meet with man, is (see Gen 11:1-9). His very nature revolts against them. Nothing could bring out more the situation of YHWH as Moral Governor of the Universe, not on the basis of some objective standard, but on the basis of what He is.
And they too were ‘made — for the day of evil’ (Pro 16:4), the day when calamity comes on men. They ‘will not be unpunished’. This reference to the proud, the high of heart, is a repetition of the thought in Pro 6:16-19 where among those things which were an abomination to YHWH was ‘the proud (haughty) look’ (Pro 6:17), those who raised their heads or noses in order to express superiority. This indicates that God has no time for people who think themselves superior to others. As the writer will say elsewhere, ‘the rich and poor — YHWH is the Maker of them all’ (Pro 22:2).
And whatever attempts such people might make in order to avoid their inevitable fate, even if they come to agreements among themselves, or join hands against YHWH, they will not go unpunished. For they have been made for the day of evil (Pro 16:4). Others, however, see ‘hand to hand’ as an expression of the writer as meaning ‘let us be sure of this’.
Pro 16:6
‘By covenant love and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for,
And by the fear of YHWH men depart from evil.’
The root for ‘atoned for’ is cpr. Some see this as the equivalent of the Arabic kafara = to cover up/over’. Others as derived from the Akkadian kuppuru = ‘to clear, to expiate, to wipe of, to ritually purify’. Even others see it as connected with koper = ransom. But whichever we choose its significance in Scripture appears to be to deal with sin in such a way that YHWH can be approached. The one who is ‘atoned for’ is put in the right with YHWH.
The next question is as to whose covenant love and faithfulness is in mind. Is it YHWH’s or man’s? The parallel with ‘the fear of YHWH’, which is the response of righteous men to YHWH, might at first sight suggest that ‘covenant love and faithfulness’ is the response of the righteous to God’s merciful covenant (compare Pro 3:3), just as the fear of YHWH is man’s response to the awesome otherness (that quality which makes Him wholly different and fills men with awe) of YHWH. The thought is then that they respond with covenant love and faithfulness to the requirements of His covenant, and therefore, through His mercy and compassion as revealed in that covenant, find atonement from iniquity. In other words, just as the sacrifice of the unrighteous is an abomination to YHWH (Pro 15:8), so the sacrifice of the righteous, those who respond to Him in love and faithfulness, makes atonement.
On the other hand we could equally argue from the parallel (and from the whole YHWH context), that we should paraphrase it as;
‘By the covenant love and faithfulness of YHWH iniquity is atoned for,
But by the fear of YHWH men depart from evil.’
This would then indicate that both YHWH’s covenant love and faithfulness, and YHWH’s awesomeness, have an effect on men, the first to make atonement for them, the second to make them depart from evil.
And this suggestion is supported by the general impression that the whole context could be seen as suggesting that it is rather YHWH’s covenant love and faithfulness which is in mind, for it is YHWH and His activity which is central in the subsection. It is He Who has made everything for its purpose (Pro 16:4). It is to Him that everyone who is proud is an abomination (Pro 16:5). It is He Who makes the righteous man’s enemies to be at peace with Him (Pro 16:7). Thus we would be justified in arguing that it is He Whose covenant love and faithfulness makes atonement for iniquity. Then the idea would be that it is His mercy and faithfulness, revealed through the covenant and the sacrificial system, that is the means by which iniquity is atoned for, by which He is made at peace with them.
Indeed with this in mind Pro 16:7-8 might be seen as a minor chiasmus:
A ‘By covenant love and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for,
B And by the fear of YHWH men depart from evil.
B When a man’s ways please YHWH,
A He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.’
This might then be seen as confirming that through His covenant love and faithfulness (as revealed through the covenant which provides a way of atonement) He makes Himself at peace with those who respond to Him, just as in the parallel He makes even their enemies to be at peace with them. As a consequence peace is seen to come to them from both Himself and from men. Departing from evil by the fear of YHWH then parallels a man’s ways being pleasing to YHWH.
But what we must not lose sight of in the end is the importance of both the covenant love and faithfulness of God, through which atonement is offered, and of the responsive covenant love and faithfulness of men, through which it is accepted.
Pro 16:7
‘When a man’s ways please YHWH,
He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.’
The central thought behind these words is that we should not allow outward circumstances to affect our loyalty to YHWH, that if we walk faithfully with Him we can look to Him to guard our ways. In other words, that pleasing YHWH should come before pleasing men. And as a consequence God’s promise is that if we do this, He Himself will ensure that our enemies are made to be at peace with us. For as we saw in Pro 3:17, the ways of wisdom were pleasantness and peace, and we can see that as partially fulfilled here. When a man’s ways please YHWH (when he walks in God’s wisdom) YHWH makes even his enemies to be at peace with him. He lives in tranquillity and peace because YHWH watches over his ways, and also, of course because he behaves wisely towards his enemies (Pro 15:1; Pro 15:18; Pro 15:28).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
v. 4. The Lord hath made all things for Himself,
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Pro 16:4. The Lord hath made all things for himself, &c. The Lord ordereth all things so as to suit his own will; yea, even the wicked for the day of vengeance. Patrick. The Lord hath made all things according to their correspondency; yea, even the wicked are fitted for, or correspond to, the day of evil. Le Cene, p. 165. The meaning, according to Schultens, is, that God hath so formed and fashioned this universe, that every thing in it has its due connection and correspondence: evil is as naturally connected with punishment, as holiness and virtue with happiness and reward.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Pro 16:4 The LORD hath made all [things] for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.
Ver. 4. The Lord hath made all things for himself. ] That is, for his own glory, which he seeks in all his works. And well he may; for, first, He hath none higher than himself to whom to have respect; and, secondly, He is not in danger (as we should be in like case) of being puffed up or desirous of vain glory. Or thus, “He hath made all things for himself,” that is, for the demonstration of his goodness, a according to that of Augustine, b Quia bonus est Deus sumus; et in quantum sumus, boni sumus. We owe both our being and wellbeing, and the glory of all to God alone. Rom 11:36
The wicked also for the day of evil,
a Plato finem huius mundi bonitatem Dei esse affirmavit.
b De Doctr. Christiana.
c Bernard.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Himself. Same word as “answer” (Pro 16:1) = His decree, or His own end. See note on Pro 16:1.
the wicked =. a lawless one. Hebrew. rasha’. App-44.
evil. Hebrew. raa’. App-44.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Pro 16:4
Pro 16:4
“Jehovah hath made every thing for its own end; Yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.”
Yes indeed, God needs even the wicked. A woman once asked Adam Clarke, “Why does not God just kill all the wicked people and allow us righteous to build a heaven right here on earth”? Clarke replied, “Lady, if God were to be so foolish as to do that, there would not be enough righteous people left to keep the lions and tigers from eating up the human race”!
Pro 16:4. Jehovah had something definite in mind for everything He created, and if men do not fulfill His loving will, He will use them in another sense as recipients of His just wrath because of their sins. God was as glorified in His overthrow of Pharaoh as He was in His deliverance of Israel (Exo 9:16). God is as glorified in the vessels of wrath as He is in the vessels of mercy (Rom 9:22-23), only in a different way. Yes, He would much rather be glorified by showing mercy, but if man will not so glorify God, He will be glorified in His just wrath.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Lord: Isa 43:7, Isa 43:21, Rom 11:36, Rev 4:11
yea: Job 21:30, Rom 9:22, 1Pe 2:8, 2Pe 2:3, 2Pe 2:9
Reciprocal: Gen 1:1 – beginning Gen 6:7 – I will Exo 9:16 – deed 1Sa 28:17 – to him Isa 54:16 – I have Jer 10:16 – former Rom 9:17 – that Rom 9:21 – the potter 1Co 11:12 – but Eph 1:6 – praise Col 1:16 – by 1Th 5:9 – not Heb 2:10 – for
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Pro 16:4. The Lord hath made all things And especially all men; for himself For his own service and glory; for the discovery and illustration of his own wisdom, power, goodness, truth, justice, and his other most glorious perfections. The Hebrew, , is, literally, The Lord hath wrought, or doth work, all things; or, he ordereth, or disposeth of them; and so this may be understood of the works of providence, as well as of those of creation; yea, even the wicked Wilful, impenitent sinners; for the day of evil For the time of punishment, as this phrase is used Psa 49:5; Jer 17:18, and elsewhere: of which the Scriptures frequently speak, both to warn sinners of their danger, and to satisfy the minds of them who are disquieted with the consideration of the present impunity and prosperity of wicked men. Men make themselves wicked, and God therefore makes them miserable.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
16:4 The LORD hath made all [things] for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of {c} evil.
(c) So that the justice of God will appear to his glory, even in the destruction of the wicked.