Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Proverbs 22:1
A [good] name [is] rather to be chosen than great riches, [and] loving favor rather than silver and gold.
1. A good name ] Heb. a name, as in Ecc 7:1. Comp. Sir 41:12 :
“Have regard to thy name;
For it continueth with thee longer than a thousand great treasures of gold.”
loving favour rather than ] Or, favour is better than, A.V. and R.V. marg.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Omit good. The word is an insertion. To the Hebrew, name by itself conveyed the idea of good repute, just as men without a name (compare Job 30:8 margin) are those sunk in ignominy. The margin gives a preferable rendering of the second clause of this verse.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Pro 22:1
A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches.
On good character, or general esteem of mankind
While our Maker has left us greatly in the dark about unimportant and disputable matters, He has given plain directions concerning the performance of our duty. There is nothing more closely connected with virtue and happiness than reputation. Throughout the Word of God we are excited by examples, as well as by precepts, to aim diligently at obtaining a good report.
I. The wrongness of having too little concern about our reputation. There are those who affect indifference to what a silly or malicious world may think or say of them. They say that avoiding censure is impossible. It is true that sometimes innocent and prudent persons may fall under very cruel imputations; but they rarely continue under them. Professing to despise the ill opinion of mankind creates a shrewd suspicion that we have deserved it. Innocent persons must distinguish themselves by a constant, though unaffected, attention to their reputation. A good name is what a bad person cannot secure. And therefore you who can should on no account fail of doing it. The judgment of others concerning us deserves respect. Preservation of mutual esteem makes persons amiable to each other. Persons who care not what they are thought are in a very likely way not to care what they do. Contempt of reputation is contrary to our worldly interests. An eminently fair character prepossesses everybody in favour of him who bears it, engages friendly treatment, begets trust and confidence, gives credit and weight. Such persons are always sought after and employed. The feeling of being esteemed is one of the joyfullest feelings in the heart of man. Another consideration is, that though offenders often return completely to their duty, it is but seldom and imperfectly that they ever regain their characters when once forfeited.
II. The wrongness of showing an over-regard to our reputation. Many think a fair appearance is all they want. Many think that if they are guilty of nothing which the world thinks enormous, they are quite as good as they need be. A worse case of immoderate regard to our reputation is when, to raise or preserve it, we transgress our duty. The esteem of the worthless is very ill-purchased at the price of becoming like them. The most fatal consequences daily proceed from persons being led by the folly of others rather than their own good sense and that of their discreeter and more experienced friends. Frequently prejudices of education, worldly interest, vehemence of temper, hurry men into wrong-doing. Often the sole inducement is, that if they should stop short their friends would look coldly upon them, and think meanly of them, and they cannot bear the reproach of not having been true to their side or party. In preferring the good opinion of others to their own conscience, persons who have been guilty of some folly or sin will be guilty of almost anything to cover it rather than expose themselves. Another bad way of aiming at reputation is, when we demolish that of others to raise our own, and build it on the ruins. They who are known to give such treatment generally meet, as they well deserve, with a double share of it. Candour towards all of whom we speak is the true art of obtaining it towards ourselves. Besides those who are led into any of these sins by an undue fondness for reputation, they also are blamable who allow it to give them too much uneasiness. A good name may be the subject of too much anxiety. Undue solicitude for fame is sure to bring us distress. It is injustice to demand of the world more regard than we have a right to. Persons who claim too much are frequently driven to unfair and even criminal methods of getting their claim allowed. There is not upon earth a more ensnaring temptation than that of too fond a self-complacency. (Abp. Secker.)
The elements of the great and good are not
1. Great wealth, nor–
2. Splendid genius, nor–
3. Self-advertisement.
I. Modesty is an element.
II. Tenacity of purpose.
III. Mighty reserve power.
IV. Morality and religion. (Homiletic Review.)
A good name should be guarded
Be wondrous wary of your first comportments; get a good name, and be very tender of it afterwards, for it is like the Venice-glass, quickly cracked, never to be mended, though patched it may be. To this purpose, take along with you this fable. It happened that Fire, Water, and Fame went to travel together; they consulted, that if they lost one another, how they might be retrieved, and meet again. Fire said, Where you see smoke there you shall find me. Water said, Where you see marsh and moorish, low ground there you shall find me. But Fame said, Take heed how you lose me; for, if you do, you will run a great hazard never to meet me again: theres no retrieving of me. (Howells Familiar Letters, 1634.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
CHAPTER XXII
A good reputation. The rich and the poor. The idle. Good habits
formed in infancy. Injustice and its effects. The providence of
God. The lewd woman. The necessity of timely correction.
Exhortation to wisdom. Rob not the poor. Be not the companion
of the froward. Avoid suretyship. Be honest. The industrious
shall be favoured.
NOTES ON CHAP. XXII
Verse 1. A good name] shem, a name, put for reputation, credit, fame. Used nearly in the same way that we use it: “He has got a name;” “his name stands high;” for “He is a man of credit and reputation.” toba, , [Arabic] hamood, and bonum, are added by the Chaldee, Septuagint, Arabic, and Vulgate, all signifying good or excellent.
Is rather to be chosen than great riches] Because character will support a man in many circumstances; and there are many rich men that have no name: but the word of the man of character will go farther than all their riches.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
A good name, Heb. name put for good name, as Ecc 7:1, the word good being easily understood out of the next clause, in which it is expressed in the Hebrew text. A good reputation amongst wise and good men.
Is rather to be chosen than great riches; partly, because it is a most special blessing from God, being appropriated to worthy persons, whereas God commonly throws away riches upon the basest of men; partly, because it gives a man that tranquillity and satisfaction of mind, and that content and comfort in his condition, which no riches can purchase; and partly, because as it is commonly an evidence of a mans virtue and piety, so it is accompanied with Gods love and favour, whereas riches are oft given by God in wrath, and to the hurt of the owner.
Loving favour; or, good grace or favour; a good report among men, especially among good men, and that hearty love and kindness which attends upon it.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
1. A good name (Job30:8, Hebrew); “good” is supplied here from Ec7:1.
loving favourkindregard, that is, of the wise and good.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
A [good] name [is] rather to be chosen than great riches,…. The word “good” is not in the text, but is rightly supplied, as it is by the Targum, Septuagint, and Vulgate Latin versions; for it is not any name that is more eligible than riches; nor is it a need name among any sort of persons; for to have a good name with some turns to a man’s reproach rather than to his credit; but a good name among good men, a name in the house of God, which is better than sons and daughters; a new name, the name of the children of God, which no man knoweth but he that receiveth it; this is to be preferred to a multitude of riches: it is not to be procured by them, and is where they are not, or are lost, but this continues; see Ec 7:1;
[and] loving favour rather them silver and gold; favour with God and man, especially with God, whose loving kindness is better than life, and all the enjoyments of it: or, as it may be rendered, “grace [is] better than silver and gold” p; the grace of God through Christ, the grace of Christ, in whom all fulness of it dwells, the grace of the Spirit of Christ; faith is more precious than gold that perisheth; and if a man would give all the substance of his house for love it would be contemned; the Spirit and his grace are not to be purchased for money.
p “gratia melior”, Munster, Tigurine version, Junius Tremellius, Michaelis so Schultens.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Pro 21:1 1 A good name has the preference above great riches;
For more than silver and gold is grace.
The proverb is constructed chiastically; the commencing word (cf. Pro 21:3), and the concluding word , are the parallel predicates; rightly, none of the old translators have been misled to take together , after the analogy of , Pro 3:14; Pro 13:15. also does not need for nearer determination; the more modern idiom uses ,
(Note: e.g., Aboth iv. 17: there are three crowns: the crown of the Tra, the crown of the priesthood, and the crown of royalty; but , the crown of a good name, excels them all.)
the more ancient uses alone ( e.g., Ecc 7:1), in the sense of (thus here lxx); for being well known (renowned) is equivalent to a name, and the contrary to being nameless (Job 30:8); to make oneself a name, is equivalent to build a monument in honour of oneself; possibly the derivation of the word from , to be high, prominent, known, may have contributed to this meaning of the word sensu eximio , for has the same root word as . Luther translates by Das Gercht [rumour, fame], in the same pregnant sense; even to the present day, renom, recomme, riputazione, and the like, are thus used. The parallel signifies grace and favour (being beloved); grace, which brings favour (Pro 11:16); and favour, which is the consequence of a graceful appearance, courtesy, and demeanour ( e.g., Est 2:15).
Pro 22:2 2 The rich and the poor meet together;
The creator of them all is Jahve.
From this, that God made them all, i.e., rich and poor in the totality of their individuals, it follows that the meeting together is His will and His ordinance; they shall in life push one against another, and for what other purpose than that this relationship of mutual intercourse should be a school of virtue: the poor shall not envy the rich (Pro 3:31), and the rich shall not despise the poor, who has the same God and Father as himself (Pro 14:31; Pro 17:5; Pro 31:15); they shall remain conscious of this, that the intermingling of the diversities of station is for this end, that the lowly should serve the exalted, and the exalted should serve the lowly. Pro 29:13 is a variation; there also for both, but particularly for the rich, lies in the proverb a solemn warning.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
1 A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold.
Here are two things which are more valuable and which we should covet more than great riches:– 1. To be well spoken of: A name (that is, a good name, a name for good things with God and good people) is rather to be chosen than great riches; that is, we should be more careful to do that by which we may get and keep a good name than that by which we may raise and increase a great estate. Great riches bring great cares with them, expose men to danger, and add no real value to a man. A fool and a knave may have great riches, but a good name makes a man easy and safe, supposes a man wise and honest, redounds to the glory of God, and gives a man a greater opportunity of doing good. By great riches we may relieve the bodily wants of others, but by a good name we may recommend religion to them. 2. To be well beloved, to have an interest in the esteem and affections of all about us; this is better than silver and gold. Christ has neither silver nor gold, but he grew in favour with God and man, Luke ii. 52. This should teach us to look with a holy contempt upon the wealth of this world, not to set our hearts upon that, but with all possible care to think of those things that are lovely and of good report, Phil. iv. 8.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
DESERVED GOOD REPUTATION
(Proverbs 22)
Deserved Good Reputation
Verse 1 suggests that to be loved and esteemed because of manifested faith and upright conduct is better than possession of great riches, Pro 10:7; Psa 112:5-6; Ecc 7:1; Rom 1:8; Heb 11:1-2; 3Jn 1:12.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
CRITICAL NOTES.
Pro. 22:1. A good name. Literally a name. Loving favour, or grace, goodwill.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF Pro. 22:1
BETTER THAN GOLD
The second clause of the proverb explains the meaning of the name in the first clauseit is evidently a good reputation that is gained by uprightness and unselfiishnessthat loving esteem of others which is the fruit of looking not only upon our own things, but also upon the things of others (Php. 2:4). Such a name is better than wealth.
I. Because the one may come by inheritance, and the other must be the result of, personal character. The man who is born to wealth deserves no credit for being richhe may be destitute of all personal excellencehe may, indeed, be a morally bad man, and may neither possess nor deserve the goodwill of his fellow creatures. But if a man does possess the confidence and love of others it is because there is that belonging to him that wins men to trust in him and to love himif he has a good name and deserves it he is in some respects a good man.
II. Wealth is often a transitory possession, but loving favour often outlives the present life. Many mere temporal gifts belong more truly to a man than his richeshis good looks or his handsome figure may long outlive his wealth, for they are more truly his. The uncertainty of riches is the subject of many a proverb, and therefore any possession which is more certain to last is better than they. A good namethe well-deserved reputation which is the result of loving our neighbour as ourselfis quite independent of the changes and chances of mortal lifeit goes with a man to his grave, and embalms his memory long after he has passed away.
III. A good name belongs to a higher region of life than wealth. Even when wealth has been honestly earned, and is the reward of moral excellence, and even if its possession could be assured to its owner, a good name is a more precious gift. Much skill and industry are required to build up a fortune, but skill and industry are not qualities of so high an order as those which are needed to acquire the loving favour of our fellow-creatures. He who possesses the latter must be a more excellent man than the merely honest and skilful seeker after riches, and the possession is itself of a far more precious nature. The gold and the silver are of the earth, earthy, but love and trustful confidence are good things which belong to the soul, and which are in consequence far more truly satisfying to mans higher nature. When one man possesses both these good things he is able to compare their power to bless, and none who has experimental knowledge of the worth of both would sacrifice his good name to retain his riches. They may bring him much outward deference, but he knows full well that this would cease if he became a poor manthat there are many who love not the man but only his money. But if he is so blest as to have won mens hearts he is fully assured that adversity will not deprive him of this good gift. To possess a good name is to be rich with the riches which constitute the most precious wealth of God. He is rich in material riches, for all the beasts of the forest are his and the cattle upon a thousand hills, yea, the world and the fulness thereof (Psa. 50:10; Psa. 50:12). But this wealth is inferior to the mental power which produced it. God is great in intellectual wealth. With whom took He counsel, and who instructed Him and taught Him in the path of judgment, and taught Him knowledge, and showed to Him the way of understanding? (Isa. 40:14). But His real wealth is His namethat name which He proclaimed to MosesThe Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering and abundant in goodness and truth (Exo. 34:5-6), which makes Him the object of the reverential love of all the good in the universe. And so is it with His creaturesin proportion as they have those spiritual characteristics which are possessed in perfection only by God Himself, their reputation for mercy, and goodness, and truth becomes their most precious and prized possession.
OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS
We are not good judges of value in the public markets of life. We make grievous mistakes, both in choosing and refusing. We often throw away the pearl and carefully keep the shell. Besides the great disparity in value between the things of heaven and earth, some even of these earthly things are of greater worth than others. The valuables in both ends of the balance belong to time, and yet there is room for choice between them. There is the greater and the less where neither is the greatest. A trader at his counter has a certain set of weights which he uses everyday and all day, and for all sorts of commodities. Whatever may be in the one scale, the same invariable leaden weight is always in the other. This lump of metal is his standard, and all things are tried by it. Riches practically serve nearly the same purpose in the markets of human life. This is a mistake. Many things are better than gold, and one of these is a good name. A good conscience indeed is better than both, and must be kept at all hazards; but in cases where matters from a higher region do not come into competition, reputation should rank higher than riches in the practical estimation of men. The shadows are not the picture, but the picture is a naked ungainly thing without them. Thus the atmosphere of a good name imparts to real worth additional body and breadth. As a substitute for a good conscience a good name is a secret torment at the time, and in the end a cheat, but as a graceful outer garment with which a good conscience is clothed it should be highly valued and carefully preserved by the children of the kingdom.Arnot.
One is more valuable than the other as a means of usefulness. Riches, in themselves, can only enable a man to promote the temporal comfort and wellbeing of those around him. But character gives him weight of influence in matters of higher moment,in all descriptions of salutary advice and direction,in kindly instruction and consolation,in counsel for eternity. It not only fits its possessor for such employments, but it imparts energy and effect to whatever he says and does. His character carries a recommendation with it,gives authority and force to every lesson and every admonition; and affords, by the confidence it inspires, many opportunities and means of doing good, which, without it, could not be enjoyed. Riches, again, bring with them many temptations to sinful and worldly indulgences, such as are injurious to the possessor himself and to his familyboth temporally and spiritually. Character, on the contrary, acts as a salutary restraint,keeping a man back from many improprieties and follies, and even outward sins, by which it would be impaired and forfeited. And this restraint is felt, and properly felt, not for his own sake merely, but for the sake of all those objects with which his name stands associated; and especially from a regard to usefulness in connection with the truth, and cause, and church of Christ.Wardlaw.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
CHAPTER 22
TEXT Pro. 22:1-10
1.
A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches,
And loving favor rather than silver and gold,
2.
The rich and poor meet together:
Jehovah is the maker of them all,
3.
A prudent man seeth the evil, and hideth himself;
But the simple pass on, and suffer for it.
4.
The reward of humility and the fear of Jeohavh
Is riches, and honor, and life.
5.
Thorns and stars are in the way of the perverse:
He that keepeth his soul shall be far from them.
6.
Train up a child in the way he should go,
And even when he is old he will not depart from it.
7.
The rich ruleth over the poor;
And the borrower is servant to the lender.
8.
He that soweth iniquity shall reap calamity;
And the rod of his wrath shall fail.
9.
He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed;
For he giveth of his bread to the poor.
10. Cast out the scoffer, and contention will go out;
Yea, strife and ignominy will cease.
STUDY QUESTIONS OVER 22:1-10
1.
Restate Pro. 22:1 in your own words.
2.
What is the purpose of the statement in Pro. 22:2?
3.
What does evil mean in Pro. 22:3?
4.
What Bible characters were rewarded in keeping with Pro. 22:4 :
5.
What do thorns and snares stand for in Pro. 22:5?
6.
What does another proverb say about a child left to help himself to grow up his own way instead of training him (Pro. 22:6)?
7.
If a child does not turn out right, should we question Gods promise in Pro. 22:26 or the parents rearing?
8.
Is Pro. 22:7 stating the way it is or the way it should be?
9.
What is the game no one can win (Pro. 22:8)?
10.
Why does Pro. 22:9 speak of ones eye being bountiful?
11.
In Solomons day, cast him out of what (Pro. 22:10)?
PARAPHRASE OF 22:1-10
1.
If you must choose, take a good name rather than great riches; for to be held in loving esteem is better than silver and gold.
2.
The rich and the poor are alike before the Lord who made them all.
3.
A prudent man foresees the difficulties ahead and prepares for them; the simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences.
4.
True humility and respect for the Lord lead a man to riches, honor and long life.
5.
The rebel walks a thorny, treacherous road; the man who values his soul will stay away.
6.
Teach a child to choose the right path, and when he is older he will remain upon it.
7.
Just as the rich rules the poor, so the borrower is servant to the lender.
8.
The unjust tyrant will reap disaster and his reign of terror shall end.
9.
Happy is the generous man, the one who feeds the poor.
10.
Throw out the mocker, and you will be rid of tension, fighting and quarrels.
COMMENTS ON 22:1-10
Pro. 22:1. Ecc. 7:1 is similar, saying a good name is better than precious oil. Those who get rich through dishonest means choose riches rather than a good reputation. If it comes down to a choice, always choose a good name (loving favor) to great riches (Silver and gold). Great possessions with no friends can be so cold and empty! There are many suicides among the rich too. An average living with many friends and the favor of God proves to be the happiest, most satisfying way to live.
Pro. 22:2. Pro. 29:13 speaks similarly concerning the two classes. Does God make them rich and poor, or is He the maker of them regardless of whether they are rich or poor? Probably the latter. In society they both help each other. Pulpit Commentary aptly remarks: The labor of the poor makes the wealth of the rich; the wealth of the rich enables him to employ and aid the poor…The rich should not despise the poor (Pro. 14:31; Pro. 17:5) Job. 31:15); the poor should not envy the rich (Pro. 3:31).
Pro. 22:3. This very saying is repeated in Pro. 27:12. An old saying: Fools rush in where angels fear to tread. A discerning person can often foresee danger ahead, and his wisdom causes him to avoid it; but the simple, undiscerning person comes along, never realizing what is just ahead, and suffers the consequences. In the original, prudent man is singular while the simple is plural. Hitzig observes as a result: Many simple ones are found for one prudent. And when something new (some fad) comes along that had dangerous involvements connected with it, many take up with it anyway, and you wonder if Hitzig isnt correct in his observation! A Cornish proverb: He who will not be ruled by the rudder must be ruled by the rock.
Pro. 22:4. humility and the fear of Jehovah are here equated, for those who truly fear Jehovah are humble, submissive, and obedient to Him. The reward of such is threefold: riches, honor and long life. Here is the way that one can have both possessions and good reputation with life thrown in as a bonus. Abraham is a good example of all three. God rewards those who thus fear Him and do His will from humble hearts.
Pro. 22:5. What a contrast with Pro. 22:4! While the righteous reap riches, honor and life (Pro. 22:4), Thorns and snares await the perverse. Pro. 15:19 combines both groups: The way of the sluggard is as a hedge of thorns; But the path of the upright is made a highway. The wicked are perverse (perverted from what God has intended them to be). The godly are those who keep their souls; they shall avoid the thorns and snares that come upon the ungodly. Another reason (a sensible one) for being godly rather than ungodly.
Pro. 22:6. A commandment with a promise. The commandment: train up a child in the way he should go; the promise: even when he is old he will not depart from it. Such training requires many things: knowledge, wisdom, time, patience, determination and love. There are many failures in child-rearing because of lacking one or several of the above requirements. Child-training is something that is easy to neglect or try shortcuts with, but what a shame when the future of ones entire posterity is at stake! What is really more important? Eph. 6:4 commands this type of training. Timothy had been taught the Scriptures from a child (2Ti. 3:15); as a result the great faith that had dwelt in his mother and grandmother was in him also (2Ti. 1:5). No wonder that as a young man he was well reported of by his home congregation (Lystra) and by other Christians in the area (Act. 16:1-2). Other passages on child rearing: Pro. 1:8; Pro. 13:1; Pro. 19:18; Pro. 22:15; Pro. 23:13-14; Pro. 29:15; Pro. 29:17.
Pro. 22:7. This is the way it is in life: the rich who have made financial successes are the ones who rule in governmental circles; they have power, influence and reputation that necessarily puts them at the helm. It is likely in this verse that the second statement is explanatory of the first; that is, the borrower (the poor) is servant to the lender (the rich). The borrower is limited in the amount he can borrow by the wishes of the lender; he must pay the interest-rate asked by the lender, or there will be no borrowing; he must pay it back in the time-limit set by the lender; and if he doesnt pay it back, the lender will do all he can to collect the equivalent (or more) from the borrower.
Pro. 22:8. It is a divine principle (law) that whatever a person sows in life, that he will reap in consequences (Gal. 6:7). If one sows good seeds, he will reap good (Gal. 6:8; Pro. 11:18); if he sows bad seeds, he will reap trouble (Gal. 6:8; Job. 4:8; Hos. 10:13). The acts of sin may be pleasurable (Heb. 11:25), but the consequences are not (Pro. 5:8-13). Oftentimes one finds that the rod of wrath he planned for another falls upon himself instead.
Pro. 22:9. One with a bountiful eye is one who sees needs, who sees what he can do to alleviate the persons involved, and who generously gives of what he has. Gods promise to such a liberal giver: he shall be blessed. Similar promises: Pro. 11:25; Luk. 6:38; Luk. 14:12-14; Pro. 19:17; 2Co. 9:6.
Pro. 22:10. Sometimes a circle of people is better off with one less person if that person be a scoffer, for one such person can keep a whole group in a continual state of contention, strife and ignominy (reproach). How terrible to be that warped a person!
TEST QUESTIONS OVER 22:1-10
1.
One should choose a good …… over riches (Pro. 22:1)?
2.
What are we to learn from Pro. 22:2?
3.
What point was made that in the Hebrew prudent man is singular while simple is plural (Pro. 22:3)?
4.
What is the three-fold reward of humbly fearing God (Pro. 22:4)?
5.
What two things are promised in Pro. 22:5 to the perverse?
6.
What is the command in Pro. 22:6? What is the promise?
7.
How do the rich rule over the poor (Pro. 22:7)?
8.
Comment upon the harvest of sin (Pro. 22:8).
9.
Enlarge upon the person with a bountiful eye (Pro. 22:9).
10.
When is a group of people better off with one less person in it (Pro. 22:10)?
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
XXII.
(1) Loving favour.Or, favour is better than silver and gold. Favour may signify the grace which wins love, as well as the favour gained thereby.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
1. A good name Hebrew, a name which includes the idea of good, honourable; as when we say a man has made himself a name, a reputation, which, when properly viewed, is more desirable than all riches. The approbation and goodwill of a good man is preferable to silver and gold. To a young man settling out in life a good name, worthily obtained, is better than a fortune. Compare Ecc 7:1; 2Sa 8:13; also Pro 23:18-22.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The Proverbs Of Solomon ( Pro 10:1 to Pro 22:16 ).
The proverbs in this section are now introduced by the brief subheading ‘The Proverbs Of Solomon’. Contrast ‘The sayings of Solomon, the Son of David, the King of Israel’ in Pro 1:1. The details given there do not need to be repeated because this is a subheadng, not a main heading. This is in line with comparable wisdom literature going back far beyond the time of Solomon
What follows in Pro 10:1 onwards is somewhat deceptive. Without careful study it can appear to contain simply a string of proverbs with no direct connection to each other. But closer examination soon reveals otherwise. Solomon has rather taken his vast knowledge of wisdom literature, and put together a series of sayings which gel together and give consecutive teaching.
Various attempts have been made to divide up this material, but none of them have been fully successful as the basis of construction and the dividing lines are not always clear. They tend to be somewhat subjective. But that some thought has gone into the presentation of the material is apparent by the way in which topics and ideas are grouped together. Consider for example Pro 10:2-5 which are based on the idea of riches and men’s cravings, whilst Pro 10:18-21 are all based on the lips or the tongue. On the whole, however, the basis of the presentation overall is tentative, for up until Pro 22:17 we do not have any clear introductory words which can help us to divide the text up.
What is certain is that we are not simply to see this as just a number of proverbs jumbled together with no connection whatsoever. And in our view Solomon made this clear by using the well known method (previously used by Moses in Exodus, Numbers and Deuteronomy) of dividing up the text by means of chiasms as we have illustrated. Ancient Hebrew was written in one continuing steam of letters with no gaps to distinguish words, and no punctuation. This was not quite as confusing as it sounds for words and word endings followed definite patterns which were mainly distinguishable. But the only way of dividing it up into paragraphs was either by the way of material content, or by the use of chiasms (presenting the material in an A B C D D C B A pattern). In our view this latter method was used by Solomon in this section as we hope we have demonstrated..
The proverbs which follow are designed to give a wide coverage of wisdom and instruction, and as we study them we will receive guidance in different spheres. For this is the wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and instruction that Solomon has been speaking of in the Prologue. It is a revelation of ‘the fear of YHWH and the knowledge of God’ (Pro 2:5).
It will be noted at once that Solomon immediately expects us to be able to differentiate ‘the righteous’ from the ‘unrighteous’ (or ‘wicked’), and the wise from the ‘foolish’. This confirms that the righteous and the wise are in his eyes identifiable, and in Israel that would be because they walked in accordance with the covenant, the ‘Law of Moses’, as well as in the ways of wisdom. Thus wisdom does not exclude the Law, nor does it supersede it. It embraces it, although mainly from a non-ritualistic standpoint (consider, however, Pro 3:9-10; Pro 7:14; Pro 15:8; Pro 17:1; Pro 21:3; Pro 21:27). For it sees it from a less legalistic attitude, and encourages a broad view of life.
We must, however, recognise that ‘wicked’ does not mean ‘totally evil’ and that ‘foolish’ does not mean ‘stupid’. The wicked are those who come short of righteousness (the term regularly contrasts with the righteous). Basically they live disregarding God’s requirements in some aspect of their lives. They may appear solid citizens, but in parts of their lives they pay no heed to God. This might come out in false business practises, or in deceit, or in lack of love for others, or in selfishness, as being part of their way of life. That is why we often speak of ‘the unrighteous’ rather than of ‘the wicked’.
In the same way the ‘foolish’ are called foolish because they set aside God’s ways in the way in which they live their lives. They may be astute, clever and full of common sense, but they are ‘foolish’ because they disregard YHWH. (‘The fool has said in his heart, “there is no God” (Psa 14:1) even though he might give an outward impression of being religious).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
A Collection Of Solomon’s Proverbs ( Pro 10:1 to Pro 29:27 ).
Solomon’s presentation of The Book of Proverbs has followed the pattern of much Wisdom literature. This commenced with the initial heading detailing the details of the author and his purpose in writing (Pro 1:1-7), continued with a Prologue which laid the foundation for what was to follow (Pro 1:8 to Pro 9:18), and was then followed by the body of the work introduced by one or more subheadings. In Solomon’s case this main body comprises Pro 10:1 to Pro 29:27. It is usually divided up into four parts:
1) Proverbs of Solomon (Pro 10:1 to Pro 22:16), introduced by a subheading ‘The Proverbs Of Solomon’. This may possibly be divided into two sections, Pro 10:1 to Pro 15:21, and Pro 15:22 to Pro 22:16.
2) Words of the Wise (Pro 22:17 to Pro 24:22), introduced by an exhortation to hear the words of the wise. This is in a form comparable with exhortations in the Prologue, but there is no subheading in the text as we have it. It may rather therefore be seen as a third section of The Proverbs of Solomon, but with unusual characteristics.
3) Further Sayings of the Wise (Pro 24:23-34), introduced by the subheading, ‘these also are of the wise’.
4) Proverbs of Solomon copied out by the ‘Men of Hezekiah, King of Judah’ (Pro 25:1 to Pro 29:27), introduced by a specific heading.
The inclusion of the words of the wise within two sets of proverbs of Solomon, the first time without a subheading, suggests that we are to see the words of the wise and the sayings of the wise as also from Solomon, but based in each case more specifically on collections of Wisdom sayings known to him, which he himself, or his Scribes, had taken and altered up in order to conform them to his requirements thus making them finally his work. That does not necessarily mean that his proverbs in section 1 (Pro 10:1 to Pro 22:16) were not based on other material. He would have obtained his material from many sources. But once again we are to see them as presented after alteration by his hand.
We should note, for example, the continual references to YHWH that occur throughout the text. Whatever material Solomon may have appropriated, he refashioned it in order to make it the wisdom of the God of Israel, of YHWH their covenant God. This approach of taking what was written by others and refashioning it, while at the same time introducing further ideas of his own, may be seen as following the pattern of modern scholars, each of whom takes the works of others, and then reinterprets them in his own words, whilst adding to them on the basis of his own thinking. The final product is then seen as their own thinking, aided by others. The only difference is that Solomon would have been far more willing to copy down word for word what others had said and written without giving acknowledgement.
Having said that we must not assume that Solomon simply copied them down unthinkingly. As the Prologue has made clear, he did not see himself as presenting some general form of Wisdom teaching. He saw what he wrote down as given by YHWH, and as being in the words of YHWH (Pro 2:6). And he saw it as based on YHWH’s eternal wisdom, His wisdom which had also been involved in the creation of heaven and earth (Pro 3:19-20; Pro 8:22-31). Thus he wants us to recognise that what now follows is not a series of general wisdom statements, but is a miscellany revealing the wisdom of YHWH, the wisdom that leads men into the paths of life.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Proverbs Of Solomon Part 2 ( Pro 15:22 to Pro 22:16 ).
At this point there is a sudden switch from proverbs which contrast one thing with another, which have been predominant since Pro 10:1, to proverbs where the second clause adds something to the first. Whilst we still find some contrasting proverbs, especially at the beginning, they are not so common. This may suggest a deliberate intention by Solomon to separate his proverbs into two parts.
Furthermore such a change at this point would also be in line with seeing verse Pro 10:1 and Pro 15:20 as some kind of inclusio. The first opened the collection with ‘a wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish son is a grief to his mother’ (Pro 10:1), whilst Pro 15:20 may be seen as closing it with the very similar ‘a wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish man despises his mother’. Pro 15:21 may then be seen as conjoined with Pro 15:20 and as a kind of postscript summing up the fool and the wise who have been in mind throughout the proverbs up to this point.
Pro 15:22, in fact, provides a particularly suitable introduction to a new section with its emphasis on the need for a ‘multitude of counsellors’, who can partly be found in the authors of the proverbs which follow (Solomon and the wise men).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Pro 22:1 A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold.
Pro 22:1
Pro 22:2 The rich and poor meet together: the LORD is the maker of them all.
Pro 22:3 Pro 22:3
Pro 22:3 Scripture references – Note the same verse in Pro 27:12.
Pro 27:12, “A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished.”
Pro 22:4 By humility and the fear of the LORD are riches, and honour, and life.
Pro 22:4
NASB, “the reward of humility and the fear of the Lord are riches, honor and life.”
Illustration – I had just returned from a Wednesday night church service when my boss began to tell me why I was getting the better jobs to do around the apartments than the other workers. I had been a good employee and had been receiving much honor and respect from my employer, and she was explaining this to me. This verse helps me to see that humbling myself before the Lord has its rewards. God will, in turn, reward me in three areas of my life, financially (riches), socially, (honor), and physically (life).
Pro 22:5 Thorns and snares are in the way of the froward: he that doth keep his soul shall be far from them.
Pro 22:6 Pro 22:6
Deu 20:5, “And the officers shall speak unto the people, saying, What man is there that hath built a new house, and hath not dedicated it? let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man dedicate it.”
1Ki 8:63, “And Solomon offered a sacrifice of peace offerings, which he offered unto the LORD, two and twenty thousand oxen, and an hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the children of Israel dedicated the house of the LORD.”
2Ch 7:5, “And king Solomon offered a sacrifice of twenty and two thousand oxen, and an hundred and twenty thousand sheep: so the king and all the people dedicated the house of God.”
Comments – This word is often used of consecrating or dedicating something to the Lord. This verse carries the sense that we are to dedicate our children to the Lord by initiating there education and training in the fear of the Lord.
Word Study on “the way” Strong says the Hebrew word “the way” ( ) (H1870) means, “a road (as trodden),” and figuratively, “a course of life, or mode of action,” and it comes from the primitive root ( ) (H1869), which means “to tread,” and thus “to walk.” The Enhanced Strong says it is used 705 times in the Old Testament, being translated in the KJV as, “ way 590, toward 31, journey 23, manner 8, misc 53.”
Comments – It refers to a literal path, or figuratively to a course of life.
Word Study on “he should go” Strong says the Hebrew word “he should go” ( ) (H6310) literally means, “the mouth (as the means of blowing),” and it comes from a primitive root ( ) (H6284), which means, “to puff, or to blow away.” This word can also be used adverbially (with a preposition) and can be translated “according to.” The Enhanced Strong says it is used 498 times in the Old Testament, being translated in the KJV as, “mouth 340, commandment 37, edge 35, according 22, word 15, hole 6, end 3, appointment 2, portion 2, tenor 2, sentence 2, misc 32.”
Comments – This phrase literally means, “Train up a child in accordance to the way.” It tells us to train up our children in the path of righteousness. Adam Clarke says that this phrase literally reads, “Initiate the child at the opening (the mouth) of his path.”
The phrase “his path” implies that each child has a unique path to follow. It means that a parent should train up a child in the individual gifts and callings that God has given to a child. This is why God often reveals to parents what a child’s gifts and callings are.
For example, God revealed to David that his son Solomon would be gifted as the next king of Israel. God also revealed to Joseph and Mary and to Zacharias and Elisabeth that their children had special callings. In fact, the Scriptures give us examples of parents, such as Hannah, who determined the calling of a child through a vow.
These callings are often revealed by the names or surnames that a person is given by God or by his parents.
Pro 22:6 Comments – Pro 22:6 does not say that when the wayward child departs, he will always come back. It says that he will not depart to begin with when he is grown up. He will walk in the way that he was taught and walked in when he was young.
Although a child is born in the image of his father and mother, there lies a potential for his heart to also be shaped in the image of his parents.
There is a dream, a desire, an unwavering determination that a parent can instill into the life of a child, so that when this child is grown, he will set his face to become like his father. He will have an image of his father or mother burned into his heart and mind that will forever determine his attitudes.
Some children do not see their parents as great examples. Training up a child involved being an example that inspires a child to be everything that his father or mother has been. Godly training creates a person with a vision and a goal and a determination to reach those goals.
A good illustration of this verse is found in Tit 1:6.
Tit 1:6, “If any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly .”
Three Phases of Parenting – Kenneth Copeland teaches that there are three phases to parenting as a parent develops lifetime relations with a child.
1. Develop a relationship of father and mother with the child.
The parents give birth to the child in the flesh. They are to feed and raise the child to nourish his spirit, soul and body. They are to train up the child in the fear of the Lord.
Pro 22:6, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”
2. Develop a relationship as a brother and sister.
When this child turns into a mature young man and woman, do not continue to treat them as your child. You are now their brother and sister in the Lord. Treat them as such. Stop showing magnifying their faults. If you see them in need of correction, you no longer discipline them, but now you pray for them as you would a fellow believer (See 1Jn 5:16).
1Jn 5:16, “If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it.”
We were born of God as new believers in Christ. But we are then raised up as joint heirs with Jesus Christ and He is not ashamed to call us brethren (Heb 2:11).
Heb 2:11, “For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren,”
3. The children take care of the elderly parents.
In the later years, if these first steps are followed, then the third phase will be followed by the children. The children will take care of their parents. [120]
[120] Kenneth Copeland, Believer’s Voice of Victory (Kenneth Copeland Ministries, Fort Worth, Texas), on Trinity Broadcasting Network (Santa Ana, California), television program.
1Ti 5:4, “But if any widow have children or nephews, let them learn first to shew piety at home, and to requite their parents: for that is good and acceptable before God.”
Pro 22:6 Comments – The Lord spoke to me December 2001 and said, “Truth begins at home.”
Pro 22:6 Illustrations:
Gen 18:19
Deu 4:9, “Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons’ sons;”
Deu 6:7, “And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.”
Psa 78:1-8
Eph 6:4, “And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.”
2Ti 3:15, “And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”
Pro 22:7 The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.
Pro 22:7
Pro 22:7 “and the borrower is servant to the lender” Comments – The one borrowing does so because he is poor, or in lack. The one lending is able to do so because he is rich, or has enough and more to meet his needs.
Pro 22:8 He that soweth iniquity shall reap vanity: and the rod of his anger shall fail.
Pro 22:9 Pro 22:10 Pro 22:10
The story of Abraham casting out Ishmael is a perfect example of Pro 22:10. Hagar’s son was mocking, or scorning Isaac. The only way to deal with this was to cast out the scorner.
Gen 21:9-10, “And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, mocking. Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac.”
Pro 22:11 He that loveth pureness of heart, for the grace of his lips the king shall be his friend.
Pro 22:11
Luk 6:45, “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.”
Pro 22:12 The eyes of the LORD preserve knowledge, and he overthroweth the words of the transgressor.
Pro 22:13 Pro 22:13
Pro 22:14 The mouth of strange women is a deep pit: he that is abhorred of the LORD shall fall therein.
Pro 22:14
Pro 22:15 Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.
Pro 22:15
Pro 22:16 He that oppresseth the poor to increase his riches, and he that giveth to the rich, shall surely come to want.
Justification: Solomon’s First Collection (375 Sayings) [75] – The first nine chapters of the book of Proverbs serve as an introductory call from wisdom. In this introduction, we are exhorted to hear wisdom’s cry (chapter 1), and we are told how to find wisdom by putting it first in our lives (chapter 2). We are told of the blessings of finding wisdom (chapter 3) in contrast to the dangers of hearkening unto the call of the wicked and the harlot. We are shown how wisdom transforms our lives by learning the three paths of wisdom for the heart, mind and body of man (chapter 4). This is contrasted with three paths of destruction (chapters 5-6). We are shown the characteristics of the wicked man and the adulterous woman (chapters 6-7). Then, we are shown the excellence of wisdom and its characteristics (chapter 8). In conclusion, we have an invitation from wisdom to take food for the journey, with a choice to eat the stolen bread of the adulteress (chapter 9). The better we are able to understand the introduction of Proverbs, the better we will be able to understand its teachings in the rest of the book.
[75] Sailhamer says that there are 375 proverbs in Solomon’s First Collection (10:1 to 22:16), which equals the numerical value of Solomon’s Hebrew name. In addition, he says there are 611 laws listed in the Pentateuch, which equals the numerical value of the Hebrew word “Torah” ( ). He adds that the laws listed in the “Covenant Codes” (Exodus 21:1-23:12) are 42 (7 x 6), which was in intentional multiple of seven. His point is that such numerical coincidences reflect deliberate composition by the ancient Jewish scribes, and concludes that the laws, as well as the statutes, were not intended to be exhaustive. See John H. Sailhamer, Introduction to Old Testament Theology (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, c1995), 257.
Once we have chosen the path of wisdom, we are ready to continue on in the book of Proverbs. The next section of this book Isa 10:1 thru Pro 22:16. This is referred to as Solomon’s First Collection. This section is characterized by the fact that each verse contains individual truths that stand alone. They are practical truths that form a couplet. In chapter 10, we are given the choice to answer wisdom’s call to follow her by either obeying her words, or by disobeying her words and becoming the fool.
We now leave our preparation, which is compared to leaving our home and our parents. We now take a path on the journey of life. However, a quick observation of the following chapters shows us a list of randomly collected proverbs, which have no apparent relationship to one another, unlike the first nine chapters. However, if we look carefully, we will see signposts along this path of life. The introduction of chapters 1-9 began and ended with signposts. These signposts are found in Pro 1:7; Pro 9:10.
Pro 1:7, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.”
Pro 9:10, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.”
The fear of the Lord will be our signpost throughout the book of Proverbs. The first nine chapters are an introduction, or beginning, to this path of life. This is why these first two signposts use the phrase, “beginning of knowledge and wisdom.”
If there is a beginning, then there is a journey; and if a journey, then a destination. These signposts will take us to our destination, which is to become like our Lord and Saviour, Christ Jesus, or we could say to walk in the fullness of Christ. We will liken this journey to John Bunyan’s book Pilgrim’s Progress, where the character named Christian made his way to the Eternal City. [76] Just as Pilgrim’s Progress is an allegorical story of a person’s journey to Heaven, so is the book of Proverbs a proverbial journey to Heaven.
[76] George Offor, ed., The Works of John Bunyan, 3 vols. (Edinburgh: Blackie and Son, 1855).
Now, let us look for other signposts as we launch out on this journey in life. Note that the phrase “the fear of the Lord” is used throughout the book of Proverbs:
Pro 10:27, “ The fear of the LORD prolongeth days: but the years of the wicked shall be shortened.”
Pro 13:13, “Whoso despiseth the word shall be destroyed: but he that feareth the commandment shall be rewarded.”
Pro 14:2, “He that walketh in his uprightness feareth the LORD : but he that is perverse in his ways despiseth him.”
Pro 14:16, “ A wise man feareth , and departeth from evil: but the fool rageth, and is confident.”
Pro 14:26, “In the fear of the LORD is strong confidence: and his children shall have a place of refuge.”
Pro 14:27, “ The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.”
Pro 15:16, “Better is little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and trouble therewith.”
Pro 15:33, “ The fear of the LORD is the instruction of wisdom; and before honour is humility.”
Pro 16:6, “By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil.”
Pro 19:23, “ The fear of the LORD tendeth to life: and he that hath it shall abide satisfied; he shall not be visited with evil.”
Pro 22:4, “By humility and the fear of the LORD are riches, and honour, and life.”
Pro 23:17, “Let not thine heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the LORD all the day long.”
Pro 24:21, “My son, fear thou the LORD and the king: and meddle not with them that are given to change:”
Pro 28:14, “Happy is the man that feareth alway : but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief.”
Pro 31:30, “Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD , she shall be praised.”
Each of these signposts has been planted within a group of proverbs that emphasizes the subject related to that particular signpost. For example, Pro 10:27 tells us that the fear of the Lord gives us a long life. This proverb has been placed within a group of verses that largely deal with a long life (Pro 10:24 to Pro 11:22). Thus, we can ask ourselves if we are walking in these blessings of long life, or in a life of problems. If our life is blessed in this way, we are on the journey. However, if we find problems in our life that are not in God’s plan for us, then we have strayed off the path.
Pro 13:13 tells us of the rewards of fearing the Lord. This proverb is placed within a group of verses that refer to prosperity. Thus, we must check our life to see if the blessing of prosperity is operating in our life.
Pro 22:4 reminds us of the many blessings of wisdom, which are given in chapter 3. Thus, we can know while we are on the journey if we are still on the path of wisdom. We know this because the blessings of wisdom will be seen in our lives. If we find the curses in our lives, then we know that we have erred from the path of wisdom. This is how these signposts keep us on the right path.
These signposts symbolize the way in which the Lord guides our lives; for it is by the fear of the Lord that we make the decision to follow the path of wisdom. Without this fear, we may know the right decision, but as Solomon, we would err from the journey by failing to adhere to wisdom.
On a daily basis God will give us enough light for our daily needs. This can be called our “daily bread” (Mat 6:11).
Mat 6:11, “Give us this day our daily bread.”
This daily bread gives us enough light to guide our short steps. But there are certain times when the Lord will intervene in our life and show us enough light to see farther down the path. When we face major decisions or changes in our life, God will often speak to us or reveal Himself to us in a supernatural way and show us the right path. During these times, we are able to look back and look ahead and see a bigger picture of God’s plan for our lives. This is the way that God guided Jacob on special occasions, and this is the way that I have experienced the Lord’s guidance during major changes in my life. We can see this two-fold method of guidance in Psa 119:105, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” The book of Proverbs symbolizes these occasions by planting signposts along the journey.
There are also warning signs along this journey. These warning signs symbolize those times when God gives us correction and discipline in order to keep us from straying from the path of life. As on a public highway, we must learn to heed the warning signs that tell us of dangers ahead, as well as the information signs that tell us where we are located. These signposts are warnings that tell us not to seek the richest, not to pursue the honor, or to pamper the flesh. Instead, we are to pursue the virtues, and not the blessings that come from these virtues. Some examples of these warnings are:
Pro 11:28, “He that trusteth in his riches shall fall: but the righteous shall flourish as a branch.”
Pro 13:11, “Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished: but he that gathereth by labour shall increase.”
Pro 18:12, “Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, and before honour is humility.”
Pro 23:5, “Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven.”
Pro 29:23, “A man’s pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit.”
Wisdom cries out in the busiest places in society. She cries out in the crowded streets. She lifts up her voice in the major places where people meet and in the gates of the city. This is because wisdom speaks through other people. It speaks through situations around you. Life itself becomes a classroom, and wisdom in the teacher. Thus, in the book of Proverbs, we are shown different types of people in order to learn divine wisdom. Listen, and you will hear.
Regarding the hundreds of individual proverbs that we encounter on this path, there appears to be no organized manner in which they are presented us. This is because in the journey of life, our encounters with the wise man and the fool appear to come in the same random order.
When we look at Pro 10:1 thru Pro 15:33, we see a similarity in all of these proverbs. They all give us a one-verse contrast between the wise man and the fool. This means that in every decision we make in life, we either make a wise decision, or a foolish one. There is no way to straddle the fence in making decisions. Then we see a signpost in Pro 15:33.
Pro 15:33, “ The fear of the LORD is the instruction of wisdom; and before honour is humility.”
This verse says that the fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom. In Pro 1:7; Pro 9:10, we are told that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. This is because the first nine chapters are a preparation, or beginning, of the journey. But here in Pro 15:33, we are in a phase of the journey called “the instruction of wisdom”. We have been learning to identify the wise man and the fool under the instruction of these one-verse contrasts between these two people. Let me give a clear illustration. When my oldest daughter would sit on my lap, we would sometimes to Bible studies together. At the age of four, she began to ask me simple questions. “Daddy, is this person bad or good.” I would reply, “David was good, and Goliath was bad. The prophet Samuel was good, but King Saul was bad.” I would then explain, “Samuel was good because he obeyed God. Saul was bad because he tried to kill David.” This became my child’s first lesson about the wise man verses the fool. It is in this same pattern that God first teaches us how to identify the wise man and the fool as we journey through Pro 10:1 to Pro 15:33.
There are other signposts within this lengthy passage of Pro 10:1 thru Pro 15:33. One signpost is found in Pro 10:27.
Pro 10:27, “The fear of the LORD prolongeth days: but the years of the wicked shall be shortened.”
This signpost is planted within a passage of Scriptures that deals with the longevity of the righteous verses the brevity of the wicked (Pro 10:24 thru Pro 11:22). Thus, this verse promises long life to those who fear the Lord.
A second signpost within Pro 10:1 thru Pro 15:33 is found in Pro 13:13.
Pro 13:13, “Whoso despiseth the word shall be destroyed: but he that feareth the commandment shall be rewarded.”
This signpost is placed within a group of verses (Pro 13:1-25) that deal largely with the issue of financial blessings from the Lord. Thus, it promises a reward to those who fear the Lord.
In Pro 14:26-27, we see a signpost that refers to an abundant life. These two verses are placed within a group of proverbs that deal with one’s understanding of circumstances around him.
JFB notes that the parallelisms of Pro 10:1 to Pro 15:33 are mostly antithetic, that is, sayings that contrast values in life. They contrast the wise man to the fool. However, the couplets in Pro 16:1 to Pro 22:16 are synthetic. That is, these synthetic sayings in Pro 16:1 to Pro 22:16 are different in that they are one-verse proverbs that explain one another. The second part of the couplet further explains and builds its thoughts upon the first part of the couplet.
Outline Here is a proposed outline:
1. Justification: Antithetic Proverbs Pro 10:1 to Pro 15:33
2. Indoctrination: Synthetic Proverbs Pro 16:1 to Pro 22:16
Justification: The Journey to a Place of Rest ( Pro 10:1 to Pro 29:27 ) In Proverbs 10-29 we find a new emphasis regarding our spiritual journey in life. We have heard the call of wisdom in the first nine chapters. Now we have to make the choice to follow the path of wisdom, or the path of the fool. It is our decision to pursue wisdom that will justify us before God. Thus, the underlying theme of Proverbs 10-29 is our justification before God the Father, while the final chapter brings us to a place of rest, which is the destination for man’s spiritual journey in life.
Throughout Proverbs 10-29 we encounter hundreds of individual proverbs that appear to have no organized arrangement in which they are presented us. This is because in the journey of life, our encounters with the wise man and the fool appear to come in the same random order. However, God has placed all things in His divine order. When we read individual proverbs, they appear to be randomly assembled, but if we will step back and look at them as a whole or in groups, we can see an order. These proverbs are clearly grouped together by themes, such as a pure heart, the tongue, a long life, and wealth. In the same way, the circumstances that we face in our daily lives appear to have no particular order. We see very little of God’s hand in our lives in a single day, but when we step back and look as our lives over the months or years, we very clearly see God’s sovereign hand at working in our lives. We recognize that He is divinely orchestrating His purpose and plan for our lives. This is the way that the verses in the book of Proverbs are arranged.
We have seen that Proverbs 1-9, about one third of the book, is man’s call to follow the path of wisdom. Thus, about one third of the book of Proverbs is an introduction, or a preparation, for the rest of this book. Why is that so? We know that Solomon was chosen to be the successor to the throne at his birth. Therefore, he received many years of training under King David for this great task. Even today, we spent the first twenty years of our lives going to school and training for a profession, which is about one third of our lives. We spend the next two thirds of our lives building upon these twenty years of preparation. In our lives, we spend the first twenty years in preparation, the next twenty years sowing, and the last twenty years reaping what we have sown. This is why these years seem to be turning points in many people’s lives. This was the pattern in King Solomon’s life of preparation and growing in wisdom, and this is the pattern found in the book of Proverbs. It is important to note that a season of preparation is something that God has designed and instituted in the human life. He created every human being with the capacity to be shaped and molded through a training process. We often use the term “brainwashing” in a negative sense to refer to a person who has been programmed to think in a negative way; but proper training also reprograms the mind and prepares an individual for the tasks of life. Our human make-up of the spirit, soul, and body were designed to receive training before practical application and abundant living can be achieved.
Although we will study these proverbs, we will find ourselves falling short of fulfilling them in our everyday lives. None of us has walked flawlessly in obedience to any single proverb. Therefore, each individual proverb reveals God’s standard of righteousness, pointing us to Jesus, who alone fulfilled this divine standard in our behalf. In this sense, this collection of proverbs is a collection of redemptive proverbs, revealing our need for a Redeemer, who alone fulfilled every proverb.
Outline Here is a proposed outline:
1. Justification: Solomon’s First Collection Pro 10:1 to Pro 22:16
2. Divine Service: Sayings of the Wise Pro 22:17 to Pro 24:34
3. Perseverance: Solomon’s Second Collection by Hezekiah Pro 25:1 to Pro 29:27
Indoctrination: Solomon’s First Collection of Proverbs (Synthetic) – On our journey in chapters 10-15, we have learned to make wise choices and to avoid foolish decisions. In chapter 16, we begin to see that God’s purpose and plan in our lives is bigger than just daily decision-making. This section of Proverbs (Pro 16:1 to Pro 22:16) reveals the divine intervention of God on this journey in life. We must now learn that God has an all-inclusive divine plan for all of his creation, for all of mankind, and a plan for you and me in particular. We must learn not only to make a wise decision, but we must evaluate this decision in light of God’s divine plan for our lives. It is only by God’s divine intervention in our daily lives that we will be able to stay on the path that leads to eternal rest. God will intervene in order to keep our life balanced so that we will not stray in any one direction to far. Therefore, the journey becomes narrower and choices must be made more carefully.
Proverbs 10-15 have given us one-verse sayings that are clearly antithetical. That is, the first part of the verse contrasts with the second part. However, beginning in Pro 16:1 to Pro 22:16, we see a different type of proverb. In this next section of the book of Proverbs the one-verse says have two parts that complement one another. That is, the second phrase amplifies, or further explains, the first phrase, rather than contrast its counterpart. This means that the training is getting a little more intensive. This new section requires more contemplation that the previous section. Rather than contrasting the difference between the wise man and the fool, we begin to learn the consequences of our decisions, whether wise or foolish. We now move from identifying the wise and the fool (Pro 10:1 thru Pro 15:33) into learning the lasting effects that wisdom and foolishness have in our lives (Pro 16:1 thru Pro 22:16). We must learn that we will always reap the consequences of our behavior. This is the process of indoctrination that is a vital part of our spiritual journey.
As we look for signposts within this passage that confirm this theme, we find them in Pro 16:6 and Pro 19:23, which tell us that the fear of the Lord brings forgiveness of our sins and it delivers us from the visitation of evil that judges the wicked.
Pro 16:6, “By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil.”
Pro 19:23, “ The fear of the LORD tendeth to life: and he that hath it shall abide satisfied; he shall not be visited with evil.”
It is interesting to note that the opening chapter of this lengthy passage begins with the theme of the sovereignty of God. This passage is place at this place on our journey in order that we might learn that God’s ways always prevail over man’s ways and that we must always reap what we sow.
Therefore, the truths in Pro 16:1 to Pro 22:16 are a little deeper in meaning that the previous section of Pro 10:1 to Pro 15:33. On our journey in Proverbs 10-15, we have seen how a man can make choices that will identify his character. Now, beginning in chapter 16, we take a deeper lesson in life in order to see a bigger picture. Although the outcome in life rests upon our daily choices, we must learn that God intervenes in our lives in order to include us into His divine plan for all of His creation, and for all of mankind. This means that God has a plan for you and me in particular.
Then, we see a signpost at Pro 22:4 as an indication that this phase of learning is ending. Note:
Pro 22:4, “By humility and the fear of the LORD are riches, and honour, and life.”
Therefore, Pro 22:4 does not describe the beginning of wisdom (Pro 1:1 thru Pro 9:18), nor the instruction of wisdom (Pro 10:1 thru Pro 15:33), but rather the effects of applying wisdom to our lives. That is, wisdom brings to us the full rewards of riches, honour and life.
v. 1. A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, EXPOSITION
Pro 22:1
A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches. It will be observed that “good” in the Authorized Version is in italics, showing that the epithet is not expressed in the Hebrew, which is simply (shem), “name.” But this word carried with it the notion of good repute, as in Ecc 7:1; for being well known implied honour and reputation, while being nameless (Job 30:8) signified not only obscurity, but ignominy and discredit. Hence the versions have , nomen bonum, and Ecclesiasticus 41:12, “Have regard to thy name ( ), for that shall continue with thee above a thousand great treasures of gold. A good life,” the moralist continues, “hath but few days; but a good name endureth forever” (contrast Pro 10:7). And loving favour rather than silver and gold; or, more accurately, and before gold and silver grace is good; i.e. grace is far better than gold. Grace (chen) is the manner and demeanour which win love, as well as the favour and affection gained thereby; taken as parallel to “name,” in the former hemistich, it means here “favour,” the regard conceived by others for a worthy object. Publ. Syr; “Bona opinio hominum tutier pecunia est.” The French have a proverb, “Bonne renommee vaut mieux que ceinture doree.” The latter hemistich gives the reason for the assertion in the formera good name is so valuable because it wins affection and friendship, which are far preferable to material riches,
Pro 22:2
The rich and poor meet together (Pro 29:13): the Lord is the Maker of them all (Job 34:19). God has ordained that there shall be rich and poor in the world, and that they should meet in the intercourse of life. These social inequalities are ordered for wise purposes; the one helps the other. The labour of the poor makes the wealth of the rich; the wealth of the rich enables him to employ and aid the poor. Their common humanity, their fatherhood in God, should make them regard one another as brethren, without distinction of rank or position: the rich should not despise the poor (Pro 14:31; Pro 17:5; Job 31:15), the poor should not envy the rich (Pro 3:31), but all should live in love and harmony as one great family of God.
Pro 22:3
A prudent man foresesth the evil, and hideth himself. The whole verse is repeated in Pro 27:12. St. Jerome has callidus, and the LXX. has , as the translation of (arum); but it must be taken in a good sense, as cautions, farseeing, prudent (see note on Pro 1:4) Such a man looks around, takes warning from little circumstances which might escape the observation of careless persons, and provides for his safety in good time. Thus the Christians at the siege of Jerusalem, believing Christ’s warnings, retired to Pella, and wine saved. A Spanish proverb runs, “That which the fool does in the end, the wise man does at the beginning.” The simple pass on, and are punished. The subject of the former hemistich is in the singular number, for a really prudent man is a comparatively rare bring; the second clause is plural, teaching us, as Hitzig observes, that many simple ones are found for one prudent. These silly persons, blundering blindly on their way, without circumspection or forethought, meet with immediate punishment, incur dangers, suffer less. A Cornish proverb runs, “He who will not be ruled by the rudder must be ruled by the rock.” Septuagint, “An intelligent man () seeing a wicked man punished is himself forcibly instructed; but fools pass by, and are punished” (comp. Pro 21:11).
Pro 22:4
By humility and the fear of the Lord, etc. This does not seem to be the best rendering of the original. The word rendered “by” ( ekeb), “in reward of,” is also taken as the subject of the sentence: “The reward of humility [‘and,’ or, ‘which is’] the fear of God, is riches,” etc. There is no copulative in the clause, and a similar asyndeton occurs in Pro 22:5; so there is no reason why we should not regard the clause in this way. Thus Revised Version, Nowack, and others. But Delitzsch makes the first hemistich a concluded sentence, which the second member carries on thus: “The reward of humility is the fear of the Lord; it [the reward of humility] is at the same time riches,” etc. Vulgate, Finis modestiae timor Domini, divitiae et gloria et vita; Septuagint, “The generation () of wisdom is the fear of the Lord, and wealth,” etc. It is preferable to translate as above, taking the two expressed virtues as appositional, thus: “The reward of humility, the fear of the Lord.” Humility brings with it true religion, which is expressed by “the fear of the Lord.” The feeling of dependence, the lowly opinion of self, the surrender of the will, the conviction of sin, all effects which are connected with humility, may well be represented by this term, “the fear of God,” which, in another aspect, is itself the source of every virtue and every blessing; it is riches, and honour, and life. These are God’s gifts, the guerdon of faithful service (see notes on Pro 3:16 and Pro 21:21; and comp. Pro 8:18). The Easterns have a pretty maxim, “The bending of the humble is the graceful droop of the branches laden with fruit.” And again, “Fruitful trees bend down; the wise stoop; a dry stick and a fool can be broken, not bent” (Lane).
Pro 22:5
Thorns and snares are in the way of the froward. The words are in the Hebrew without the conjunction (see note, Pro 22:4), though the versions generally add it. Thus the Septuagint, ; Vulgate, arma et gladiii but the Venetian, . It is a question whether the thorns are what the perverse prepare for others, or what they themselves suffer. In Pro 15:19 the hedge of thorns represented the difficulties in the sluggard’s path; but here, viewed in connection with the following hemistich, the thorns and snares refer to the hindrances proceeding from the froward, which injuriously affect others; “thorns” being a figure of the pains and troubles, “snares” of the unexpected dangers and impediments which evil men cause as they go on their crooked way. The word for “thorns” is , which occurs in Job 5:5. The plant is supposed to be the Rhamnus paliurus, but it has not been accurately identified. He that doth keep his soul shall be far from them (comp. Pro 13:3; Pro 16:17). The man who has regard to his life and morals will go far, will keep wholly aloof, from those perils and traps into which the perverse try to entice them.
Pro 22:6
Train up a child in the way he should go. The verb translated “train” (chanak) means, first, “to put something into the mouth,” “to give to be tasted,” as nurses give to infants food which they have masticated in order to prepare it for their nurslings; thence it comes to signify “to give elementary instruction,” “to imbue,” “to train.” The Hebrew literally is, Initiate a child in accordance with his way. The Authorized Version, with which Ewald agrees, takes the maxim to mean that the child should be trained from the first in the right paththe path of obedience and religion. This is a very true and valuable rule, but it is not what the author intends. “His way” must mean one of two thingseither his future calling and station, or his character and natural inclination and capacity. Delitzsch and Plumptre take the latter interpretation; Nowack and Bertheau the former, on the ground that derek is not used in the other sense suggested. But, as far as use is concerned, both explanations stand on much the same ground; and it seems more in conformity with the moralist’s age and nation to see in the maxim an injunction to consider the child’s nature, faculties, and temperament, in the education which is given to him. If, from his early years, a child is thus trained, when he is old, he will not depart from it. This way, this education in accordance with his idiosyncrasy, will bear fruit all his life long; it will become a second nature, and will never be obliterated. The Vulgate commences the verse with Proverbium est, taking the first word substantively, as if the author here cited a trite saying; but the rendering is a mistake. There are similar maxims, common at all times and in all countries. Virg; ‘Georg.,’ 2.272
“Adeo in teneris consuescere multum est.”
Horace, ‘Epist.,’ 1.2, 67
“Nunc adbibe puro
Pectore verba, puer.”
For, as he proceeds
“Quo semel est imbuta recens, servabit odorem
Testa diu.”
Thus we have two mediaeval jingles
“Cui puer assuescit, major dimittere nescit.”
“Quod nova testa capit, inveterata sapit.”
Then there is the German saw, “Jung gewohnt, alt gethan.” “What youth learns, age does not forget,” says the Danish proverb. In another and a sad sense the French exclaim, “St jeunesse savait! si vieillesse pouvait!” All the early manuscripts of the Septuagint omit this verse; m some of the later it has been supplied from Theodotion.
Pro 22:7
The rich ruleth over the poor. “The rich man (singular) will rule over the poor” (plural); for there are many poor for one rich (see on Pro 22:3). This is the way of the world (Pro 18:23). Aben Ezra explains the gnome as showing the advantage of wealth and the inconvenience of poverty; the former bringing power and pre-eminence, the latter trouble and servitude; and hence the moralist implies that every one should strive and labour to obtain a competency, and thus avoid the evils of impecuniosity. The borrower is servant to the lender. (For the relation between borrower and louder, or debtor and creditor, see on Pro 20:16; and comp. Mat 18:25, Mat 18:34.) Delitzsch cites the German saying, “Borghart (borrower) is Lehnhart’s (leader’s) servant.” We have the proverb, “He that goes a-borrowing goes a-sorrowing.” The Septuagint departs from the other versions and our Hebrew text, translating, “The rich will role over the poor, and household servants will lend to their own masters”a reading on which some of the Fathers have commented.
Pro 22:8
He that soweth iniquity shall reap vanity; shall gain nothing substantial, shall have nothing to show for his pains. But aven also means “calamity,” “trouble,” as Pro 12:21; so the gnome expresses the truth that they who do evil shall meet with punishment in their very sinsthe exact contrast to the promise to the righteous (Pro 11:18). “To him that soweth righteousness shall be a sure reward.” Thus we have in Job 4:8, “They that plough iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same;” and the apostle asserts (Gal 6:7, etc), “Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.” Eastern proverbs run, “As the sin, so the atonement:” “Those who sow thorns can only reap prickles” (comp. Pro 12:14). And the rod of his anger shall fail. The writer is thinking especially of cruelty and injustice practised on a neighbour, as Delitzsch has pointed out, and he means that the rod which he has raised, the violence intended against the innocent victim, shall vanish away or fall harmlessly. Ewald and others think that the rod is the Divine anger, and translate the verb (kalah) “is prepared,” a sense which here it will not well bear, though the LXX. has lent some countenance to it by rendering, “And shall fully accomplish the plague (,? ‘punishment’) of his deeds.” The rendering, “shall fail.” “shall be consumed, or annihilated,” is confirmed by Gen 21:15; Isa 1:28; Isa 16:4, etc. The Septuagint adds a distich here, of which the first member is a variant of Isa 16:9. and the second another rendering of the latter hemistich of the present verse: “A cheerful man and a giver God blesseth ( ): but he shall bring to an end () the vanity of his works.” The first hemistich is remarkable for being quoted by St. Paul (2Co 9:7), with a slight variation, . So Ecclesiasticus 32:9 (35), “In all thy gifts show a cheerful countenance ( ).“
Pro 22:9
He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed. The “good of eye” is the kindly looking, the benevolent man, in contrast to him of the evil eye, the envious, the unfriendly and niggardly man (Pro 23:6; Pro 28:22). St. Jerome renders, Qui pronus est ad misericordiam. Such a one is blessed by God in this world and the next, in time and in eternity, according to the sentiment of Pro 11:25. Thus in the temporal sense:23). “Him that is liberal in food lips shall bless, and the testimony of his liberality will be believed.” Septuagint, “He that hath pity upon the poor shall himself be continually sustained ().“ The reason is added, For he giveth of his brans to the poor. The blessing is the consequence of his charity and liberality. 2Co 9:6, “He that soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully ( ).” The Vulgate and Septuagint add a distich not in the Hebrew, Victoriam et honorem acquiret qui dat munera; animam autem aufert accipientium; , “Victory and honour he obtaineth who giveth gifts; but he takes away the life of the possessors.” The first hemistich appears to be a variant of Pro 19:6, the second to be derived from Pro 1:19. The second portion of the Latin addition may mean that the liberal man wins and carries away with him the souls of the recipients of his bounty. But this, though Ewald would fain have it so, cannot be the signification of the corresponding Greek, which seems to mean that the man who is so liberal in distributing gifts obtains the power to do so by oppressing and wronging others.
Pro 22:10
Cast out the scorner, and contention shall go out; Septuagint, , “Cast out of the company a pestilent fellow” Chase away the scorner (Pro 1:22), the man who has no respect for things human or Divine, and the disputes and ill feeling which he caused will be ended; for “where no wood is, the fire goeth out” (Pro 26:20). Yea, strife and reproach shall cease. The reproach and ignominy (, kalon) are those which the presence and words of the scorner bring with them; to have such a one in the company is a disgrace to all good men. Thus Ishmael and his mother were driven from Abraham’s dwelling (Gen 21:9, etc.), and the apostle quotes (Gal 4:30), “Cast out () the bondwoman and her son.” Septuagint, “For when he sits in the company he dishonours all.” The next verse gives a happy contrast.
Pro 22:11
He that loveth pureness of heart; he who strives to be pure m heart (Mat 5:8), free from guile, lust, cupidity, vice of every kind. The next clause carries on the description of the perfect character, and is best translated. And hath grace of lips, the king is his friend. He who is not only virtuous and upright, but has the gift of graciousness of speech, winning manner in conversation, such a man wilt attach the king to him by the closest bonds of friendship. We have had something very similar at Pro 16:13. Some of the versions consider that by the king God is meant. Thus the Septuagint, “The Lord loveth holy hearts, and all blameless persons are acceptable with him.” The rest of the clause is connected by the LXX. with the following verse, “A king guides his flock () with his lips; but the eyes of the Lord,” etc.
Pro 22:12
The eyes of the Lord preserve knowledge. The expression, “preserve knowledge,” is found at Pro 5:2 (where see note) in the sense of “keep,” “retain,” and, taken by itself, it might here signify that the Lord alone possesses knowledge, and alone imparts it to his servants (1Sa 2:3); but as in the following clause a person, the transgressor, is spoken of, it is natural to expect a similar expression in the former. The Revised Version is correct in rendering the abstract “knowledge” by the concrete “him that hath knowledge;” so that the clause says that God watches over and protects the man who knows him and walks in his ways, and uses his means and abilities for the good of others (see Pro 11:9). But he (the Lord) overthroweth the words of the transgressor. The transgressor here is the false, treacherous, perfidious man; and the gnome asserts that God frustrates by turning in another direction the outspoken intentions of this man, which he had planned against the righteous (comp. Pro 13:6; Pro 21:12). Septuagint, “But the eves of the Lord preserve knowledge, but the transgressor despiseth words,” i e. commands, or words of wisdom and warning.
Pro 22:13
The slothful man saith, There is a lion without (Pro 26:13). The absurd nature of the sluggard’s excuse is hardly understood by the casual reader. The supposed lion is without, in the open country, and yet he professes to be in danger in the midst of the town. I shall be slain in the streets. Others consider that the sluggard makes two excuses for his inactivity. If work calls him abroad, he may meet the lion which report says is prowling in the neighbourhood; if he has to go into the streets, he may be attacked and murdered by ruffians for motives of plunder or revenge. “Sluggards are prophets,” says the Hebrew proverb. Septuagint, “The sluggard maketh excuses, and saith, A lion is in the ways, there are murderers in the streets.” Lions, though now extinct in Palestine, seem to have lingered till the time of the Crusades, and such of them as became man eaters, the old or feeble, were a real danger in the vicinity of villages (comp. Jer 49:19; Jer 50:44).
Pro 22:14
The mouth of strange women is a deep pit. The hemistich reappears in a slightly altered form at Pro 23:27. (For “strange woman” as equivalent to “a harlot” or “adulteress,” see note on Pro 2:16.) By her “mouth” is meant her wanton, seductive words, which entice a man to destruction of body and soul. It may be that theology rather than morals is signified hererather false doctrines than evil practice. In this ease the mention of the strange or foreign woman is very appropriate, seeing that perversions of belief and worship were always introduced into Israel from external sources. He that is abhorred of the Lord shall fall therein. He who has incurred the width of God by previous unfaithfulness and sin is left to himself to fall a prey to the allurements of the wicked woman (comp. Ecc 7:26). Septuagint, “The mouth of a transgressor () is a deep ditch; and he that is hated of the Lord shall fall therein.” Then are added three lines not in the Hebrew, which, however, seem to be reminiscences of other passages: “There are evil ways before a man, and be loveth not to turn away from them; but it is needful to turn away item a perverse and evil way.”
Pro 22:15
Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child. Foolishness (ivveleth) here implies the love of mischief, the waywardness and self-will, belonging to children, bound up in their very nature. Septuagint, “Folly is attached () to the heart of the young,” in which version Cornelius a Lapide sees an allusion to the ornament hung by fond parents round the neck of a child whom they were inclined to spoil rather than to train in self-denying ways. To such a child folly adheres as closely as the bulla with which he is decorated. But the rod of correction shall drive it far from him. Judicious education overcomes this natural tendency, by punishing it when exhibited, and imparting wisdom and piety (see on Pro 13:24 and Pro 19:18; and comp. Pro 23:13; Pro 29:15; Ecclesiasticus 30:1, etc). The LXX. pursue their notion of the the indulgent parents letting the child have his own way, for they render the last clause, “But the rod and discipline are far from him.”
Pro 22:16
He that oppresseth the poor to increase his riches (so the Vulgate), and he that giveth to the rich, shall surely come to want. There are various renderings and explanations of this verse. The Authorized Version says that he who oppresseth the poor to enrich himself, and he who wastes his means by giving to those who do not need it, will come to poverty. But the antithesis of this distich is thus lost. The Hebrew literally rendered brings out the contrast, Whosoever oppresseth the poor, it is for his gain; whosoever giveth to the rich, it is for his loss. Delitzsch explains the sentence thus: “He who enriches himself by extortion from the poor, at any rate gains what he desires; but he who gives to the rich impoverishes himself in vain, has no thanks, reaps only disappointment.” One cannot but feel that the maxim thus interpreted is poor and unsatisfactory. The interpretation in the ‘Speaker’s Commentary’ is more plausible: The oppressor of the poor will himself suffer in a similar mode, and will have to surrender his ill-gotten gains to some equally unscrupulous rich man. But the terse antithesis of the original is wholly obscured by this view of the distich. It is far better, with Hitzig, Ewald, and others, to take the gain in the first hemistich as that of the poor man, equivalent to “doth but bring him gain;” though the sentence is not necessarily to be explained as suggesting that the injustice which the poor man suffers at the hand of his wealthy neighbour is a stimulus to him to exert himself in order to better his position, and thus indirectly tends to his enrichment. The maxim is really conceived in the religious style of so many of these apparently worldly pronouncements, and states a truth in the moral government of God intimated elsewhere, e.g. Pro 13:22; Pro 28:8; and that truth is that the riches extorted from the poor man will in the end redound to his benefit, that by God’s providential control the oppression and injustice from which he has suffered shall work to his good. In the second hemistich the loss is that of the rich man. By adding to the wealth of the rich the donor increases his indolence, encourages his luxury, vice, and extravagance, and thus leads to his ruin”bringeth only to want. Septuagint, “He that calumniates () the poor increaseth his own substance, but giveth to the rich at a loss ( )” i.e. so as to lessen his substance.
Verse 17-24:22
Part IV. FIRST APPENDIX TO THE FIRST GREAT COLLECTION, containing “words of the wise.”
Pro 22:17-21
The introduction to this first appendix, containing an exhortation to attend to the words of the wise, an outline of the instruction herein imparted, with a reference to teaching already given.
Pro 22:17
Incline thine ear (comp. Pro 4:20; Pro 5:1). The words of the wise; verba sapientium, Vulgate. “Wise” is in the plural number, showing that this is not a portion of the collection called, ‘The Proverbs of Solomon’ (Pro 10:1), but a distinct work. (For the term, see note on Pro 1:6.) My knowledge. The knowledge which I impart by bringing to notice these sayings of wise men. Septuagint, “Incline () thine ear to the words of wise men, and hear my word, and apply thine heart, that thou mayest know that they are good.”
Pro 22:18
This verse gives the reason for the previous exhortation. It is a pleasant thing if thou keep them within thee; in thy mind and memory (comp. Pro 18:8; Pro 20:27). Thus Psa 147:1, “It is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant, and praise is comely.” They shall withal be fitted in thy lips. This rendering hardly suits the hortatory nature of the introduction. It is better to take the clause in the optative, as Delitzsch, Ewald, Nowack, and ethers: “Let them abide altogether upon thy lips;” i.e. be not ashamed to profess them openly, let them regulate thy words, teach thee wisdom and discretion. Septuagint, “And if thou admit them to thy heart, they shall likewise gladden thee on thy lips.”
Pro 22:19
That thy trust may be in the Lord. The Greek and Latin versions make this clause depend on the preceding verse. It is better to consider it as dependent on the second hemistich, the fact of instruction being placed after the statement of its object. All the instruction herein afforded is meant to teach that entire confidence in the Lord which, as soon as his will is known and understood, leads a man to do it at any cost or pains, leaving the result in God’s hands. I have made them known to thee this day, even to thee. The repetition of the personal pronoun brings home the teaching to the disciple, and shows that it is addressed, not merely to the mass of men, but to each individual among them, who thus becomes responsible for the use which he makes of it (comp. Pro 23:15). The expression, “this day,” further emphasizes the exhortation. The learner is not to remember vaguely that some time or other he received this instruction, but that on this particular day the warning was given. So in Heb 3:7, Heb 3:13 we read, “As the Holy Ghost saith, Today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts .Exhort one another daily, so long as it is called Today, lest any of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” Septuagint, “That thy hope may be in the Lord, and he may make thy way known unto thee.” Cheyne (‘Job and Solomon’) quotes Biekell’s correction of this verse, “That thy confidence may be in Jehovah, to make known unto thee thy ways;” but the alteration seems arbitrary and unnecessary.
Pro 22:20
Have not I written to thee excellent things in counsels and knowledge? There is a difficulty about the word tendered “excellent things.” The Khetib has , “the day before yesterday, formerly;” but the word occurs nowhere alone, and, as Nowack says, can hardly have been the original reading. However, Ewald, Bertheau, and others, adopting it, suppose that the author refers to some earlier work. Cheyne cites Bickell’s rendering, “Now, years before now, have I written unto thee long before with counsels and knowledge,” and considers the words to mean either that the compiler took a long time over his work, or that this was not the first occasion of his writing. One does not see why stress should be here laid on former instruction, unless, perhaps, as Plumptre suggests, in contrast to “this day” of the previous verse. The LXX. renders the word thus, “And do thou record them for thyself triply for counsel and knowledge upon the table of thine heart.” St. Jerome has, Ecce descripsi eam tibi tripliciter, in cogitationibus et scientiis. Other versions have also given a numerical explanation to the term. In it is seen an allusion to the three supposed works of SolomonProverbs, Ecclesiastes, Canticleswhich is absurd; others refer it to the threefold division of the TestamentLaw, Prophets, and Hagiographa; others, to three classes of youths for whom the admonitious were intended; others, again, think it equivalent to “oftentimes,” or “in many forms.” But the reading is as doubtful as the explanations of it are unsatisfactory. The genuine word is doubtless preserved in the Keri, which gives (shalishim), properly a military term, applied to chariot fighters and men of rank in the army. The LXX. translates the word by e.g. Exo 14:7; Exo 15:4), which is equivalent to “chieftain.” Hence the Hebrew term, understood in the neuter gender, is transferred to the chief among proverbs”choice proverbs,” as Delitzsch calls them. The Venetian, by a happy turn, gives . Thus we come back to the rendering of the Authorized Version as meet correct and intelligible.
Pro 22:21
That I might make thee know the certainty of the words of truth. The object intended is to teach the disciple the fixed rule (firmitatem, Vulgate) by which truthful words are guided (see Luk 1:4). Septuagint, “I therefore teach thee a true word and knowledge good to learn.” That thou mightest answer the words of truth to them that send unto thee. This implies that the pupil will be enabled to teach others who apply to him for instruction; “will be ready.” as St. Peter says, “always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you” (1Pe 3:15). But the last expression is better translated, “them that send thee;” illis qui miserunt te, Vulgate (see Pro 25:13); and we must conceive of these as being parents or tutors who send a youth to a school or wise man to be educated. The moralist expresses his desire that the disciple will carry home such wholesome, truthful doctrines as will prove that the pains expended upon him have not been useless. Septuagint, “That thou mayest answer words of truth to those who put questions to thee ( )” The Syriac adds, “That I may make known unto thee counsel and wisdom.” Bickell’s version (quoted by Cheyne) is, “That thou mayest know the rightness of these words, that thou mayest answer in true words to them that ask thee.”
Verse 22-24:22
Here commence the “words of the wise.”
Pro 22:22
This and the following verse form a terrastich, which connects itself in thought with Pro 22:16. Rob not the poor, because he is poor. The word for “poor” is here dal, which means “feeble,” “powerless” (see on Pro 19:4), and the writer enjoins the disciple not to be induced by his weakness to injure and despoil a poor man. Neither oppress the afflicted in the gate. The gate is the place of judgment, the court of justice (comp. Job 31:21). The warning points to the particular form of wrong inflicted on the lowly by unjust judges, who could give sentences from which, however iniquitous, there was practically no appeal.
Pro 22:23
For, though they are powerless to defend themselves, and have no earthly patrons, the Lord will plead their cause (Pro 23:11). Jehovah will be their Advocate and Protector. And spoil the soul of those that spoiled them; rather, despoil of life those that despoil them. So the Revised Version. God, exercising his moral government on human concerns, will bring ruin and death on the unjust judge or the rich oppressor of the poor. Jerome has, Configet eos qui confixerunt animam ejus. The verb used is (kabah), which is found only here and Mal 3:8, where it means “to defraud” or “despoil.” In the Chaldee and Syriac it may signify “to fix,” “to pierce.” Septuagint, “The Lord will judge his cause, and thou shalt deliver thy soul unharmed ():” i.e. if you refrain from injustice and oppression, you will be saved Item evil and dwell securely.
Pro 22:24, Pro 22:25
Another tetrastich. Make no friendship with an angry (irascible) man. Have no close intercourse with a man given to fits of passion. And with a furious man thou shalt not go. Avoid the society of such a one. The reason follows: Lest thou learn his ways; his manner of life and conduct. as Pro 1:15 (where see note). Anger breeds anger; impotence, impatience. St. Basil (‘De Ira’), quoted by Corn. a Lapide, enjoins, “Take not your adversary as your teacher, and be not a mirror to reflect the angry man, showing his figure in thyself.” And get a snare to thy soul; bring destruction on thyself. Anger unsubdued not only mars the kindliness of social life, but leads to all sorts of dangerous complications which may bring ruin and death in their train (comp. Pro 15:18).
Pro 22:26, Pro 22:27
A warning against suretyship, often repeated. Be not thou one of them that strike hands; i.e. that become guarantees for others (see on Pro 17:18; Pro 20:16; and comp. Pro 6:1; Pro 11:15). Sureties for debts. The writer explains what kind of guarantee he means. Why should he (the creditor) take away thy bed from under thee? Why should you act so weakly as to give a creditor power to seize your very bed as a pledge? The Law endeavoured to mitigate this penalty (Exo 22:26, Exo 22:27; Deu 24:12, Deu 24:13). But doubtless its merciful provisions were evaded by the moneylenders (see Neh 5:11; Eze 18:12, “hath not restored the pledge”).
Pro 22:28
The first line is repeated at Pro 23:10. (On the sanctity of landmarks, see note on Pro 15:25.) Some of the stones, exhibiting a bilingual inscription, which marked the boundaries of the Levitical city of Gezer, were discovered by Gauneau in 1874. The Septuagint calls the landmarks .
Pro 22:29
A tristich follows. Seest thou a man diligent in his business! Mere diligence would not commend a man to high notice unless accompanied by dexterity and skill; and though (mahir) means “quick,” it also has the notion of “skilful,” and is better here taken in that sense. He shall stand before kings. This phrase means to serve or minister to another (Gen 41:46; 1Sa 16:21, 1Sa 16:22; 1Ki 10:8; Job 1:6). A man thus export is fitted for any, even the highest situation, may well be employed in affairs of state, and enjoy the confidence of kings. He shall not stand before mean men. “Mean” () are the men of no importance, ignobiles, obscure. An intellectual, clever, adroit man would never he satisfied with serving such masters; his ambition is higher; he knows that he is capable of better things. Septuagint, “It must needs be that an observant () man, dud one who is keen in his business, should attend on kings, and not attend on slothful men.”
HOMILETICS
Pro 22:1
A good name and loving favour
Both of these blessingswhich, indeed, are closely alliedare here preferred to great riches. It is better to be poor with either than rich with neither. Let us examine the excellence of each of them.
I. THE EXCELLENCE OF A GOOD NAME. Why is this rather to be chosen than riches?
1. Because it is a higher order of good. Wealth is a material thing. The best of it is empty and vain by the side of what is intellectual, moral, or spiritual. It is possible to have great riches and yet to be miserable and degraded, if the higher reaches of life are impoverished.
2. Because it is personal. A man’s good name is nearer to him than all his property. The most personal property is distant and alien compared with the name he carries; the reputation that attaches to him is his closest garmentit is wrapped round his very self. If a person wears sackcloth next his skin, he can have little comfort in being clothed outside this with purple and fine linen.
3. Because it is social. The good name is known among a man’s fellows. It is this that gives him his true status. Now, we cannot afford to neglect social considerations. It is a terrible thing to live under the stigma of the rebuke of mankind. He is either more or less than a man who can look with indifference on the good or the ill opinion of his brethren. Mere fame may be of little value. A good name is far more desirable than a great name. It is not necessary that people should have a high opinion of us. But it is important that our name should be free from disgrace, should be honoured for purity and integrity of character.
4. Because it is a sign of other excellences. It may be given by mistake to a worthless deceiver, or it may be withdrawn from a worthy person through some cruel misapprehension. We cannot always take a man’s reputation as a true measure of his character. But when it is justly earned, the good name is the sacrament of a good character, and therefore an outward and visible sign of what is most excellent, for it is better to be good than to own riches.
II. THE EXCELLENCE OF LOVING FAVOUR. Why is this better than silver and gold?
1. Because it is human. Silver and gold are but dead metals. They may be bright, beautiful, and precious; but they can have no sympathy with their possessors. Riches are heartless things, that take themselves wings and fly away without a qualm of compunction. But human interests and affections touch our hearts and rouse our sympathies in return. It is better to be poor among friends than to be rich but loveless and friendless.
2. Because it brings direct blessings. Riches are at best indirect sources of good. But love is a good itself, and it breathes a benediction on all to whom it is extended. Reputation is good, but affection is better. The best love cannot be enjoyed if the good name has been lost by wrong doing. But there may be no fame, no great name in the world, and yet much love. It is better to be loved by one than admired by a thousand.
3. Because it is the type of higher blessings. The loving favour of man is an earthly emblem of the grace of God. This is better than silver and gold, first, as a human source of peace and power, and then as a promise of eternal life and wealth in the heavenly inheritance, after death has robbed a man of all his silver and gold.
Pro 22:2
Social distinctions
I. THE SAD CONDITION OF SOCIAL DISTINCTIONS.
1. These distinctions are very marked. There is an enormous separation between the condition of the rich and that of the poor. The one class is overwhelmed with luxury, the other pinched with penury. There seems to be a tendency to an aggravation of this separation. As wealth grows, poverty does not perceptibly recede. Three millions are on the borders of starvation among the riches of England.
2. These distinctions are not determined by desert. No doubt honest industry tends to prosperity, while idleness and dissipation lead to poverty. But there are bad rich men and good poor men.
3. These distinctions are grossly unjust. It is impossible to maintain that there is equity in the present distribution of property throughout the community, though it may be urged that most attempts at remedying the injustice that have been proposed hitherto would be worse than the disease.
4. These distinctions generate greater evils. They destroy the sense of human brotherhood, fostering a spirit of pride on the part of the rich, and rousing passions of hatred among those who feel themselves to be robbed of their share of the world’s wealth. One man is not to be thought of as necessarily superior to his neighbour simply because he is in possession of more property; nor, on the other hand, should the owner of wealth be regarded as a wholesale brigand.
II. THE MEANS OF RECONCILING SOCIAL DISTINCTIONS. “The rich and poor meet together.”
1. It is desirable that there should be more intercourse between the various classes of society. Very much of the antagonism of the classes arises from ignorance. The simple, honest, poor man, seeking his rights in the rough style natural to his circumstances, is regarded as a red-handed revolutionist by the fastidious upper-class person, who, in turn, is treated by his indigent neighbour as a monster of cruelty and selfishness, a very ogre. The first step towards a better understanding is more freedom of intercourse. It is the same with the quarrel between capital and labour. Mutual conferences might bring about a common understanding.
2. In the Church of God rich and poor meet on common ground. Here pride of class is utterly inexcusable. Happily, the old distinction between the curtained, carpeted, and cushioned squire’s pew, and the bare benches of the villagers, is being swept away. But the spirit that this distinction suggested is not so easily exorcised. Christian brotherhood should bring all together in a common family spirit. It was so in early ages, when the slave might be a privileged communicant, while the master was a humble catechumen on the threshold of the Church.
3. Death levels all class distinctions. Rich and poor meet together in the grave. After death new distinctions emerge. Dives cannot scorn Lazarus in Hades.
III. THE MOTIVE FOR OVERCOMING SOCIAL DISTINCTIONS. This is to be discovered in a consideration of the common relation of men to their Maker. Nothing short of religion will heal the fearful wounds of society. Forcible methods will not succeed; e.g. in the French Revolution. A universal redistribution of property would soon be followed by the old distinctions. Socialism would destroy virtues of independence and energy. But faith in God will work inwardly towards a reconciliation.
1. All classes are equally low before God. The highest earthly mountains vanish in astronomy.
2. Our common relation to God is the ground of our mutual relations with one another. All men have one Father; therefore all men must be brethren. The recognition of the Fatherhood of God will lead to the admission of family duties and claims among men. Christ, who teaches the Fatherhood of God, inspires the “enthusiasm of humanity.”
Pro 22:4
Two graces, and their reward
I. TWO GRACES.
1. The social grace. “Humility.” This is becoming in all men, but it is especially seemly where its attainment is most difficult; e.g. among the high in station, the wealthy, the famous, the gifted, the popular. It is as difficult for the demagogue to be humble as for the lordperhaps more difficult, for the former is more conscious of his own powers, and more recently lifted above his fellows. Humility is difficult to acquire, because it is so essentially different from mere weakness and self-effacement. It is seen best in the strongest and most pronounced natures. There is no virtue in failing back from one’s highest aims in order to escape notice. The grace of humility is discovered in an earnest effort to press forward energetically, without a thought of self or a care for the admiration of the world.
2. The religious grace. “The fear of the Lord” Pride excludes true religion. In the childlike spirit of humble dependence we are open to the influence of Heaven. Thus the one grace is linked to the other, Now, the whole of the Old Testament conception of religion is summed up in “the fear of the Lord”not because there was no room in it for any emotion but terror, but because the root of the ancient faith was reverence. This is the root of all religion. It maybe so richly mingled with love as we come to discern the Fatherhood of God, that its more dread features are utterly lost. Yet love without reverence would not be a religious emotion, or, at all events, not one suited for God as he is revealed to us in the Bible. The Greeks seemed to dispense with the fear of God in their light, gay religion; but they also dispensed with conscience. A feeling of sin and a perception of the holiness of God must lay a deep foundation of awe beneath the most happy and trustful religious experience.
II. A THREEFOLD REWARD.
1. Riches. This is the lowest aspect of the reward. It is in the spirit of the Proverbs, which calls especial attention to the secular consequences of good and ill. We know that the humble and good are often poor and oppressed. But there is a tendency for quiet self-renunciation to be recognized and rewarded. The meek are to be blessed with the inheritance of the earth (Mat 5:5). When full justice is done, the best men will receive the best things in this world as well as the life of that to come. At present we wait for the accomplishment of this social rectification.
2. Honour. The humble who do not seek honour shall have it, while the proud are cast down in shame. The first shall be last, and the last shall be first. Men delight to honour self-forgetful merit. But the highest honour comes from God, who discerns the heart, puts down the proud, and exalts them of low degree.
3. Life. Whether this is given in the Hebrew mannerin old age or not, Christ has taught us to see his true eternal life as the greatest blessing for his people. The humility in which a man loses his life is the very means of finding the true life; the reverence of religion leads us from the shallow frivolity of earth to the deep life of God.
Pro 22:6
The training of a child
I. THE NEED OF THE TRAINING. This arises from various causes.
1. An undeveloped condition. Each child begins a new life. If all that were desirable could be found wrapped up in his soul, this would need to be developed by education.
2. Ignorance. The child does not come into the world with a ready made stock of knowledge. He must learn truth and be made to see the right path, which is at first unknown to him.
3. Weakness. The child needs not only to be taught, but to be trained. He must be helped to do what is at first too much for his strength. His better nature must be drawn out, nourished, and confirmed.
4. Evil. A child’s mind is not a tabula rasa. We need not go back to Adam for evidences of hereditary evil. The child inherits the vices of his ancestors. Thus “foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child.” Before he is guilty of conscious sin the tendency to wickedness begins to work within him.
II. THE AGE OF THE TRAINING. This is to be in childhood, for various reasons.
1. Its susceptibility.
(1) Susceptibility to training. The young mind is plastic; habit is not yet confirmed. It is easier to form a character than to reform it.
(2) Susceptibility to religion. “Of such is the kingdom of heaven.” Young children are peculiarly open to religious impressions.
“Heaven lies about us in our infancy! Upon the growing boy.
But he beholds the light, and whence it flows,
He sets it in his joy.” Faith is natural to children. They cannot become theologians, but they may be citizens of the kingdom of heaven. Thoughts of God and Christ, and the call to the better life, can be well received by them.
2. Its dangers. Children are open to temptation. If not trained in goodness, they will be trained in evil. Some have thought that children should not be biassed in their religious ideas, but left in freedom to choose for themselves. We do not do this in secular matters, trusting them to choose their own methods of spelling and to manufacture their own multiplication table. If we believe our religion to be true and good and profitable, it is only a cruel pedantry that will keep it from children for fear of prejudicing their minds.
3. Its duties. Early years should be given to Christ. He seeks the opening bud, not the withered leaf.
III. THE LAW OF THE TRAINING.
1. In action. There is a practical end in education. We are not merely to teach doctrine, but chiefly to train conduct.
2. According to right. This is not a question of taste. There is a way in which a child ought to go. It is his duty to tread it, and ours to lead him in it.
3. According to future requirements. While the main principles of education must be the same for all children, the special application of them will vary in different cases. We have to apply them to the specific career expected for each child. The prince should be trained for the throne, the soldier for the field, etc.
4. According to personal qualities. Each child’s nature needs separate consideration and distinctive treatment. The training that would ruin one child might save another. We have not to drill all children into one uniform fashion of behaviour; we have rather to call out the individual gifts and capacities, and guard against the individual faults and weaknesses. Thus the training of a child will be the directing of his own specific nature.
IV. THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE TRAINING. “When he is old, he will not depart from it.” Age stiffens. It is well that it should grow firm in the right. Here is the reward of teaching the young. The work is slow and discouraging, and at first we see few results; perhaps we imagine that all our efforts are wasted upon thoughtless minds. But if the work is hard to begin, there is this compensation in itwhen it has fairly laid hold of a child, it is not likely to be ever effaced. The teachings of the Sunday school are remembered after many a long year.
Pro 22:20, Pro 22:21
Certainty
I. THE TRUTH SEEKER DESIRES CERTAINTY. With him “the certainty of the words of truth” is the great object sought after.
1. Certainty must be distinguished from positiveness. Doubt is often violent in assertion, as though to silence the opposition that cannot be answered. We may be very positive without being at all certain.
2. Certainty must be distinguished from certitude. Certitude is the feeling of certainty. Now, we may feel no doubt on a subject, and yet we may be in error. Real certainty is a well grounded assurance.
3. Certainty is desired because truth is precious. If a person is indifferent to truth, he may be satisfied with doubt, or acquiescent in error. This is the contemptuous condition of the cheerful Sadducee. His scepticism is no pain to him, because he does not feel the loss of truth. Not valuing truth, it is a light matter to him that he misses it. Such a condition of mind is an insult to truth itself. A man who recognizes the royal glory of truth will be in the greatest distress if he thinks it has eluded his grasp. To him the feeling of doubt will be an agony.
4. Certainty is sought because it is not always present. It may be very difficult to find. We grope in ignorance, error, and confusion of mind. Then the great want is some solid assurance of truth. Without this the world is dark, our voyage may end in shipwreck, and we cannot know God, ourselves, or our destiny.
II. THE TRUTH SEEKER MAY SECURE CERTAINTY. The Bible denies agnosticism. It offers revelation.
1. Truth is revealed. The written Word contains the record of revelation. God has spoken to us through his prophets, but chiefly in his Son (Heb 1:1, Heb 1:2). Everything that lifts the Bible above common books and impresses its message upon our hearts as from God, urges us to believe in the truth of what it teaches, for God is the Source of all truth. If the Bible does not teach truth, the Bible must be an earthly book, uninspired by God.
2. Truth must be practised and studied. “Excellent things in counsels and knowledge” are written in the Bible. but to find their truth we must do the commandment, follow the counsel, enter thoughtfully into the knowledge.
3. Truth should be taught. “That thou mightest answer the words of truth to them that send unto thee.”
(1) Inquirers need counsel and guidance.
(2) Truth is no private possession, but a public trust.
(3) They who teach others especially need to know the truth themselves.
Pro 22:28
Ancient landmarks
I. ANCIENT LANDMARKS OF PROPERTY. The stone that divided one man’s vineyard from his neighbour’s was regarded as a sacred thing, on no account to be touched. This arrangement helped to perpetuate family holdings. It prevented the accumulation of large estates by the wealthy, and the alienation of the land from the poor. It guarded the weak from the oppression of the strong. It was a protection against deceit, error, and confusion. Ahab transgressed the Law in seeking to acquire Naboth’s vineyard. It would be well if we could appreciate the spirit of the old Hebrew sanctity of the landmark. It would be well, too, if there were more people who had a personal interest in the soil of the country. The “sacred rights of property” cannot confer on the owner any power to oppress the tiller of the soil; but, on the other hand, they should protect the owner from the violence of social revolution.
II. ANCIENT LANDMARKS OF HISTORY. The fieldstones of Palestine were historic. Their very presence served as a record of the lives and doings of a past ancestry. As such they gathered a certain sanctity of association. It is no small thing that we in England belong to a historic nation. The forward movement that is so characteristic of our day should not blind us to the lessons of the past. Noble lives and great events are landmarks on the vast field of history. They help us to map out the past, and they also assist us to gain wisdom for the present. We cannot dispense with the landmarks of Scripture history. Christianity, without the facts of the life of Christ, would be boneless and shapeless. It is strong as a historical religion. Directly it is treated merely as an idea, a sentiment, or a “spirit,” it will languish by the loss of the old landmarks of concrete facts in the Birch, Life, Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Christ.
III. ANCIENT LANDMARKS OF DOCTRINE. We live in an age when many of these have been uprooted and flung on one side. No doubt some of them had been converted into obstructions standing up in the middle of the road of truth. We need to ascertain whether we are really dealing with the truly ancient landmarks, and are not deceived by fraudulent inventions of later ages. The primary landmarks of Christianity are in the teachings of Christ and his apostles. We may have to clear away a great deal of the rubbish of the ages in order to get back to these original truths of Christianity. It is not right to accuse those who are loyal to Christ with removing the ancient landmarks, when they are only taking away these later accretions. But we cannot dispense with the truly ancient landmarks. If we forsake the New Testament, we forsake Christianity.
IV. ANCIENT LANDMARKS OF MORALS. Many practices of antiquity may be abandoned. Some may be superseded by better ways, others left behind as unsuited to the circumstances of the new times. But behind and beneath all these changing fashions there are the solid rocks of truth and righteousness. What, ever else may be shaken, we cannot afford to shift these landmarks. We may improve upon old customs; but we cannot cast away the ten commandments.
HOMILIES BY E. JOHNSON
Pro 22:1-16
The theme of the earlier part of the chapter may be said to be the good name: the blessings in the possession of it, and the conditions for the acquirement of itpartly negatively, partly positively, described.
Pro 22:1-5
The general conditions of a good name
I. WHAT DOES NOT CONSTITUTE ITS FOUNDATION.
1. Riches. (Pro 22:1.) Riches have their worth; reputation has its worth; but the latter is of an order altogether different from the former. The former gives a physical, the latter a moral, power. It is right that we should have regard to the opinion of good men. “An evil name shall inherit disgrace and reproach,” says Sirach 6:1. And we have, as Christians, clearly to think of the effect a good or evil name must have upon “them that are without” (1Co 5:12; 1Co 10:31, sqq.; Php 4:8).
2. Again, poverty with a good name is infinitely preferable to riches associated with an evil character (verse 2). It is according to general laws of providence that one is rich, the other poor. The great point is to recognize that we cannot all possess the lower good, but that the higher good is offered to all, made the duty of all to seek. Let the poor man not exaggerate the worth of riches, nor murmur against God, but humble himself under his hand, and trust the promises of his Word (Mat 5:3). And let the rich man not put his confidence in riches (1Ti 6:17), but lay up an inward store against the time to come. It is religion alone which solves the contradiction between riches and poverty by reducing both under the true standard of value.
II. THE POSITIVE CONDITIONS OF THE GOOD NAME.
1. Prudence. (Verse 3.) To foresee evil at a distanceto have a cultivated spiritual sense, analogous to the keen scent of the lower animals, that may enable us to detect the danger not apprehensible by the duller senseis necessary to our safety. And what is necessary to safety is necessary ultimately with a view to the good name. To go too near the fire may lead to the scorching of the reputation, if not to the loss of the life. To conceal ourselves beneath the wings of the Almighty and to abide in communion with God (Psa 91:1) is the best refuge from all danger.
2. Humility. (Verse 4.) He that would attain to the glory must first “know how to be abased.” Clearly to recognize our position and part in life always implies humility. For it is always less and lower than that which imagination dreams. Another important lesson from this verse is that reputation and the good attached to it come through seeking something else and something better. To do our own work is really to do something that has never been attempted before. For each of us is an original, and success in that which is peculiar to us brings more honour than success in a matter of greater difficulty in which we are but imitators of others.
3. The fear of God. (Verse 4.) Religion gives reality to character. And reputation must at last rest on the presence of a reality; and those who have it not are perpetually being found out.
4. Rectitude of conduct. (Verse 5.) What pains, anxieties, what dangers, rebuffs, and disappointments, and what loss of all that makes life sweet and good, do not the dishonest in every degree incur! The path of rectitude and truth seems rugged, but roses spring up around it, so soon as we begin fairly to tread it; the way of the transgressors seems inviting, but is indeed “hard.”J.
Pro 22:6-12
Means to the preservation of the good name
I. EARLY TRAINING. (Pro 22:6.) The young twig must be early bent. Experience teaches us that nothing in the world is so mighty for good or evil as custom; and therefore, says Lord Bacon, “since custom is the principal magistrate of man’s life, let man by all means endeavour to obtain good customs. Custom is most perfect when it beginneth in young years; this we call education, which is in effect but an early custom. The tongue is more pliant to all expressions and sounds, the joints more supple to all feats of activity and motions, in youth than afterwards. Those minds are rare which do not show to their latest days the ply and impress they have received as children.”
II. INDEPENDENCE. (Pro 22:7.) How strongly was the worth of this felt in those ancient times! Poverty and responsibility to others are to be avoided. Many are forced into distress of conscience and to the loss of a good name by being tempted, for the wake of the rich man’s gold or the great man’s smile, to vote contrary to their convictions. Others will sell their liberty to gratify their luxury. It is an honest ambition to enjoy a competence that shall enable one to afford to be honest, and have the luxury of the freest expression of opinion. Hence frugality becomes so clear a moral duty.
III. INTEGRITY. (Pro 22:8.) Ill-gotten gains cannot prosper. “The evil which issues from thy mouth falls into thy bosom,” says the Spanish proverb. The rod wherewith the violent and unjust man struck others is broken to pieces.
IV. NEIGHBOURLY LOVE (Pro 22:9.) “Charity gives itself rich, covetousness hoards itself poor,” says the German proverb. “Give alms, that thy children may not ask them,” says a Danish proverb. “Drawn wells are never dry.” So give today, that thou mayest have to give tomorrow; and to one, that thou mayest have to give to another. Let us remember, with the Italian proverb, that “our last robe is made without pockets.” Above all, if our case is that “silver and gold we have none, let us freely substitute the kindly looks and the healing words, which are worth much and cost little.”
V. A PEACEFUL TEMPER. (Pro 22:10.) Let the scoffing, envious, contentious temper be cast out of our breast first. As for others, let us strike, if possible, at the cause and root of strife. Let there be solid argument for the doubter, and practical relief for actual grievances. Let us learn from the old fable, and follow the part of Epimetheus, who, when evils flew abroad from the box of Pandora, shut the lid and kept hope at the bottom of the vessel.
VI. A FAITHFUL AND CONSTANT HEART. (Pro 22:11.) The greatest treasure to an earthly monarch, and dear above all to the King of kings. “He who serves God serves a good Master.” Grace and truth are upon the lips of God’s Anointed forevermore. And to clench these proverbs, let us recollect that nothing but truth in the inward parts can abide before the eye of Jehovah. “A lie has no legs.” It carries along with itself the germs of its own dissolution. It is sure to destroy itself at last. Its priests may prop it up, after it has once fallen in the presence of the truth; but it will fall again, like Dagon, more shamefully and irretrievably than before. Truth is the daughter of God (Trench).J.
Pro 22:13-16
Hindrances to the attainment of a good name
I. SLOTH. (Pro 22:13.) It is full of ridiculous excuses here satirized. While a noble energy refuses to own the word “impossible,” it is ever on the lips of the indolent. As in the Arabic fable of the ostrich, or “camel bird,” they said to it, “Carry!” It answered, “I cannot, for I am a bird.” They said, “Fly!” It answered, “I cannot, for I am a camel.” Always, “I cannot!” He who in false regard to his own soul refuses to go out into the world and do God’s work, will end by corrupting and losing his soul itself (Joh 12:25).
II. PROFLIGACY. (Pro 22:14.) Lust digs its own grave. Health goes, reputation follows, and presently the life, self-consumed by the deadly fire, sinks into ruin and ashes. If men saw how plainly the curse of God is written on vice, it would surely become as odious to them as to him.
III. UNGOVERNED FOLLY. (Pro 22:15.) Nothing mere pitiable than an old fool, whose folly seems to stand in clear relief against the background of years. Hence, again, the urgent need of firm discipline for the young. And what occasion for thankfulness to him who, in his wise chastisements, will not “let us alone,” but prunes and tills the soul by affliction, and plucks up our follies by the root!
IV. OPPRESSIVENESS. (Pro 22:16.) To become rich at the expense of other’s loss is no real gain. The attempt cuts at the root of sound trade and true sociality. Hastily gotten will hardly be honestly gotten. The Spaniards say, “He who will be rich in a year, at the half-year they hang him.” Mammon, which more than anything else men are tempted to think God does not concern himself about, is given and taken away by him according to his righteousnessgiven sometimes to his enemies and for their greater punishment, that under its fatal influence they may grow worse and worse (Trench).J.
Pro 22:17-21
The words of the wise to be taken to heart
I. THEY YIELD DIVINE PLEASURE (Pro 22:18.) And all the pleasure of the world is not to be weighed against it. Let those who have “tasted of the good Word of God” bear their witness. The human soul is made for truth, and delights in it. There is pleasure in grasping a mathematical demonstration or a scientific law; and the successful inquirer may shout his “Eureka!” with joy over every fresh discovery. But above all, “how charming is Divine philosophy!”that which traces the clear path of virtue, warns against vice, shows the eternal reward of the former and the doom of the latter, Received with the appetite of faith, Divine truth is food most sweet.
II. THEY LEAD US ON TO CONFIDENCE IN GOD. (Pro 22:19.) And this is our true foundation. He is Jehovah, the Eternal One. He is the Constant One. His Name is the expression of mercy, of truth, and of justice. To love and to trust him is to be in living intercourse with all that is true and beautiful and good.
III. THEY ARE RICH IN MANIFOLD INSTRUCTION. (Pro 22:20.) They are “princely words,” i.e. of the highest and noblest dignity. Prone to sink into the commonplace, the mean, the impure, they lift us to high views of our calling, our duty, and oar destiny.
IV. THEY PRODUCE, JUSTICE OF THOUGHT AND SOUNDNESS OF SPEECH. (Pro 22:21.) Thought and speech together form the garment of the soul. It is only the living sap of God’s truth within us which can impart greenness and beauty, blossom and fruit, to the life. As water rises to the level from which it descended, so does all truth received into the soul go back in some form to the imparter, in thanks and in blessing.J.
Pro 22:22-29
Right in social relations
I. RELATIONS TO THE POOR. (Pro 22:22, Pro 22:23.)
1. Robbery and oppression are a breach of the positive external law (Exo 20:15), much more of the inward and eternal law written in the heart, “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.”
2. The perversion of law and magisterial authority to this end is an aggravation of the offence. It makes the refuge of the poor the market for bribery.
3. Above all, such oppression shows contempt for the authority of God. Among his titles to the throne of the world are thesethat he is Protector of the helpless, Father of the fatherless, Judge of widows. The judgment on Ahab and the Captivity in Babylon (1Ki 21:18-24; Isa 33:1) may be referred to as examples of retributive judgment on the spoilers of the poor.
II. AGAINST ASSOCIATION WITH PASSIONATE AND PRECIPITATE MEN. (Pro 22:24, Pro 22:28.) It is a contagious temper. How soon is the habit of hot and violent language caught up from another! It is a dangerous temper. “Never anger made good guard for itself.” It becomes more hurtful than the injury which provoked it. It is often an affected temper, compounded of pride and folly, and an intention to do commonly more mischief than it can bring to pass.
III. AGAINST THE RASH INCURRING OF LIABILITIES. (Pro 22:26, Pro 22:27; see on Pro 6:1-4; Pro 11:15; Pro 17:18; Pro 20:16.)
IV. AGAINST THE REMOVAL OF THE OLD LANDMARKS. (Pro 22:28. See the express commands of the Law, Deu 19:14; Deu 27:17; Job 24:2; Hos 5:10.) A strict respect for the righits of others is the foundation of all social order. And connected with this is the duty of respect for the feelings for what is ancient and time honoured. There should be no violent change in old customs of life and thought. Necessity may compel them; caprice should never dictate them. A spirit ever restless and bent on innovation is a nuisance in society. The existence of a custom is a proof of its meaning and relative worth; until it is discerned that the significance is now a false one, it should not be swept away.
V. ON THE PRINCIPLES OF SUCCESS. (Pro 22:29.)
1. A man must know his business in the world. This is determined partly by his talents, partly by providential circumstances. “Know thy work “is as important a precept as “Know thyself.”
2. He must be diligent in his business, doing “with his might” what his band finds to do, laboring “with both hands earnestly” in every good cause.
3. The result will be advancement and honour. We have shining examples in Joseph, Nehemiah, Daniel. Ability and capacity are no less acquired than natural; use alone fully brings to light the talent, and to it Providence opens the suitable sphere of activity. Men may seem to be failures in this world who are not really so. He alone can judge of the fidelity of the heart who is to utter at the end of the sentence, “Well done, good and faithful servant!” “Many that are first will be last, and the last first.”J.
HOMILIES BY W. CLARKSON
Pro 22:1
Riches or reputation
Both of these things are good in their way and in their measure. They may be held together, for many wealthy men have enjoyed s good name and much “loving favour.” But it is not given to all men to command both of these. A large proportion of rich men have lost their reputation for equity’ and humanity by the way in which they have gained their wealth. And they must necessarily be many who are compelled to take and keep their place among the poor. But if only one of these two desirable things is open to us, we may be very well satisfied that this is not the wealth, hut the worthiness, not the full treasury, but the good name and the kind regard. For
I. WEALTH IS VERY LIMITED IN ITS CAPACITIES. It is true that it commands considerable material advantages, and that it puts it in the power of its possessor to enlarge his own mind, to extend his social circle, and to multiply his usefulness. This, however, it only does as an instrument. It does not ensure any of these things. Men may possess it, and they may, as very many of them do, altogether neglect to avail themselves of the opportunity. It does not even dispose men to do these wise things; it is as likely as not to allure them in other and even contrary directions. The power of mere wealth, apart from the character of its owner, is very much slighter than it seems. It only really secures bodily comforts and the means of advancement.
1. It does not center even happiness, for mere jollity or transient excitement is not happiness.
2. It does not supply knowledge, much less capacity, and still less wisdom.
3. It does not provide the friendship which is worthy of the name, for no man who respects himself will be the friend of the rich simply because he is rich. We do not love a man because he has a large account at his bank.
4. It does not include the possession of any estimable moral qualities, nor, therefore, the favour of God. moreover
II. WEALTH HAS ITS SERIOUS DRAWBACKS.
1. It involves heavy burdens, great anxieties lest it should be lost.
2. It entails the most serious responsibility, lest its misuse or its non use should bring down the weighty condemnation of God (Mat 25:26).
3. It tempts to a dishonourable and degrading self indulgence; also to a cynical and guilty contempt of the poor and lowly.
III. A GOOD REPUTATION INCLUDES OR IMPLIES THE BEST THINGS. Of course, men may acquire a fair name and even loving favour by very superficial qualities; but if they do, it is usually but short-lived. It breaks down under the weight of hard fact and accumulated experience. The good name which Solomon is thinking or, and which is the only thing of the kind worth pursuing, is that which is built upon or which springs from a sound character. It therefore implies the possession of uprightness, of purity, of truthfulness, of kindness, of reverence; and it therefore implies the possession of piety and the favour of God.
IV. A GOOD REPUTATION IS A SOURCE OF TRUE AND PURE SATISFACTION.
1. It satisfies our self-respect; for we tightly wish to enjoy the intelligent esteem of our neighbours. We are rightly troubled when we lose it; we are justified in our satisfaction that we possess it. It is a pure and lasting gratification.
2. It satisfies our affections. To have the “loving favour” of men is to have much true gladness of heart.
V. A GOOD REPUTATION IS A SOURCE OF MUCH POWER. While the bad rich man is steadily declining in his command, his humbler neighbour, who is esteemed for his wisdom and his worth, is gaining an influence for good with every passing year.C.
Pro 22:2
Rich and poor.
The great problem of excessive wealth and pitiable poverty confronts us still, and seems likely to task our united wisdom for many years, if not for several generations. We may regard
I. THE BROAD AND NAKED FACT VISIBLE TO EVERY EYE. The fact that, while this world is stored with wealth beneath the ground, and is capable of bringing forth upon its surface ample supplies for all the need of the race, there is found amongst us vast mass of miserable indigence. Children are born into the world in homes where parents do not know how to feed and clothe them, where an early death would seem to be the happiest fate; and other children are born into and brought up in homes where parents have a great deal more than they need to provide for their necessities, and where life offers every opportunity for enjoyment with no necessity for labour.
II. HOW FAR THIS DISTINCTION IS OF GOD.
1. Such deep and wide distinctions as now exist must be contrary to his purpose. We cannot possibly suppose that it is in accordance with his mind that thousands of his children should be starving, unclad or ill clad, homeless, exposed to the saddest sufferings and the darkest evils, while other thousands of his children have more than they need or know how to make good use of.
2. These distinctions are the ultimate result of the laws which he ordained. Poverty has its origin in sin; it is one of the penalties of wrong doing. All the evil we see and sigh over, of every kind, we must trace to sin and to the consequences which sin entails. It is a Divine law that sin and suffering go together.
3. Some inequalities amongst us are directly due to his Divine ordering. He creates us with very different faculties. Some are fitted and enabled to do great things, which raise them in position and in circumstance above their brethren; others are not thus qualified Much, though very far indeed from everything, depends upon our natural endowments.
III. THE UNDESIRABLE SEPARATION WHICH EXISTS BETWEEN THE RICH AND THE POOR. We do not know our neighbours as we should. We pass one another with cold indifference. Too often men turn away from their inferiors (in circumstance) with a contemptuous disregard which signifies that the poor man is beneath their notice; too often men fail to appeal to their fellows because they think themselves unworthy to address them. Between man and man, between brother and brother, there is a gulf of isolation which must be painful and pitiful in the sight of the common Father, the Maker of them both.
IV. THE OCCASIONS WHEN THEY MEET.
1. Those on which they must feel the distinction between themin business and in society.
2. Those on which they should not do sowhen they meet in public worship or for Christian work, then all differences of a material and social kind should be forgotten and ignored.
(1) What are these in presence of that which separates both rich and poor from the Infinite and Almighty One?
(2) What are these in comparison with the question of moral and spiritual Worth? In the sight of God, the poor but holy man is far more acceptable than the rich but unholy man. With him all questions of income or of title are utterly insignificant, positively invisible in presence of the questions of moral rectitude and spiritual worth.
3. One on which they will not do so (Rev 20:12).
1. Do your best to bridge the gulf, or, still better, to fill up the chasm which separates one class from another.
2. Take care to have that distinction which will survive the shocks of time and change.C.
Pro 22:3
Thoughtfulness and thoughtlessness
All men might be divided into the thoughtful and the thoughtless. They belong either to those who look before them and prepare for the struggle or the danger that is coming, and avoid it; or else to those who go blindly on and stumble over the first impediment in their way. The “prudent man” of the text is not only the cautious man; he is the man of sagacity and foresight, who takes large and extended views of things. There are many illustrations of the thought, of which we may select.
I. THE EVIL OF PECUNIARY ENTANGLEMENT. The prudent man forbears to enter into that alliance, or into those relationships, or on to that course of action which will demand more resources than he can supply. But the simple “pass on”become involved, and pay the penalty of prolonged anxiety, of great distraction, of painful humiliation, of grave dishonour, of financial ruin.
II. THE STRAIN OF UNWISE COMPANIONSHIP. A prudent man will consider well what company he can wisely keep, whose society will be beneficial and whose injurious to him, whether or not he can bear the pressure that will be put upon him to indulge in this or that direction, and he will shun the social circle that would be perilous to his integrity. But the simple take no heed, accept the first invitation that comes to them, become associated with those whose influence is deteriorating, succumb to their solicitation, and pay the penalty of serious spiritual declension.
III. THE FORCE OF SOME PARTICULAR TEMPTATION. The wise perceive the danger of the intoxicating cup, of the saloon, of the racecourse, of the gambling table, and they keep steadfastly away. The simple pass onself-confident, presumptuous, doomed, and they are punished indeed.
IV. THE PASSAGE OF YOUTH. The prudent recognize the fact that, unless youth yields its own particular fruit of knowledge, of acquisition, of capacity for work in one field or other, the prizes of life must be foregone; and, recognizing this, they do not waste the golden hours of study in idleness or dissipation. But the simple take no heed, trust to the chapter of accidents, wait upon fortune, fling away their precious chances, and are “punished” by having to take the lower path all the rest of their days.
V. THE RISK OF LOSING HEALTH. The prudent man sees that, if he urges his powers beyond the mark which kind and wise nature draws for him, he will gain a present advantage at the cost of future good, and he holds himself in check. The simple pass onoverwork, overstudy, strain their faculties, and break down long before their time.
VI. THE LOSS OF LIFE. The wise man will count on this; he will reckon that any day he may be called to pass from his business and his family and his pleasure to the great account and the long future; and he lives accordingly, ready for life or for death, prepared to encounter the hour when he will look his last on time and confront eternity. The simple leave this stern fact out of their account; they pass on their way without making preparation either for those whom they must leave behind or for themselves when they enter the world where material treasures are of no account whatever; they pass on, and they “are punished,” for they, too, reach the hour of departure, but they awake to the sad fact that that has been left undone for which a long life is not too long a preparation.C.
Pro 22:5
The path of the perverse
By “the froward” we understand the spiritually perversethose that will go on their own way, deaf to the commandments and the entreaties of their heavenly Father.
I. THE PATH OF THE PERVERSE, This is:
1. One of guilt. These froward souls who choose their own way, declining that to which God calls them, are most seriously guilty. Whether their disobedience be due to careless inattention or whether to deliberate recusancy, it is disloyal, ungrateful, presumptuous, offensive in a high degree. It is no wonder that it proves to be:
2. One of suffering. No wonder that “thorns” are in that way, thorns that pierce and paingrievous troubles, poverty, sickness, loneliness, fear, remorse, forsakenness of God. Departure from God leads down to tangled places, causes men to be lost in thorny wildernesses where suffering abounds. It is also:
3. One of danger. It is a place of “snares.” Without the “lamp unto the feet and the light unto the path,” how should the traveller in “this dark world of sin” do otherwise than fall? Outside the service of Christ, and apart from his guidance, when the heart is uncontrolled from above, there is the greatest danger of the spirit giving way to one evil after another, of yielding to that multitude of strong temptations which attend the traveller’s steps.
II. THE WAY OF THE WISE. There is no necessity for man finding the path of his life a path full of thorns and snares. It is true that no prudence or wisdom will prove an absolute guard therefrom; but if a man will “keep his soul” as he may keep it, he will be preserved in his integrity, he will even “be far” from the worst evils which overtake the froward and perverse. To “keep our soul” is to:
1. Understand its inestimable worth; to understand that it far transcends in value any property we may hold, or any position we may reach, or any prizes or pleasures we may snatch.
2. Realize that God claims it as his own; that to the Father of spirits, to the Saviour of souls, our hearts and lives belong; that to him they should he willingly and heartily surrendered, that they may be placed in his strong and holy keeping.
3. Guard it by the help of Divine wisdom; apply those precious truths which are in the pages of God’s Word to its necessity; study the life and form the friendship of that One who himself is the Wisdom of God, walking with whom along the path of life we shall be safe from the wiles of the wicked one.C.
Pro 22:6
Parental training
Very many parental hearts have leaned their weight of hope on these cheering wordsmany to be sustained and gladdened, some to be disappointed. We look at
I. THE BROAD SPHERE OF PARENTAL TRAINING. What is the way in which a child should be trained to go? It is one that comprehends much. It includes:
1. Manners. These are not of the first importance, but they have their value. And if politeness, demeanour, bearing, be not engraven in the young, it will not be perfectly attained afterwards.
2. Mind. The habit of observing, of thinking, of reasoning, of sound reading, of calm consideration and discussion.
3. Morals. The all-important habits of truthfulness, of temperance, of industry, of self-command, of courage, of pure and stainless honesty, of unselfish considerateness, of generous forgiveness.
4. Religion. The habit of reverence in the use of the Divine Name, of public worship, of private prayer, of readiness to learn all that in any way God is willing to teach us.
II. THE STRENGTH OF THE PARENTAL HOPE. Let the child be trained in these right ways, “and when he is old,” etc.
1. The assurance of habit. When we have firmly planted a good habit in the mind and in the life, we have done a very great and a very good thingwe have gone far toward the goal we seek. For habit, early formed, is not easily broken. We sometimes allude to habit as if it were an enemy. But, in truth, it is our best friend. It is a gracious bond that binds us to wisdom and virtue. Without it we should have no security against temptation; with it we have every reason to hope that youth will pass into prime, and prime into old age, clothed with all the wisdom and adorned with all the grace that it received in its early years. What makes the assurance the more strong is that habit becomes more powerful with each effort and each action. Every day the good habits we have formed and are exercising become more deeply rooted in the soil of the soul.
2. The assurance of the common experience of mankind.
III. THE NECESSARY LIMIT. Not the very best training of the very wisest parents in the world can positively secure goodness and wisdom in their children. For when they have done everything in their power, there must remain that element of individuality which will choose its own course and form its own character. Our children may choose to reject the truth we teach them, and to slight the example we set them, and to despise the counsel we give them. In the will of every child there is a power which cannot be forced, which can only be won. Therefore:
1. Let all parents seek, beside training their children in good habits, to win their hearts to that Divine Wisdom in whose friendship and service alone will they be safe. Where sagacity may fail, affection will triumph. Command and persuasion are the two weapons which parental wisdom will do its best to wield.
2. Let all children understand that for their character and their destiny they must themselves be responsible. All the very worthiest and wisest influences of home will lead to no good result it’ they oppose to them a rebellious spirit, if they do not receive them in the spirit of docility. There is but one gate of entrance into life, and that is the personal, individual acceptance of Jesus Christ as the Lord and Saviour of the spirit. The parent may lead his child up to it, but that child must pass through it of his own accord.C.
Pro 22:13
Excuses
Few things are oftener on human lips than excuses. Men are continually excusing themselves from doing what they know in their hearts they ought to do. There is no sphere from which they are excluded, and there is hardly any evil to which they do not lead.
I. THE SPHERES IS WHICH THEY ARE FOUND. The child excuses himself from the obedience which he should be rendering to his parents; the scholar, from the application he should be giving to his studies; the apprentice, from the attention he should be devoting to his business; the agriculturist, from the labour he should be putting forth in the fields; the captain, from setting sail on the troubled waters; the unsuccessful tradesman or merchant, from investigating his books and seeing how he really stands; the failing manufacturer, from closing his mill; the statesman from bringing forward his perilous measure; the minister, from seeking his delicate and difficult interview; the soul not yet reconciled to God, from a searching inquiry into its own spiritual condition and present obligation.
II. THEIR MORAL CHARACTER.
1. There is a decided ingredient of falsehood about them. Those who fashion them know in their hearts that there is something, if not much, that is imaginary about them. The lion is not without; the slothful man wilt not be slain in the streets. The evil which is anticipated in all cases of excuse is exaggerated, if it is not invented. We do not, at such times, tell ourselves the whole, truth; we “deceive our own selves.”
2. There is something of meanness or unmanliness about them; we “let ‘I dare not’ wait upon ‘I would.'” We allow a craven feeling of apprehension to enter in, to take possession, to prevail over our better self.
3. There is an element of disobedience and unfaithfulness. We shrink from doing the thing which is our duty to do; we relegate to the rear that which we should keep in the front; we prefer that which is agreeable to that which is obligatory; we obey the lower voice; we leave unfulfilled the will of God.
III. THE FATE OF THOSE WHO INDULGE THEM.
1. To have a very pitiable retrospect; to have to look back, self-condemned, on work left undone, on a life not well lived.
2. To lose all that might have been gained by energy and decision, and which has been lost by sloth and weakness. And who shall say what this amounts to in the years of a long life?
3. To miss the “Well done” of the Master, if not, indeed, to receive his final and sorrowful condemnation.C.
Pro 22:15
(See homily on Pro 13:24.)C.
Pro 22:16, Pro 22:22
(See homily on Pro 22:28.)C.
Pro 22:24, Pro 22:25
(See homily on Pro 16:32.)C.
Pro 22:26, Pro 22:27
(See homily on Pro 6:1-5.)C.
Pro 22:28
The ancient landmark
The text clearly refers to the ancient division of property by which the land was carefully marked out, and each family had its own proper share. The man who removed these boundaries in his own material interest was simply appropriating what did not belong to him. Perhaps “the removal of the ancient landmark” became a proverbial phrase to signify any serious departure from rectitude. It will be worth while to consider
I. WHAT IS NOT FORBIDDEN IN‘ THIS PRECEPT.
1. A change in social customs. It is found by experience that we are all the better for leaving certain usages behind us. We outgrow them, and they become hindrances rather than aids to us.
2. The remodelling of old institutions. The time comes when the old order changes, giving place to new, by common consent and to the general advantage. With new methods, new organizations, there may come new life and renewed power.
3. The change of religious vocabulary. There is nothing wrong in putting the old doctrine in new forms; indeed, it becomes more living and more telling when uttered in the language of the time. Ancient phraseology is to be respected, but it is not sacred; it may and must give place to new.
4. The modification of Christian doctrine; not, indeed, a change of “the faith once delivered to the saints”a departure from “the truth as it is in Jesus,” but such a varying account and statement of it as comes with increased light from the study of nature or of man, and with further reverent research of the Word of God. But what is
II. THE WRONG WHICH IS HERE FORBIDDEN. It is all criminal selfishness, more especially such as that referred tothe appropriation of land by immoral means, or the securing of any kind of property by tampering with a deed or other document. It may include the act of obtaining any advantage in any direction whatever by means that are dishonourable and unworthy. In all such cases we need the ear to hear a Divine, “Thou shalt not.” To act thus is a sin and a mistake. It is:
1. To disobey the voice of the Lord, who emphatically denounces it. Especially does God rebuke and threaten the wronging of the poor and feeble because they are such; to do this is to add meanness and cowardice to selfishness and crime (see Pro 22:16, Pro 22:22).
2. To injure ourselves far more seriously and irremediably than we hurt our neighbour. It is to lose the favour of God, the approval of our own conscience, and the esteem of the fast.C.
Pro 22:29
(See homily on Pro 6:6-11; Pro 27:23.)C.
) Admonition to secure and keep a good name
Pro 22:1-16
1A (good) name is to be chosen rather than great riches;
better than silver and gold is good will.
2The rich and the poor meet together;
Jehovah is the maker of them all.
8The prudent seeth the evil and hideth himself,
but the simple pass on and must suffer.
4The end of humility (and) of the fear of God
is riches, honor and life.
5Thorns, snares are in the way of the wayward;
he that guardeth his soul let him keep far from them.
6Train up a child in the way he should go;
even when he is old he doth not depart from it.
7The rich ruleth over the poor,
and the borrower becometh servant to the lender.
8He that soweth iniquity shall reap calamity,
and the staff of his haughtiness shall vanish away.
9He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed,
for he giveth of his bread to the poor.
10Chase away the scorner and contention goeth out,
and strife and reproach cease.
11He that loveth with a pure heart,
whose lips are gracious, the King is his friend.
12The eyes of Jehovah preserve knowledge,
but the words of the false doth He overthrow.
13The slothful saith: (There is) a lion without,
I shall be slain in the streets.
14A deep pit is the mouth of the strange woman;
he that is accursed by Jehovah falleth into it.
15Foolishness is bound in the heart of the child;
the rod of correction driveth it far from him.
16One oppresseth the poor only to make him rich;
one giveth to the rich (and it tendeth) only to want.
GRAMMATICAL AND CRITICAL
Pro 22:1. [The Niphal part. here as in Pro 16:16 is to be rendered like the Latin pass. periphr.ndus est, is to be chosen, ought to be chosen; comp. Btt, 997, 2, c.A.].
Pro 22:2. [See Exeg. notes for the reason why is preferred to . The lit. rendering is their totality, the whole of them. For minute explanations of the use of and the ordinary form of its suffixes see e.g, Btt. 876, c, 883, d.A.].
Pro 22:3. [See Exeg. notes for reasons why the Kthibh is to be preferred to the Kri. The vocalization is of course that of the Kri and not that of an Imperf. Kal. The time implied in the verb is of course a relative perfect; he hath first seen, and then will hide himself.A.].
Pro 22:5. is in the Vulg. correctly regarded as a genitive with ; so most of the modern interpreters regard it.
Pro 22:7-8. [The full forms and (Kthibh) are preserved by the emphasis thrown on the ultimate syllables. According to Btt. 1005, 5, c, while these forms are the prevalent forms in the dialects of Ephraim and Simeon they are found in the period of Judah only under the influence of special emphasis or a following pause.A.].
Pro 22:11. [In the reading of the Kri the Hholem is exceptionally shortened to Kamets-Hhatuph before Makkeph. The Kthibh has the stat. constr. in its ordinary form. See Green, 215, 1, c.A.].
Pro 22:12-13. [The perf. in Pro 22:12 is classed by Btt. with the empirical perfects; this is a fact of experience, it has been found true; the of Pro 22:13 is classed with the effective perfects: he has virtually said, it is in effect as though he had said, etc.A.]
Pro 22:15. [The pass. part. illustrates the principle that in Hebrew, whatever be the time to which this participle relates it describes a state and not a process,something that is, and not something that is coming to be; Germ. ist verknupft not wird v. See Btt. 1997, 2, e.A.].
[It can hardly be accidental that in this group of proverbs so many of the important words begin with ; thus (Pro 22:1), and (Pro 22:2), (Pro 22:3), and (ver.4) (ver.5), etc.A.].
EXEGETICAL
1. On account of the brevity of this section beginning with Pro 22:1, but plainly ending with Pro 22:16, as well as on account of the supposed construction of the section with some reference to the number five (which is said to have had a modifying influence also on chap. 21), Hitzig conjectures that its latter and larger half has been lost, and thinks that the portion which has disappeared may be recognized in the section Pro 28:17 to Pro 29:27. All this rests on the basis of assumptions as subjective and arbitrary as the general principles of this critic which relate to the supposed numerical structure of the oldest and main division of the whole collection of proverbs. See remarks below, on Pro 25:1, and also on Pro 28:1 (Doctrinal and Ethical).
2. Pro 22:1-5. On a good name as dependent not on riches and treasures, but on prudence, humility and right sensibilities.A (good) name is more precious than great riches. The absolute term name here denotes, like in the parallel passage, Sir 41:12, a good name ( , LXX); so likewise in Ecc 7:1; Job 30:8.Better than silver and gold is goodwill. The good () does not belong as an adjective [attributive] to the noun favor (as the Rabbins render, and Umbreit also: Schne Gunst [E. V., M., S., De W., etc.]), but is a predicate (comp. Pro 8:19), parallel with more precious, or choice, but put at the end of its clause for the sake of a more emphatic stress upon the objects compared with it, gold and silver. [So E. V. in the margin, Wordsw. (?), H., N., K., etc.].
Pro 22:2. The rich and the poor meet together; i.e., they are found side by side (comp. Pro 29:13; Isa 36:14), as classes both of which are alike created by Jehovah, and therefore have each its own peculiar object and calling to fulfil in Gods creation. Comp. Pro 14:31; Pro 17:5; Job 31:15.Since both rich and poor are collective ideas, it is said that God has created all of them (, and not both of them, or the two, , as in Pro 20:12). [The verb strike against, or encounter each other, of course does not here imply such an antagonism as too often exists in disordered human society, but simply the ordinary encounter or intermixture of social life. The word of God no where endorses the jealousies and collisions that result from sin.A.]
Pro 22:3. The prudent seeth the evil and hideth himself.The Kthibh. (, an Imperf. Niph.) is to be preferred to the Kri (), because the hiding ones self is a consequence of seeing the coming calamity, and this consequence is expressed by the Imperf. with consec; comp. 1Sa 19:5. The Kri originates from Pro 27:12, where the verse, with this exception, literally recurs.
But the simple pass on and must suffer (are punished, E. V. and most of the English commentators). In the last verb we have a perfect preceded by a simple copula, because the heedless pressing on of the simple into calamity, and their expiating it, or suffering injury, are conceived of as cotemporaneous; compare 2Sa 7:3; Eze 25:12, etc.The plural the simple ones over against the one prudent man of clause a, seems to be chosen not without an intentional reference to the disproportion that actually exists numerically in life between the two classes of men.
Pro 22:4. The end of humility (and) of the fear of God is riches and honor and life.The copula is wanting before the fear of God, because this fear is in its idea so closely connected with humility that it can be appended as in a sense an appositive to it. Thus Bertheau and Elster correctly render, following Geier, Rosenmueller, Schelling, etc. More commonly (and as early as the LXX and Vulg.) the fear of Jehovah is regarded as the first effect or consequence of humility, like riches, honor and life; this, however, gives no specifically appropriate idea. This is also true of Hitzigs emendation ( for ), the beholding Jehovah; for riches, honor and life could hardly be the elements into which the beholding Jehovah should be resolved; this idea is rather in the Old Testament also (e.g., Psa 11:7; Psa 17:15) always one that belongs not to the present, but only to the future life.-With b compare moreover Pro 3:16; Pro 8:18.[Our authors idea is also that of De W. and K., the E. V., H., N., S., M., Wordsw, etc. The grammatical objection urged by Hitzig, Umbreit and Rueetschi is the harshness of the asyndeton; they agree in making the latter part of clause a the predicate, a more natural construction unquestionably, if the resulting meaning is admissible. Umbreit interprets the humility of which the fear of God is the reward, as humility in human relationsa rendering hardly consistent with the Hebrew usus loquendi. Rueetschi takes the words in their ordinary sense, and the structure which is most obvious, and explains: The genuine religious wisdom which is equivalent to the fear of Jehovah (more precisely, of which the fear of the Lord is the beginning), is the highest reward of humility; it is to him who attains it all (riches, honor, life), all that man desires and strives for beside, his greatest riches, his highest honor, his true life. In this view clause b is an analysis of the predicate of a.A.]
Pro 22:5. Thorns, snares are in the way of the false.Here again we have an asyndeton, consisting in the associating of the two ideas which are in their import essentially equivalent, of thorns (comp. Job 5:5) and snares, nets (Pro 7:23; Psa 69:22; Job 18:9, etc.). Hitzig proposes instead of the latter expression to read : Thorns are poured out, are spread on the way of the false (?). [Those who agree with Z. in the general structure of clause b, in his selection of the subject and predicate, very generally, at least our English expositors, make the verb affirmative rather than hortative. Rueetschi (as above, p. 155), on the ground of the very general idiom of the book of Proverbs, and in regard to this phrase in particular, , considers the clause as inverted: he who keepeth far from the thorns and snares that strew the way of the false, destroying him, notwithstanding all his cunning, saveth his life.A.]With b compare Pro 16:17.
3. Pro 22:6-12. Of good discipline, frugality, uprightness, love and fidelity as further important means to the preservation of a good name.Train up a child (early) in the way he should goThe verb which, according to Arabic analogies, is equivalent to imbuit, initiavit (comp. Schultens on this passage), denotes here the first instruction that is given to a boy, his early education and the formation of his habits. Compare the expression of Horace (Ep. I., 2, 69): Quo semel est imbuta recens, servabit odorem Testa diu; and also the modern proverbs Jung gewohnt, alt gethan [Young accustomed is done old]: or Was Hnschen nicht lernt, lernt Hans nimmermehr [What little Johnnie does not learn, John learns never. So our English proverbJust as the twig is bent the trees inclined.] can have no other meaning than according to the standard of his way (Gen 43:7; Lev 27:8, etc.), i.e., according to the way that is determined for him, according to the calling and the manner of life for which he is intended. With this interpretation, which is as simple as it is pertinent, Hitzigs emendation may be dismissed as superfluous: , according to his tenderness, since he is still tender. [Notwithstanding the simplicity of the interpretation in accordance with his way, or his going, three different meanings have been found in it. It may be, a) his way in the sense of his own natural and characteristic style and manner,and then his training will have reference to that to which he is naturally fitted; or b), the way in life which he is intended by parents or guardians to pursue; or c) the way in which he ought to go. The last is moral and relates to the general Divine intention concerning mans earthly course; the second is human and economical; the first is individual and to some extent even physical. Yet although the third presents the highest standard and has been generally adopted and used where little account is made of the original, it has the least support from the Hebrew idiom. So De W., B., K., S., H. (?), and others.A.]
Pro 22:7. The rich ruleth over poor men.Observe here again the significant interchange between singular and plural like that above in Pro 22:3, corresponding with the actual conditions of human society. The same relation of dependence comes in play however in like manner between borrowers and lenders; indebtedness always destroys freedom, even though no sale into slavery of him who was unable to pay should ever take place.
Pro 22:8. He that soweth iniquity shall reap calamity.Comp. Job 4:8, and the converse sentiment, Pro 11:18.And the staff of his haughtiness vanisheth away;i.e., the staff with which in the ebullitions of his anger (Isa 14:6) he smote others comes to nought, as though dried up and rotten. Compare for the verb to come to nought, to come to an end, Gen 21:15; 1Ki 17:16; Isa 10:25. According to the last mentioned passage, Umbreit, Ewald [De W.] and Elster explain: and the staff of his punishment is already prepared. But the verb in that instance acquires the meaning to be ready, to be already prepared, solely through the context,-and the noun () means not punishment, but always simply anger, passionate excitement. And to employ staff of his anger to describe the rod of the Divine anger aroused against him would surely be an unusually condensed and harsh expression.Hitzig reads and he that renounces (?) his service perishes, a meaning clearly quite insipid and little appropriate as the result of a very artificial and violent emendation, for which the text of the LXX neither in Pro 22:8 b, nor in the spurious verse which this version exhibits appended to our verse, offers any adequate support whatsoever.[Fuerst distinguished two radical meanings in the verb , from one of which the derived noun has the meaning nothingness, vanity, here adopted by E. V., and B.; the other gives the meaning calamity, and in this sense the word is here understood more forcibly and appropriately, by De W., K., H., N., M., S.Rueetschi vigorously supports our authors interpretation of clause b.A.]
Pro 22:9. He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed.He who is good in the eye is the exact opposite of the man evil in the eye (Pro 23:6); it is he therefore who looks around not wickedly but in kindness and friendliness. Such a one will besides always be charitable in disposition and action, and therefore as he dispenses blessing he will also receive blessing. The conjunction () as the beginning of the second clause should doubtless be regarded rather as a causal, than, with Hitzig, as a conditional particle; it is therefore not if he gives (that he does this is in fact already implied in his being described as having a bountiful eye), but since, or for he gives, etc.
Pro 22:10. Chase away the scorner and contention goeth out.That scoffing is a chief source of contention and strife was already expressed in Pro 21:24. Contention goeth out, viz., with the scoffer, when he leaves the assembly in which he has given forth his scoffing utterances (the LXX rightly supply ).And strife and reproach cease,for the evil example of the scoffer had excited the whole assembly to mutual abuse and recrimination ( has here this active meaning).
Pro 22:11. He that loveth with a pure heart, whose lips are gracious, the king is his friend.Thus, without doubt correctly, Umbreit, Elster, Hitzig; for the passages Pro 13:4; Pro 13:24; Pro 14:13 present no sufficient analogy for Ewalds interpretation of the last clause, he is the kings friend; and Bertheaus conception of the phrase grace of lips as a second accusative object of the verb loveth (he that loveth purity of heart, and grace on his lips, the king is his friend) has against it the decided inappropriateness of the expression to love the grace of his lips as conveying the idea of cultivating a wise eloquence. Furthermore we have to compare chiefly Pro 16:13; for it is really wise and good counsellors who are there as here designated the favorites of the king.[Few verses in the Book of Proverbs whose reading is unquestioned have received more interpretations. In clause a purity of heart is made the object by almost every interpreter, instead of an adverbial adjunct as Z. makes it. The grace of lips in clause b, in addition to Bertheaus construction (see above), is made a part of the subjectto whom, or whose is grace of lips, e.g., by De W., Ewald, K.; it is made the first part of the predicate to him, or his is grace of lips, e.g., by the E. V. in the margin, by H., N., S., M., W.; while the text of the E. V. makes it adverbial.A.]
Pro 22:12. The eyes of Jehovah preserve knowledge.i.e., secure protection to him who possesses and evinces true discernment and knowledge (an example, therefore, of the abstr. pro concreto). With clause b, furthermore, the meaning seems to correspond better which Hitzig obtains, when he, perhaps in this instance emending wisely, writes instead of : Jehovahs eyes observe wickedness.For the verb in clause b comp. Pro 13:6; Pro 21:12. The words of the false here denote his proposals or plans, the faithlessness which he devises by himself and discusses with others. [Holden thinks it necessary to render the affairs of the transgressor. The necessity is obviated by the above explanation.]
4. Pro 22:13-16. Of slothfulness, wantonness, folly and avarice, as further chief hinderances to the attainment of a good name.The slothful saith: (There is) a lion without, etc.;i.e., he has recourse to the most senseless and ludicrous excuses, if in any way he may not be obliged to go out to labor; he therefore says, e.g., a lion has stolen into the city, and may possibly destroy him in the midst of the tumult and crowd of the streets. Comp. Pro 15:19. [See critical notes for an explanation of the tense of the main verb.]
Pro 22:14. A deep pit is the mouth of the strange woman,i.e., her seductive language; comp. Pro 2:16; Pro 5:3; Pro 6:24; Pro 7:5 sq.; and also Pro 23:27, where the harlot herself is described as a deep ditch.He that is accursed of Jehovah.The cursed of Jehovah the exact opposite of the man blessed () of Jehovah, therefore one visited by the curse of an angered God.
Pro 22:15. Foolishness is bound in the heart of the child,i.e., it belongs to the disposition of all children, who are altogether and without exception ,infallibly so (comp. 1Ki 3:7), and must therefore necessarily be removed from them by the diligent employment of the rod of correction (comp. Pro 13:24; Pro 19:18; Pro 23:13-14). Comp. our proverb Jugend hat kein Tugend [Youth hath no virtue].[Kamph., from the absence of an adversative particle before clause b, judges it better to take the first clause as conditional: If foolishness be bound, etc. Here is then the remedy for the supposed exigency. But this is surely needless, and vastly weakens the import of clause a, with its impressive declaration of an urgent and universal need.A.]
Pro 22:16. One oppresseth the poor only to make him rich;i.e., the oppression which one, perchance some rich landlord or tyrannical ruler, practises on a poor man, rouses his moral energy, and thus by means of his tireless industry and his productive labor in his vocation, brings it to pass, that he works himself out of needy circumstances into actual prosperity. On the other hand, according to clause b, all presents which one makes to an indolent rich man, prodigal, and therefore abandoned by the blessing of God, contribute nothing to stay the waste of his possessions that has once commenced. What one gives to him is drawn into the vortex of his prodigality and profligacy, and therefore is subservient, in spite of the contrary intention of the giver, only to want, or to the diminution of his possessions (comp. Pro 11:24).Thus most of the recent expositors correctly explain, especially Ewald, Umbreit, Elster, Hitzig [De W., K.], while Bertheaus conception of the passage: He that oppresseth the poor to take for himself, giveth to a rich man [viz., himself) only to want, approximates to the old incorrect rendering of the Vulgate, Luther, etc. See in reply Hitzig on this passage. [H., N., M., S. follow the E. V. in giving this reflexive meaning to the pronoun of clause a, while Wordsw. guardedly expresses a preference for the other view; Gods providence overrules the rich mans rapacity, and turns obsequious liberality toward the rich against him whom it would benefit. For according to this view it is not the giver, as the E. V. suggests, but the receiver, that shall come to want. Rueetschi comes vigorously to the defence of the older explanation. The subject is then single: the rich man seeks to advance himself by oppression of the poor; he gives wrongfully to one that has, and God thwarts him. We prefer this elder exposition.A.]
DOCTRINAL, ETHICAL, HOMILETIC AND PRACTICAL
The doctrine of the great worth of a good name forms undoubtedly the main theme of the section before us; for all that follows the introductory proposition of Pro 22:1, which is expressly shaped with reference to this theme, may be easily and without any violence regarded as a statement of the most important means or conditions to the attainment and maintenance of a good name. These conditions are given in part negatively, as not consisting in riches (Pro 22:2, comp. Pro 22:16), nor in falseness of heart (Pro 22:5), nor in scoffing and love of abuse (Pro 22:10), nor in unrighteous dealing (Pro 22:8, comp. Pro 22:12), nor in sloth and licentiousness (Pro 22:13-14). They are also given in part positively, as consisting in a genuine prudence (Pro 22:3), in humility and the fear of God (Pro 22:4), in a wise frugality and industry (Pro 22:7; Pro 22:16), in charity toward the poor (Pro 22:9), in purity of heart together with that grace of speech which rests upon it (Pro 22:11),in a word, in all the excellent qualities as well as the inward and outward advantages to which a strict and wise training of children is able to aid the man who is naturally foolish and ignorant (Pro 22:6; Pro 22:15).
Homily on the entire section: On the great worth of a good name, and on the means to its attainment and preservation. Comp. Stcker: Of a good name: 1) How it is to be gained (Pro 22:1-4); 2) what chief hinderances threaten the possession of it (Pro 22:5-16).In similar style, Wohlfarth, Calmer Handb., etc.
Pro 22:1. Melanchthon: With reason dost thou say: I need a good conscience for Gods sake, but a good name for my neighbors sake. A good name is really a good thing well-pleasing to God, and must be esteemed and sought by us, because God would have the difference between good and evil brought to the day by the testimony of public opinion, so that accordingly those Who do right may be promoted and preserved, the unjust, on the contrary, censured, punished and destroyed. From such public witness we are to become aware of the existence of a moral law, and should reflect, that a holy God and supreme avenger of all evil lives. We must therefore strive after a good name for two reasons: 1) because God would have us regard the judgments of upright men (Sir 6:1 sq.); 2) because He would also have us serve as a good example to others (1Co 10:31 sq.; Php 4:8).Starke: If a good name is better than riches, then it is our duty, in case of need, to defend our innocence (Amo 7:11; Joh 8:49), but no less to rescue the good name of others also (1Sa 20:31 sq.).[Arnot: The atmosphere of a good name surrounding it imparts to real worth additional body and breadth.Muffet: a good name maketh a mans speeches and actions the more acceptable; it spreadeth his virtues unto his glory, and the stirring up of others; it remaineth after death; it doth good to the children of him who is well spoken of; and finally is i means of advancement.]
Pro 22:2-5. Melanchthon (on Pro 22:2.): Know that there is a Divine providence, and that no by chance but by Gods ordinance some are rich others poor. Therefore it is of moment that both walk before God according to their state and calling, that the poor therefore do not murmur against God, but humble himself under His hand and take comfort in the promises of His word (Mat 5:3),that the rich, however, be not presumptuous, and do not set his trust on uncertain riches (1Ti 6:17), etc.Tbingen. Bible (on the same verse):If the rich were always humble and the poor patient, and both alike penitent, pious, loving and peaceable, the rich and poor might live happy and content together.[R. Hall:The rich and the poor meet together 1) in the participation of a common nature; 2) in the process of the same social economy; 3) in the house of God; 4) in the circumstances of their entrance into this world and in the circumstances of their exit out of it: 5) in the great crises of the future.Saurin:That diversity of condition which God hath been pleased to establish among men is perfectly consistent with equality; the splendid condition of the rich includes nothing that favors their ideas of self-preference; there is nothing in the low condition of the poor which deprives them of their real dignity or debases their intelligence formed in the image of God, etc.See Bishop Butlers Sermon before the Lord Mayor.R. Hooker (on Pro 22:3):It is nature which teacheth a wise man in fear to hide himself, but grace and faith teach him where.Muffet:Although God can save us only by His power, yet He will not without our own care and endeavor, nor without those means which He hath ordained to that intent and purpose].Hasius (on Pro 22:3):The best hiding from danger and calamity is under the wings of the Almighty (Psa 91:1 sq.).J. Lange (on Pro 22:4):He who would be exalted to glory, must first suffer himself to be well humbled.(On Pro 22:6):The ungodly finds in the path to hell nothing but thorns and snares, and yet he presses on in it! A sign of the greatness and fearfulness of the ruin of mans sin.
Pro 22:6-13. [South (on Pro 22:6):A sermon on the education of youth].Starke (on Pro 22:6):The spirits of children are like plastic wax; according as good or evil is impressed upon them will their chief inclination be a good or evil one.On Pro 22:8):Upon unrighteousness and ungodliness there surely follows a terrible end. But who believes it? (Psa 73:18-19).Cramer (on Pro 22:10):One sin ever develops itself from another. From mockery comes wrath, from wrath comes strife, from strife one comes to blows, and from blows comes reproach.(On Pro 22:11):A true heart and a pleasing speech are rarely found together, especially at the courts of this worlds great ones, where there is only quite too much hypocrisy and unfaithfulness to be found, hiding behind smooth words.
Pro 22:13-16. J. Lange (on Pro 22:13):He that loveth his own soul and therefore on account of comfort and tenderness will not go forth to carry on the Lords work, will lose and eternally destroy his soul, Joh 7:25.(On Pro 22:15):Gods children must in their life have to experience sharp strokes of affliction in many forms, for, still as heretofore spiritually children, folly in many forms remains in their hearts, and the sin that yet dwells in them makes itself perceptible by frequent outbreaks.Geier (on Pro 22:15):With mere loving words and flattering speech can no child be happily trained; strict and wise correction must be added.(On Pro 22:16):Beware of all unrighteous means of becoming rich through others injury. Better to have little with a good conscience than great treasure with injustice!Calwer Handb. (on Pro 22:16):He that enriches himself on the poor, one richer than he will in turn impoverish him.[Edwards (on Pro 22:15):The rod of correction is proper to drive away no other foolishness than that which is of a moral nature. But how comes wickedness to be so firmly bound, and strongly fixed, in the hearts of children, if it be not there naturally ?]
A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold. The rich and poor meet together: the LORD is the maker of them all.
There is a vast dissimilarity in those two verses, but both have great and important truths contained in them. What name so precious as Christ’s, and what riches like his. This name is like ointment poured forth for fragrancy. Son 1:3 ; Ecc 7:1 . All the inequalities of life are of divine appointment. It is blessed when both characters find their equality in Jesus. The Lord is then both the Maker and the Redeemer of all.
Pro 22:13
In the text before us the slothful man is made to give the reason for his slothfulness. Of course it is easy to see that his reply is a mere excuse. He does not want to bestir himself. He much prefers the comfort of his own fireside. Still he must show some reason for his conduct. This lion is simply the creature of his lively imagination. Yet in his judgment any excuse is better than no excuse at all, hence his words ‘There is a lion without, in the streets’.
I. No man can close his ears to the call of duty from either real or imaginary dangers without a tremendous loss to himself. ‘The slothful man saith, there is a lion without, I shall be slain in the streets.’ He refuses the call of duty in consequence. Does he remain the same as before? By no means. He is poorer in every way. He is poorer because he refuses that activity which is life to all created beings. It is a most instructive study to note how severely nature punishes all refusals to exercise that energy by which growth and progress are accomplished. What we call a freak in nature is, in almost every case, nature’s punishment of the slothful. It is even so in the moral and spiritual world.
II. There is in that moral and spiritual world an universal duty relative to God on the one hand and man on the other. We are all brought face to face with a duty we owe to God, an obligation to worship Him in spirit and in truth. There is a call of His Spirit which comes to every man.
The slothful man knows full well that though the lion is but a mere excuse, the vain creation of his own imagination, yet there is involved in the call to action perils of a very real kind. The soul that arrays itself by the side of Jesus Christ, and in every thought, word, and deed, seeks to translate into its own life the spirit of the Lord, will find the lion without in the street.
The call of the human is as imperative and universal as the call of the Divine. God is calling us up in worship, and man is calling us out in service, and both unite in demanding that we should spend and be spent in the kingdom of Christ.
III. Let us consider the effect of the conduct of the slothful man upon himself. The path of the slothful endeth in death. He turns in upon himself, and feeds upon his own soul, and is as the camel in the desert who feeds upon its own hump, and when that is done dies. Christ has indicated the end of the slothful man. ‘Whosoever shall save his life shall lose it.’ His real danger is from within. He is his greatest enemy.
J. Gay, Common Truths from Queer Texts, p. 14.
Pro 22:13
The greatest foe in Central Africa is the terrible sleep sickness. The victim gradually, but none the less surely, settles down into a sleep from which there is no awakening in this world. In its first stages at any rate activity is salvation. Slothfulness is a mental and moral sleep sickness. From its terrible end we may be saved if taken in time. But there is only one invariable effect Its feet lead down to the valley of death. True life is the very opposite to the slothful, and is incompatible with luxury and ease.
J. Gay, Common Truths from Queer Texts, p. 23.
References. XXII. 13. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xxviii. No. 1670. XXII. 22, 23. W. Arnot, Laws from Heaven far Life on Earth, p. 465. XXIII. 1. J. M. Neale, Sermons on the Blessed Sacrament, p. 99. XXIII. 1-3. W. Arnot, Laws from Heaven for Life on Earth, p. 460.
A Good Name Better Than Riches, Etc.
Pro 22:1-11
We are here taught that favour is better than silver and gold. The word “favour” signifies the peculiar sweetness or loveliness which excites and elicits the love of other men; it also means that the expression of the favour of others is elicited by the grace that is within ourselves, and that we increase our own graciousness by the approbation of those who look on, observing with gratitude how large are our resources of amiability, forbearance, long-suffering, meekness, and other fruits of the Spirit. Favour wins love, and favour confers the blessings of love on others. A good name is more than mere reputation. We are often reminded that reputation is what a man is said to be, and that character is what a man is in reality. Many a man may have a good name who does not deserve the honour, simply because he is imperfectly known, because his power of concealment is great, because he can draw round himself a garment of impenetrable darkness, within which he can work deeds of evil without his iniquity being known. Repute that is merely the result of calculation is a bubble that will burst and leave its possessor poor indeed. We are not to understand that it is impossible to have both a good name and great riches; it is perfectly possible to have both, as has been illustrated in numberless instances; but where we can only have one it is the good name that is to be chosen in preference to great riches. Sometimes we are called upon to choose one or the other of two blessings. No wise man will deny that great riches create great opportunities for doing good, or that they release the mind from the canker of anxiety. Persuading ourselves that such is the case, it is difficult to quench our ambition, which operates in the direction of the accumulation of wealth. When we are at the point of election, having to choose between a good name and great riches, we are at the very crisis of life. Only an inexperienced man will reduce the energy of the temptation to a minimum. It is indeed a great temptation when riches are placed within reach, and when a man is called upon to decide between being wealthy and being well-reputed. Riches are seductive, are false in all their suggestions, are unable to realise their own promises, and so men are misled, disappointed, and ultimately confounded or ruined by the very friends to whose protection they had confided themselves. Great riches can only be used in one world, whereas a good name can be carried throughout all spheres, and will abide through the lapse of all duration. We cannot have a really good name amongst men until we have a good name with God; we cannot have a good name with God until we accept his conditions and utterly repudiate our own. A name that is really good is more than a name, it is a character, it is the expression of a spiritual wealth, it is the exemplification of a deep and holy reality of conscience, rectitude, and beneficence. Names should be characters, names should be realities, names should be doors that open upon hearts that are hospitable homes, yea, that are very sanctuaries of purity, wisdom, truth, and every form of goodness.
“The rich and poor meet together: the Lord is the maker of them all” ( Pro 22:2 ).
It may seem to be hard on the part of Christian observers to say that the poor are always with us in order to develop the piety and beneficence of the rich. Such, however, may be the fact. The world would be poorer but for its poverty. Society would be robbed of one of its supreme opportunities of spiritual and social culture but for the poverty, the weakness, the pain, the destitution of many men. Whilst the critic says this, the Christian must feel it. The Christian is not a mere constructor of society, an architect of fortune, a theorist who says that this and that and something beyond are essential to the perfect structure of society; when the Lord Jesus said, “The poor ye have always with you,” he was not remarking upon a mere fact in social economy, he was pointing to a deeper fact in the purpose of God in his marvellous education of the world. The nursery softens the whole household, the sick-chamber turns the house into a sanctuary; so in the great general world, poverty, sickness, helplessness, blindness, every form and aspect of destitution, may be looked upon as needful to the deepest and completest education of the soul. The poor man is at your door, not to be looked at, but to be helped; not to be regarded as a symbol in social arithmetic, but as a heart needing sympathy and brotherhood. When the rich look upon their duties in this light they will be no longer rich in any sense that implies vulgarity, self-confidence, or vanity of any kind: they will be stewards, trustees, men put in trust for the good of others, and who will only enjoy their night’s repose as they can look back upon a day of beneficent activity and sacrifice. Then they that are rich will act as if they were not rich, because they will place no confidence in silver and gold, but will simply use them as mediums for the comfort and strengthening of others. In this way religion will sanctify political economy, and political economy will become an obedient servant of the highest spiritual conception and impulse. If the Lord is the maker of us all, the Lord is also the judge of us all. The whole arbitration is in his hands; he knows whether we have helped the poor, or whether we have stifled their cry, or charged their prayer with hypocrisy so as to save ourselves from inquiry and expenditure. The Lord is not ashamed to be regarded as the maker of the poor; he made the poor, not that they might continue to be poor, but that they might continue to elicit the affectionate attention of those who are in better social circumstances. It is true that poverty is often self-induced, or that it can be traced to criminality, indifference, incapacity, and the like; but to regard all poverty as explained by this fact is to ignore all the largest and truest mysteries of life; poverty has a mission in society; poverty ought to be saved from suffering; it may be used to show how dependent one man is upon another, but that dependence should never be allowed to drop into servility on the one hand, or to be regarded as a mark of dominance and contempt on the other. Let the rich man consider that he might have been the poor man, and that reflection will chasten him when he begins to magnify his own ingenuity and to talk proudly of his own commercial capacity. The richest man has nothing that he has not received, and all his treasure he should hold, not as proprietor, but as trustee.
“A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished” ( Pro 22:3 ).
Passages of this kind should be read with care, or they may seem to minister to a kind of ingenuity that is superficial and selfish. We have often had occasion to point out that there is a little prudence as well as a great prudence: a prudence that merely takes care of itself, and a prudence which never seeks its own life, or makes any selfish calculations about its own comfort. “He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.” We are not called upon anywhere in the Bible to make little calculations, small and selfish arrangements, to build for ourselves little refuges that will hold nobody else: we are called to farsightedness, a large conception of men and things and divine purposes, and to such a calculation of the action of the forces of the universe as will save us from needless trouble and assure us of ultimate defence and protection. Foresight is everywhere taught in the Bible, but not a foresight that is of the nature of selfishness. We are called upon to read history so as to transform it into prophecy. Men who have an opportunity of reading the action of ages ought to have no difficulty in forecasting the future; providence is the same, moral demands and relations are unalterable; we have behind us century upon century of human development, enterprise, speculation, and should therefore have no difficulty in saying what will happen on the morrow, or what will happen in five centuries. About the details we of course know nothing, but the details are the least part of the prognostication: say ye to the righteous, it shall be well with him: say ye to the wicked, it shall be ill with him: this is an eternal prophecy; nothing can modify it or set it aside permanently; come and go as circumstances may, ever and anon we shall hear the solemn judgment pronounced upon human action, that the wicked shall go away into everlasting punishment and the righteous into eternal life. We shall treat history frivolously if we look only at detail and incident and transient colour: all local circumstances change, but the central truth abides, that they that do good shall come forth to everlasting glory, and they who do evil shall descend into everlasting confusion. Why say that we know nothing about the future when we know everything about it that is worth knowing? Why live as if we had no vision of the times to come? The future has been painted with a vivid hand in Holy Scripture; we know exactly how heaven is constituted and how hell is populated, and there is no mystery about either condition that is not of the nature of detail or passing incident; the character which is the key of the whole mystery is open to our scrutiny and immediate estimation. If men will not take heed of great moral ordinances or spiritual standards, they will pass on and be punished. They must not look upon such punishment as arbitrary; it is part of the nature of things, it is the pulsation of the life of creation: punishment follows error in all worlds, and must do so, not as a mere chastisement, but as a solemn and inevitable consequence. Here we find the whole philosophy of moral existence. At this point the simplest minds may become philosophical by adopting the grand conception of life which expresses itself in the fact that whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap. This is true wisdom; herein is the fear of the Lord, and herein begins the solemn action of the soul which expresses itself in aspiration, in religious hopefulness, and in religious confidence; that action which rises first into desire, then into prayer, then into praise, into praise because God has vindicated his throne, showing it to be established in righteousness, and has vindicated his promises, showing them to be the flowers which grow in the garden which his own right hand has planted. Thus again we come upon the two classes, the prudent and the simple, the false and the true, the right and the wrong; he who would add to these classes any section in which he would find comfort because of wrong-doing trifles with the economy of God, and will be punished by daily disappointment and final punishment with infinite confusion and mortification.
“The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender. He that soweth iniquity shall reap vanity: and the rod of his anger shall fail. He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed: for he giveth of his bread to the poor” ( Pro 22:7-9 ).
These are instances of the operation of the law of cause and effect. The rich ruling over the poor is a necessity which cannot be easily controlled; no mechanical arrangement can bring the relation to a proper point of forbearance and magnanimity; until the heart is made right all economical adjustments will fail at point after point. When rich men rule over the poor they show the lowest kind of power; yet there is a sense in which wealth ought to rule over poverty, the sense of beneficence, direction, and succour: the poor man ought to be able to say, The more the rich man has the more I have; he is trustee and steward, and he will not see me want within the limits of reason. The latter part of verse seven is a caution against borrowing. The borrower has to submit to many humiliations which are painful to him: he has to make calculations and arrangements, to withhold judgments, and to change the very tone of his speech, lest he should offend the man who can punish him by demanding the fulfilment of his bond. “Neither a borrower, nor a lender be.” The philosophy of the eighth verse we have had occasion to prove day by day in the development of ordinary life. Bad seed never comes to good fruit. Oftentimes men sow iniquity without ever reflecting that seedtime is followed by harvest; they had a kind of grim joy in sowing iniquity, they describe it as “sowing their wild oats”; they do not stop to consider that after the sowing will come the reaping: herein is an inevitable and inexorable law: “Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” Whom should a man blame? Should he blame providence? Should he reflect adversely upon the economy of nature? Should he describe himself as unlucky, unfortunate, and worthy of commiseration? On the contrary, he should say, Here is a proof of the divine sovereignty and of the inexorableness of law; here is a distinct testimony to the fact that we are not living a haphazard life, without bound, without purpose, and without judgment, but we are pursuing lines of thought and effort which must end in practical consequences. When the bad man puts in his sickle to reap darkness and the ashes of death, he should say to himself as he looks upon his empty hands, Lo, this also confirms the judgment and power of God. In the ninth verse the picture is seen on its reverse side. Instead of a man who sows iniquity we find a man who sows beneficence and gives his bread liberally to the poor, who studies the necessities of his age and neighbourhood, and ministers to them with Christian hospitality. What is the consequence in this instance? Precisely the reverse of the consequence in the former instance. The man whose eye is bountiful and whose hand is liberal is to be blessed. The word “blessed” can never be fully explained in language; it must be explained in the heart and by the heart; and when the heart has whispered to itself all the gospel it can conceive as expressed by this word “blessed,” there will still come before the heart visions of further beneficence and grace and honour, yea heaven upon heaven, for it would seem as if God could never give back enough to him who regards the poor as his children and looks upon the helpless as furnishing the field and sphere of beneficent operation. How wise is the Bible in all these practical philosophies! Here is a book that protects the poor, that guards men against borrowing and all the servility following upon excessive obligation; here is a book that declares the issue and consequence of the sowing of iniquity; and here is a book which proclaims the blessedness of beneficence and self-sacrifice. It is upon these grand bases that the claim of the book to be considered divine is founded. They are not metaphysical or philosophical bases in any sense that can only be comprehended by intellectual penetration and culture: they are philosophical in a practical sense, in that they can be tested by the simplest man in the simplest duties of life. Every Christian can be a commentator upon passages like this; it is not necessary to know the original language or to parse the mere words with grammatical accuracy: every loving heart can stand up and prove the blessedness of the bountiful soul, the sacredness and the happiness of beneficent activity.
XXII
MISCELLANEOUS PROVERBS
Pro 10:1-22:16 Solomon is the author of Pro 10:1-22:16 , and the character of this section is noticeable in the change from the direct and continuous appeal of the opening chapters of the book to the short and, for the most part, disconnected maxims, each of them contained, as a rule, in a couplet, or district, formed strictly on the model of Hebrew parallelism.
The one exception to the rule of the couplet is found in Pro 19:7 were there is a tristich, or stanza of three lines) which is explained by assuming that the last clause of this verse properly belongs to another proverb, of which one member has fallen out of our present text. This conclusion is in some measure confirmed by the appearance in the Septuagint of two complete distichs, though it does not help toward the restoration of the original Hebrew text.
Maurer calls this section, “Golden saying not unworthy of Solomon, fitted to form and fashion the whole life.” There are 376 proverbs in this collection and the parallelism is generally antithetic. A profitable study it would be to take this great section and classify each proverb in it as to the Hebrew parallelism found in it, and then paraphrase it so as to show its application to modern life, but such a plan would require more space than can be given to this discussion. An example of such paraphrase is found in W. J. Bryan’s paraphrase of Pro 22:3 , thus: A wise man sees the danger and gets out of the way, But the fool rushes on and gets it in the neck.
I give here several proverbs selected from those made by members of the author’s class in the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, as illustrations of the various kinds of parallelism found in the book of proverbs. Many of them are antithetic, like most of the proverbs found in the great section discussed so briefly in this chapter. The kind of parallelism found in each proverb is indicated by the word following it.
A wise man is as springtime to his neighbor, But the foolish are as the death of winter. Antithetic
A son that honors his father shall be honored in old age, But he that dishonors his parents shall suffer at the last. Antithetic
A wise man chooses his path, But they who Jack wisdom stumble on through life. Antithetic
In the house of the wicked strife prevails, But in the chambers of the righteous peace dwells. Antithetic
Christ is the foundation of religion, And religion is the foundation of the world. Synthetic
Heaven is a place of happiness But hell is a place of torment. Antithetic
What you were will not avail, It’s what you are that counts. Synthetic
Every proverb has encased a jewel, And wisdom is the key to unlock it. Climactic
Teachers impart knowledge, But pupils straightway forget it. Antithetic
Any fool can find fault, But the wise in heart will bridle the tongue. Antithetic
If people would be loved, They must first love others. Progressive
Love getteth to itself friends; While hatred maketh enemies. Antithetic
Duty calls ever and anon, Happy the man who heeds her call. Climactic
If you pay as you go, Your going will be good. Progressive
The bold eat the sweet morsel of victory, But the fearful are put to shame. Antithetic
The rebuke of a friend Is better than the compliment of an enemy. Progressive
As the rudder is to the ship, So is character to the life. Parabolic
A little schooling is a fooling with the looks, But true learning is a discerning of the books. Antithetic
The wicked rejoiceth in health, But calleth on the Lord in distress. Antithetic
The man who has an axe to grind Meets you with a smiling face. Progressive
Tis only noble thoughts Can make a noble man. Progressive
The wheels of time move slowly But they move surely. Climactic
The wicked purpose evil and are brought low, But the righteous purpose good and are exalted. Antithetic
The man who seeks to know the right shall find light. But he who seeks the lusts of the flesh shall find darkness. Antithetic
The going of the wicked is exceedingly crooked, But the path of the righteous is in the straight and narrow way. Antithetic
As a roaring lion in chains by the way, So is the adversary to the heavenly pilgrim. Parabolic
They who take part in others’ troubles Are apt to get into trouble, too. Progressive
QUESTIONS
1. Who is the author of Pro 10:1-22:16 and what is the character of this section?
2. What is exception to the rule that these Proverbs are expressed in couplets and how may this exception be explained?
3. What says Maurer of this section?
4. How many proverbs are in this section and what kind of parallelism is most common?
5. What is the suggestion by the author for a profitable study of this section?
6. Select ten of the most striking proverbs in this section and paraphrase them so as to show the application of them.
7. Now try your hand at making proverbs of every kind of Hebrew parallelism and indicate the kind of parallelism in each.
Pro 22:1 A [good] name [is] rather to be chosen than great riches, [and] loving favour rather than silver and gold.
Ver. 1. A good name is rather to be chosen. ] Heb., A name, as “a wife,” for a good wife. Pro 18:22 Better no wife than an ill wife, so better no name than an ill name. This good name proceeding from a good conscience, this honour from virtue, Isa 43:4 this perfume of faith and obedience, this splendour and sparkle of the “white stone,” which only shines upon heavenly hearts – is far more desirable than great riches. For, first, These oft take away the life of the owners thereof. Pro 1:19 The greater wealth, the greater spoil awaits a man. As a tree with thick and large boughs, every man desires to lop him. Whereas a good name saves a man oft from that danger, as it did Jonathan, whom the people rescued. Secondly, Riches breed and bring their cares and cumbers with them. Qui habet terras habet guerras, saith the proverb; many lawsuits and other vexations, &c.; when a good name, as a precious ointment poured out, gets loving favour, with which it is therefore fitly coupled in this text. Thirdly, Riches are enjoyed but till death at utmost; but a good name outlives the man, and is left behind him for a blessing. Isa 65:15 Pro 10:7 See Trapp on “ Pro 10:7 “ Other people went beyond God’s Israel in wealth and riches, but none in fame and renown. 2Sa 7:23 Deu 4:6 Fourthly, Riches are oft gotten by fame. Let a man’s name be up, and there will be great recourse to him; but let him once crack his credit, and riches cannot repair him. Infamy will not be bought off with money. Lastly, Riches are common to good men with bad men; but a good name, truly so called, is proper to God’s peculiar, confined to the communion of saints. He was therefore a better husband than divine that first called riches bona, goods, And that heathen was nearer the truth than many profligate professors of it who said, Ego si bonam famam servasso sat dives ero: a that is, If I may but keep a good name, I have wealth enough.
And loving favour rather than silver and gold. a Plautus.
Proverbs Chapter 22
Even in a day when Israel was under probation and the earthly government of Jehovah with present results for good or ill, there could not but be the working of great moral principles in those that feared His name, far beyond what the natural man covets.
“A name [is] rather to be chosen than great riches, loving favour rather than silver and gold.
“Rich and poor meet together: Jehovah [is] the maker of them all.
“A prudent one seeth the evil and hideth himself; but the simple pass on and are punished.
“The reward of humility, the fear of Jehovah, [is] riches and honour, and life.
“Thorns, snares, are in the way of a perverse one; he that guardeth his soul keepeth far from them.
“Train up the child in accordance with his course, and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
“The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower [is] servant of the lender.” vv. 1-7.
It is usual to supply the word “good” in the version of the opening clause of the 22nd chapter. But this is so necessarily implied as to seem needless. For who could suppose that a false pretension is of any value? One’s name in Scripture is the manifestation of what one is; the object of the heart determines the character; and here it is supposed to be what is excellent in God’s eyes as well as man’s. Hence, loving favour accompanies it, which is far from due to silver and gold, often the portion of the worthless.
In the essentials, how little is the difference! Alike they come into the world, and alike they stand when the world passes away. “Rich and poor meet together; Jehovah is the maker of them all.” This the poor man is entitled to remember, and the rich man ought not to forget. Job had it distinctly before him: “If I despised the cause of my bondman or of my bondmaid, when they contended with me, what then should I do when God riseth up? and if he visited, what should I answer him? Did not he that made me in the womb make him? and did not one fashion us in the womb?”
The value of prudence in a world like this is next urged. The circumspect sees the evil and seeks timely shelter; the heedless goes boldly forward and suffers the consequence.
Humility of a true sort, the fear of Jehovah, has its reward in riches and honour and life, which greater ability misses for the lack of it.
The crooked or perverse man finds painful experience on his way, thorns, snares; whereas he that guards his soul keeps aloof from all such trials.
Early training, whatever the exceptions, has its good result. Train up the lad according to his course; and when he is old, he will not depart from it. So it was with Isaac thus trained by his father. Solomon’s course was a much more chequered one, though we may hope there was repentance.
It is a difficult thing for a man of money to avoid airs with him that has none, and particularly if the latter puts himself under obligation to him. But faith delivers from this snare, and still more when there is a real living Christ.
In verses 8-14 we have an alternating series of characteristics to strive against or to cherish, with only evils following, which call for our attention.
“He that soweth unrighteousness shall reap vanity; and the rod of his wrath shall have an end.
“He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed, for he giveth of his bread to the poor.
“Cast out the scorner, and contention shall go out, and strife and ignominy shall cease.
“He that loveth pureness of heart [with I grace of his lips, the king [shall be] his friend.
“The eyes of Jehovah preserve knowledge, but he overthroweth the words of the treacherous.
“The sluggard saith, A lion without, I shall be killed in the streets!
“The mouth of strange women [is] a deep ditch; he with whom Jehovah is indignant shall fall therein.”
To begin with here, injustice is to end with mischief and disappointment; yet if this sours the temper and leads to wrath, its effect is neither great nor long. It is the Old Testament analogue to Gal 6:7 , Gal 6:8 : “Be not deceived. God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his own flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth unto the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life eternal.”
The bountiful eye, on the contrary, does not wait for the appeals of want, but looks out for it in this world of disorder and distress; and his hand and heart go with the good will of his eye, for he giveth of his bread to the poor. And such a one is and shall be blessed.
The scorner is not only ungodly and a sinner, but a source of mischief where he enters. Would you have contention to disappear, you must get rid of his presence; for it surely brings strife and shame along with it.
How different with a man who joins love of a pure heart to grace on his lips! He is a treasure, not only in private but for public complications. The king seeks such a one for his friend. It is the combination that is so rare.
Even in a world of deception, before the king shall reign in righteousness, when eyes are dim and ears dull, where the vile is called liberal and the churl bountiful, the eyes of Jehovah preserve knowledge, which otherwise would perish from the earth; and He overthrows the words of the treacherous, were they as high as Haman in the eyes of Ahasuerus.
Again, the sluggard who likes to lie abed says in his foolish fancy, A lion is without. I shall be killed in the streets! He is blind to the worst enemy that besets his chamber and enchains his soul.
But the mouth of strange women is yet more dangerous to the unwary, “a deep ditch” for such as yield to her snares. He who falls therein is apt to sink indeed to utter ruin; or, in the energetic phrase of this book, he is one against whom Jehovah hath indignation.
These brief moral axioms here (vv. 15-21) close with the following pair – the thoughtless child, and the calculating adult – which we do well to lay to heart.
“Folly [is] bound in the heart of a child: the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.
“He that oppresseth the poor to increase his [wealth], he that giveth to the rich, surely [cometh] only to want.
“Incline thine ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply thy heart unto my knowledge.
“For [it is] a pleasant thing if thou keep them within thee: they shall be together fitted to thy lips.
“That thy trust may be in Jehovah, I have made [them] known to thee this day, even to thee.
“Have not I written to thee excellent things in counsels and knowledge
“That I might make thee know the certainty of the words of truth; that thou mightest report words of truth to them that send thee?” vv. 15-21.
It is a sure and solemn thing that folly is no calamity from without, but bound in the heart, and this not only when in the conflicts of busy life, but from our early days, departed as all now are from God by nature. “Folly is bound in the heart of a child”; exemption there is none from the most tender age. Nor does the utmost love or care adequately restrain folly. There is the rod of correction to drive it far away by Jehovah’s prescription and with His blessing. It is the folly of a father or mother to think their way better than God’s.
With the grownup another snare is too common: to oppress the poor in any form of increasing one’s means – very especially to commend oneself to the rich by gifts they do not need. God’s eye is on this folly too; and such “come to want” as such selfishness deserves.
To give heed to the words of the wise is itself a wise thing – to apply the heart as well as the ear to such as know better than ourselves. How sad the self-sufficiency that doubts it!
These words, if kept within, give satisfaction and pleasure; whereas all else palls and becomes distasteful, if not a shame. Nor is this all. They contribute to our own growth and the help of others by the help they render and the confidence they inspire. Thus do they become “together fitted to thy lips.”
But there is a better effect still, “that thy trust may be in Jehovah.” Therefore are such words made known, for who otherwise is sufficient for them? and what good is there that we have not received? Surely we do well to mark precisely the debt of each of us, “this day, even to thee.”
Further, let us not overlook the enhanced value of “excellent things in counsels and knowledge” by their being “written” to us. However good oral instruction, there is no small danger of mistake in the hearer, and still more of letting slip even what we understand. But we can read again and again what is written, and make it our own more fully. Hence the signal profit of Scripture as the permanent Word of God to our souls, as nothing else can be.
A similar advantage. here noted next. Scripture possesses, is “that I might make thee know the certainty of the words of truth.” Pure science has nothing moral in it, still less an affection, and least of all makes God known to the soul, and in His true relationship to me. This is just what His Word does communicate in all certainty, for His Word is truth of that spiritual kind. Unbelief makes the truth of God the most uncertain of all things, like heathenism with its gods many and lords many, but the one true and living God unknown.
How good too is the fruit resulting to others! “That thou mightest report words of truth, to them that send thee” as a trusty representative, or that “send to thee” for advice in difficulty. Does not God give songs in the night, who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth, and makes us wiser than the birds of heaven?
The apothegms in verses 22-29 all have a prohibitory character, save the last, which is a positive example to be followed and honoured.
“Rob not the poor, because he [is] poor, neither oppress the afflicted in the gate; for Jehovah will plead their cause, and despoil the soul of those that despoil them.
“Make no friendship with an angry man, and go not with a furious man; lest thou learn his paths, and get a snare to thy soul.
“Be not of those that strike hands, of those that are sureties for debts; if thou hast nothing to pay, why should he take away thy bed from under thee?
“Remove not the ancient landmark which thy fathers have set.”
“Hast thou seen a man diligent in his work? He shall stand before kings, he shall not stand before the obscure.” vv. 22-29.
It may seem singular to say, “Rob not the poor,” and in particular “because he is poor”; but it is a warning especially, so base, selfish, and cruel as human nature is now. The rich who might appear the more inviting prey to the unscrupulous are able to take care of themselves in ways that the poor would or could not essay. Hence, bad men flatter the rich for gain, while they also rob or oppress those who ought to be objects of pity. But Jehovah has His eye on such villainy, at the very gate whence justice should flow, pleads the cause of the poor and the afflicted, and repays heavily those who despoil them.
With one given to anger, it is hard to keep friends, and unsafe to make a friend; and to go with a furious soul is to run the risk of learning his ways, and thus to get a snare instead of a deterrent. Let not the sun go down upon your wrath, says the Apostle; not to hear him in this is to give place to the devil. Even if we have grave reason, the only right Christian feeling is to forgive; and if you forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your heavenly Father forgive your trespasses. You who are slow to forget your wrongs, perhaps imaginary, do you believe Christ’s words?
If one realized the duty of having to pay, in any bargain that is made, or suretyship which one agrees to, there would be a serious consideration whether God approves and leads the way. But as drowning men catch at a straw for life, so the imprudent lose their own means, and then seek to draw to their help their trusting friends, even if these have little or nothing to spare. It is a trifle, say they, or a mere form without risk; for it is sure to answer. The sanguine and the improvident thus ensnare themselves into their own ruin. How homely and pungent the hint! If thou hast nothing to pay, why should he take away the bed from under thee?
Another dishonesty is then held up to censure, in which men are apt to cheat craftily rather than with open violence. The ancient landmark set by thy fathers is to be kept contentedly, and without allowing a covetous desire.
Last, it is well to regard a man diligent in his work in a world where so many begrudge their time, care, and labour. No wonder that one who does his business with conscience despatch, and skill, makes himself at length an object for the king’s honour if not need, leaving behind the obscure with whose company he began. Those who rule value industrial integrity.
name. Note the Ellipsis (App-6), and supply “good” from Ecc 7:1.
Chapter 22
A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favor rather than silver and gold ( Pro 22:1 ).
The good name, so important, so valuable. Good reputation, so important. “Rather to be chosen than great riches. Loving favor rather than silver and gold.”
The rich and the poor meet together ( Pro 22:2 ):
Where? In the eyes of the Lord.
for the LORD is the maker of them all ( Pro 22:2 ).
You know, God can’t be impressed with your bank account. We all meet together when we stand before God. The rich and the poor, we’re all alike. We meet together. There’s a common ground. Whenever we stand before the Lord, we’re meeting on common grounds. Except, as I understand the scripture, the poor man has maybe a few advantages. “How hard it is for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven” ( Mar 10:24 ). That is, how hard it is for those who trust in riches. The danger of riches is always that tendency and temptation to trust in your riches. I’ve learned that I can buy my way out of problems with my money. I learn that I can use money to influence people or to control people. And I’m used to, then, the manipulation of people because of my financial prowess. Poor person doesn’t have any of those problems. When you stand before the Lord, the rich and the poor meet together.
The prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hides himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished ( Pro 22:3 ).
The prudent man. Now we see the evil that is going to result from a life of sin, and we hide our self in the provisions that God has made through Jesus Christ. We hide from that day of judgment. But the simple, they’re going to pass right on into it and will be punished.
By humility and the fear of the LORD [or reverence of the Lord] are riches, honor, and life ( Pro 22:4 ).
Now, “He that follows after righteousness and mercy finds life, righteousness and honor.” Here, “By humility and the reverence of the Lord are riches, honor and life.”
Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse: and he who keeps his soul shall be far from them. Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it ( Pro 22:5-6 ).
This particular passage of scripture has been the center of great controversy. There are many people who, with an aching heart, looking at their children who are rebelling from the things of the Lord, and their hearts filled with wonderment as to how the child could turn so far from God. But yet, God has declared, “Train up a child.” Of course, it does involve that responsibility of training the child. The Hebrew word is one that we translate kanakais, it’s a systematic form of training.
But what did you train your child to be? What was your primary purpose for your child? What was your goal for your children? What did you want for them above everything else? You say, “Well, I wanted them to be successful. I wanted them to be happy. I wanted them to have a successful career. I wanted them to have a good education.” Well, they are purely pagan goals and ideals for your children. They’re totally un-Christian. The primary goal that we should have for each of our children is that they walk with the Lord. That they learn to know God and serve God and walk with Him.
And that is not undervaluing education. I think that it’s great. I think a person should avail himself the opportunity of every educational advantage he can receive. But that should never be our goal. Our goal should be that our children will walk with the Lord. And I’d rather have them walking with the Lord and be an ignoramus and work in some very menial work than I would to have them have their Ph.D.’s and be agnostic or atheistic or blasphemous against God.
Not all of our children graduated from college. I have to confess a disappointment that they did not take full advantage of all of the natural God-given intellectual capacities that they had in going to college. And yet, we’ve learned to commit this completely into the hands of the Lord. The fact that they went to college or graduated from college or not doesn’t really make any difference to me. I’m thankful they’re walking with Him. That’s what’s important. It could be that in college their minds could have been twisted. It could have been that their values could have been destroyed. The true values. I would much rather that they be walking with the Lord than to have their Ph.D.’s.
“Train up a child.” What is the goal that you have? That’s important. If you’re training a child to be successful, he may be successful. But he also may be a successful infidel. “Train up your child in the way he should go, when he’s old, he will not depart from it.”
The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender. He that soweth iniquity shall reap vanity: and the rod of his anger shall fail. He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed; for he giveth of his bread to the poor ( Pro 22:7-9 ).
God’s mark upon generosity. “He that has a bountiful eye shall be blessed when he will give to the poor.”
Cast out the scorner, and contention shall go out; yea, strife and reproach shall cease ( Pro 22:10 ).
It’s amazing what one scorner can do in bringing strife and contention. So, cast out the scorner. Here at Calvary Chapel, actually, we have requested many scorners not to come back. That’s usually Romaine’s job, and he does it quite effectively. But it’s valuable. You know, it’s a healthy body that can purge its system of the poisons. And when a body is no longer strong enough to purge itself of its poisons, that body is going to die.
In the New Testament it says to get rid of the leaven for, “a little leaven will leaven the whole lump” ( Gal 5:9 ). So cast out that leaven. Same thing here. Cast out the scorner and you can get rid of so many problems. The contentions and all will cease.
He that loves pureness of heart, for the grace of lips the king shall be his friend. The eyes of the LORD preserve knowledge, and he overthroweth the words of the transgressor. The slothful man says, There is a lion outside, I’ll be slain in the streets ( Pro 22:11-13 ).
Any excuse to keep from going to work. And, again, as Benjamin Franklin said, “The man who is good at making excuses is seldom good for anything else.”
The mouth of a strange woman is a deep pit: and he that is abhorred of the LORD shall fall in it ( Pro 22:14 ).
Verse Pro 22:15 . Again, as far as the correction of our children.
Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it from him ( Pro 22:15 ).
Solomon, no doubt, observed his father David’s mistake. David was an extremely poor disciplinarian. And as a result of his being a poor disciplinarian, his sons rebelled against him. It is spoken of one of David’s sons that he never once punished him or did anything to antagonize him. He just left him alone. And that son grew up to hate David and rebelled against David. Of course, Absalom also rebelled against his father. David was just a poor disciplinarian.
So many times we have the false concept. “Well, I don’t want, you know, I don’t want to break this bond between my child and I. I won’t punish him. I’ll just let him go.” And that laxity, lack of discipline. “The foolishness is bound in the heart of a child, but the rod of instruction will drive it far from him.” A child left to himself will bring reproach to his parents.
He that oppresses the poor to increase his riches, and he who gives to the rich, shall surely come to want ( Pro 22:16 ).
Now at this point, the whole thing of the Proverbs begin to change a bit. We’ve had proverbs for a long period that more or less are isolated singly and stand alone. Sometimes you have a couplet, two of them together. But now the whole procedure of the Proverbs change, and we now have longer proverbs. That is, they take two, three, four verses in the proverbs that we now follow. You’ll notice this definite change, and rather than just little four-liners, they now expand on a particular thought.
Bow down thine ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply your heart unto my knowledge. For it is a pleasant thing if you keep them within thee; they shall withal be fitted in thy lips. That thy trust may be in the LORD, I have made known to thee this day, even to thee. Have not I written to thee excellent things in counsels and knowledge, That I may make thee know the certainty of the words of truth; that thou mightest answer the words of truth to them that send unto thee? ( Pro 22:17-21 )
So that whole paragraph now is the one idea of just hearken to the instruction that I’m going to give to you. Keep it. And basically the instruction is to teach you to trust in the Lord.
The next two verses form one thought.
Rob not the poor, because he is poor: neither oppress the afflicted in the gate: For the LORD will plead their cause, and spoil the soul of those that spoiled them ( Pro 22:22-23 ).
Again, God taking up the cause of the poor person. Twenty-four and twenty-five make up one thought.
Make no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man thou shalt not go: lest you learn his ways, and get a snare in your soul ( Pro 22:24-25 ).
Twenty-six and twenty-seven are together.
Be not thou one of them that strikes hands, or of them that are surety for debts. For if you have nothing to pay, why should they take away your bed from under thee? ( Pro 22:26-27 )
How many people who have you known signed as a surety have been stung. So it’s a warning against signing as a surety for someone else. Co-signing on this loan for me, friend, be careful.
Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set ( Pro 22:28 ).
Now this, of course, came as a law in the book of Deuteronomy where they were prohibited from removing the landmarks. The landmarks have been established by God. Property ownership and the limits of that property ownership. “Remove not the landmark.” I think of it in a spiritual sense. The landmark is the guidelines, and in a spiritual sense, unfortunately, we are living in the day when many men have sought to remove the spiritual type of landmarks or the foundational truths of the Word of God. And what confusion has ensued when men start playing around with the foundational truths of Christianity. Questioning the authority of the Word of God. Questioning the deity of Jesus Christ. And men starting to remove these landmarks. Confusion results.
You see a man that is diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men ( Pro 22:29 ).
Or in the Hebrew, obscure men. “
Pro 22:1
Pro 22:1
“A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, And loving favor rather than silver and gold.”
“Riches are greatly esteemed in the world; and, wisely managed, they serve many valuable purposes; but they do not contribute as much to genuine tranquility and happiness of life as do the esteem and love of one’s neighbors. Paul’s qualifications for elders did not require them to be rich, but to have a good name among Christians and even among the heathen.
Pro 22:1. Ecc 7:1 is similar, saying a good name is better than precious oil. Those who get rich through dishonest means choose riches rather than a good reputation. If it comes down to a choice, always choose a good name (loving favor) to great riches (Silver and gold). Great possessions with no friends can be so cold and empty! There are many suicides among the rich too. An average living with many friends and the favor of God proves to be the happiest, most satisfying way to live.
Verse Pro 22:2. The question that naturally arises on reading this is, Where do they meet together? This proverb is often used as having reference to the sanctuary or house of prayer; but a very superficial examination of the actual condition of affairs will show that this use of the proverb is hardly warranted. The answer to the question is that in the sight of God, and in His dealing with them, they meet together. If one is looking for locality, let him look to the day of final judgment.
Verse Pro 22:6. In this oft-quoted proverb the true sense most certainly is found in the adoption of the marginal readings. It is a declaration of the true philosophy of education. That which is in a child naturally is to be discovered and trained in order that the purpose of its life may be realized.
Verse Pro 22:11. Again, in this proverb the marginal reading, “that hath grace in his lips,” should be adopted. The meaning is that the two qualifications which will ensure the friendship of the king are, first, pureness of heart, and, second, wisdom of expression.
Verse Pro 22:14. This does not mean that if a man is abhorred of Jehovah he will necessarily fall into this particular pit, but rather that he who does fall therein becomes abhorred of Jehovah. It is a graphic way of setting forth the abomination of unchastity.
He That Loveth Pureness of Heart
Pro 22:1-16
Great riches are not always a great blessing. When they are held in trust for God, they afford the opportunity of giving a vast amount of happiness to the benefactor as well as to those benefited. But we recall other riches, which do not consist in what a man has, but in what he is. There are four levels of human experience-to have, to do, to know, and to be-and these in their order are like iron, silver, gold, precious stones.
Some of these riches are enumerated here: a good name and loving favor, Pro 22:1; the faith that hides in God, Pro 22:3; true humility and godly fear, Pro 22:4; the child-heart, Pro 22:6; the beautiful eye and open hand, Pro 22:9; purity of heart and thought, Pro 22:11; alacrity and diligence, Pro 22:13. If only we would cultivate the inward graces and gifts of our soul-life, all who feel our influence would be proportionately enriched.
Proverbs 22
This chapter begins with a comment on the great importance of a persons reputation.
22:1
The first verse of this chapter declares that a good name is to be preferred far above earthly treasure, though often it is forfeited to obtain riches. The adjective good does not occur in the original text. But a name is used in the sense of a character of renown, as elsewhere in Scripture: notably in Gen 11:4, let us make us a name; Deu 26:19, make thee highin name; 2Sa 7:9, 23; 8:13; and many other passages. In this sense then a name is more desirable than vast wealth, and to be respected is more valuable than immense revenues.
It is a great mistake for the young to suppose that an honored name is more easily made on the battlefield, in the halls of government, the ranks of great writers, or in the business world. No name is more lasting and enduring than that won by him who lives for God and considers all that earth has to offer as worthless for the sake of the Lord Jesus Christ. Devotion to David caused Abishai and Benaiah to win enduring names (2Sa 23:18,22). Devotion to Christ has caused many to be immortalized who otherwise would long since have fallen into oblivion. Who would have remembered the twelve apostles, if they had not left all and followed Jesus? What would have been the glory of the name of Saul, the rabbi of Tarsus, compared with that of Paul the missionary of the cross?
22:2
The concept of the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man, if understood correctly, is a Scriptural doctrine. We learn from Scripture that God hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth (Act 17:26). Human reason, apart from divine revelation, would never have discovered this wonderful secret. Universal brotherhood-the union of all the races and nations of men in one great family, springing from one common stock, despite obvious physical and ethnological differences- was never dreamed of by philosophers until they were enlightened by the inspired Word of God. Prior to that time the brotherhood of certain races was acknowledged proudly, while the human mind revolted against accepting a despised and ignorant slave of inferior caste as a brother. But the Hebrew Scriptures testify throughout to the fact that all men sprang from one common father, Adam, and are linked together by ties that cannot be dissolved. The Christian Scriptures emphasize this truth and seeing Adam as the son of God, declare that God is the Father of spirits (Heb 12:9); therefore in a creatorial sense, God is the Father of all men.
However the aspect of Gods universal fatherhood through creation is very different from the relationship within the family of God as revealed by our Lord and His apostles. Man by the fall lost the divine likeness and became a sinner ruined and alienated. Hence the need of redemption and regeneration. By new birth those who by nature were children of wrath and disobedience, are made children of God and partakers of the divine nature. A new, eternal life is imparted and the Holy Spirit given, thus they cry, Abba, Father. Only those spiritually born form the new creation brotherhood because they possess a common life and nature.
This distinction needs to be kept in mind in our day of looseness and laxity. Men who rebel against the truth of the fall gladly call God their Father and see no need for the new birth. They link up saint and sinner in one great family.
The Christian unhesitatingly and freely acknowledges that Jehovah is the maker of all and that He is compassionate to all His creation. But he sees two families described throughout Scripture: the children of God and the children of the devil (1Jn 3:10).
22:3
This solemn proverb is deliberately repeated in 27:12. In Gods exceeding love He faithfully warns us of the terrible consequences of refusing to bow before Him in repentance and receive the grace He offers through Christ Jesus. The wise man sees the evil coming and hides himself in the refuge God has provided. But the simple harden their hearts and refuse to heed the warning of imminent danger, thus ensuring their own destruction.
A man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land (Isa 32:2). Faith sees the fulfillment of these precious words in the man Christ Jesus and fleeing to Him exclaims, Thou art my hiding place (Psa 32:7). If He is rejected and His grace despised, certain and eternal judgment will follow. Contrast the Philippian jailer with the Roman magistrates (Act 16:25-40).
22:4-5
How different are the paths and the ultimate rewards of the godly and the perverse! Heaven and Hell are as diverse as the roads leading to them. The godly man is marked out from others by a meek and humble spirit and the fear of the Lord. The ungodly is rebellious and self-willed. The way of the former leads to true riches, the honor that comes from God, and life everlasting. The steps of the latter soon became entangled in thorns and snares. He who lives in obedience to the word of Jehovah will be preserved from the traps of the world. Contrast Hezekiah and his son Manasseh before he was humbled (2 Chronicles 29-33).
22:6
To start a child right is of utmost importance. The saying of the Jesuit, Give me your child till he is twelve, and I care not who has charge of him afterwards, has passed into a proverb. The tree follows the bent of its early years, and so it is with our sons and daughters. If they are taught to love the world, to crave its fashions and follies in childhood, they are almost certain to live for the world when they come to mature years. On the other hand if they are properly instructed from the beginning as to the futility of living for the pleasures of this world, they are in little danger of reversing that judgment as they grow older. Parents need to remember it is not enough to tell their little ones of Jesus and His rejection or to warn them of the ways of the world; they must see to it that in their own lives they exemplify their instruction. This will count above all else in the training of the young. Little ones will observe our pretence and hypocricy if we speak piously of separation from the world while demonstrating the spirit of the world in our dress, relationships in the home, and the friends we seek. We need not wonder then if they grow up to ignore our words of instruction while imitating what our lifestyle proclaimed to be the real object of our hearts.
But where a holy, cheerful atmosphere pervades the home and godly admonition is coupled with godly living, parents can count on the Lord to keep their households following in the right way. See Timothy (2Ti 1:5).
22:7
He who obeys the Scriptural injunction to owe no man any thing, but to love one another (Rom 13:8), will escape the awful bondage of the debtor. The rich almost invariably lord their position over the poor, except where grace intervenes to check the potential pride of the human heart. Therefore it is natural that he who lends should consider himself superior to the borrower. The latter destroys his own freedom by his neglect of the divine command. It is far better to be in meager circumstances and dependent on God, than to have plenty but to know that it belongs to another. Nothing so crushes the spirit of a man as debt, if he has any conscience about it at all. The Christian should fear debt and flee from it, realizing that it is the effort of the enemy to undermine his peace and destroy his sense of dependence on the Lord.
The matter of debt should be of greater concern among Christians. People think little or nothing of accumulating bills and borrowing money without proper security, which afterwards may cause them deep grief and bring dishonor on Christ. He who would be the Lords servant alone and in bondage to no man will avoid debt in every form. Many by carelessness in borrowing, have left their families in dire distress. See the example in 2Ki 4:1.
22:8-9
These two proverbs are in striking and intentional contrast; again they remind us of the certainty of a harvest similar to the character of the sowing.
He who sows iniquity will reap a hopelessly worthless crop. Though he take a lordly position and vent his anger against the godly, his rod will fail and his rule will come to a derisive end. See the example of the unhappy Pharaoh of the exodus.
But the kindly, benevolent soul who plants the seed of thoughtfulness for others will reap a bountiful harvest of consideration and blessing for himself. Bread cast on the waters returns after many days. See Ebed-melech (Jer 38:7-12; 39:16-18).
22:10
See note on Pro 21:11. The scorner of this book is very much like the boaster of 1 Corinthians 5. Such a man can work untold mischief among a company of the Lords people. His wretched evil-speaking, coupled with his contempt for all godly restraint will corrupt the whole assembly. Therefore it is necessary to obey the Word of God and Put away from among yourselves that wicked person (1Co 5:11-13).
The law extended no mercy to the one who scorned the God of Israel and troubled His people. By the testimony of two or three witnesses he was to be put to death, that the evil might be put away from among them (Deu 17:2-7).
In this dispensation of grace such an extreme measure is not commanded. The saints are admonished to separate the troublemaker from their company, in order that the rest may be saved from falling into his unholy ways; thus the name of Christ will be kept from further dishonor. Once the mocker is separated he is in the place where God can deal with him. But while he remains in Gods family, he is a source of grief to the assembly and a reproach to the Lord. See Hymenaeus and Alexander (1Ti 1:20).
22:11
A righteous ruler delights in a man of pure heart and gracious words. And the King of kings is indeed a Friend to such a one. It is the pure in heart who see God; they who truly are pure will demonstrate it by obedience to the word, Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt (Col 4:6). A bitter, acrimonious, and fault-finding tongue does not belong to the pure-hearted man of God, but is generally the evidence that one is far from being right with Him. Note what is said of Mordecai (Est 10:2-3).
22:12
The Lords eye is on His own truth, which is the only real knowledge. He guards it day and night and will never let it fall to the ground. When spoken by His servants He will see that it accomplishes His purpose (Isa 55:11).
But the false words of the unfaithful will accomplish nothing. The Lord Himself will overthrow them. Error cannot always prosper. It may seem to thrive for the moment, but it will be destroyed eventually. Contrast Micaiah and the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 22).
22:13
See notes on Pro 12:27; 15:19; 19:24; 21:25; and 26:13. The sluggard devises many excuses to account for his laziness and utter lack of energy. Where no dangers or difficulties exist he imagines them; and where they really are he exaggerates them to such a degree that they appear to be insurmountable. He who approaches life in the strength of faith finds the lions have been rendered powerless to destroy him. Contrast with the slothful man of this verse, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, one of Davids mighty men (2Sa 23:20).
22:14
See notes on Pro 2:16-19; 6:23-35; 7:4-27. The one who stops to listen to the flattering words of the strange woman is lured to his destruction. None who walk with God will be deceived by her; but he whose ways displease the Lord will readily fall a victim to her seductions. He will stumble into sin and its fearful consequences as a blind man falls into a deep pit. Judah is an example of this in Genesis 38.
22:15
See notes on Pro 13:24 and 19:18. To leave a child to himself is to ensure his ruin, for folly is bound up in his heart. Properly administered discipline will correct the natural tendency to go astray. Of course the rod is not the only form of discipline. Corporal punishment is not always required and might at times be very unwise. The rod, throughout Scripture, speaks of authority and power; in this case it refers to that parental restraint to which the child owes so much. It was the lack of this firm yet kindly discipline that was responsible in large measure for the evil ways of both Absalom and Adonijah (2 Samuel 14; 1Ki 1:6).
22:16
It is foolish to seek to accumulate wealth by oppressing the needy or to endeavor to gain the favor of the rich by giving them gifts. Both courses lead to want instead of increase.
He who practices either of these habits, may seem to prosper and flourish for the moment; but his end will show the truth of Gods Word. He will not find the happiness he sought; he will at last be obliged to admit that his purpose has been utterly defeated because of the iniquity of his heart. See what is said in James 5 of the rich who oppress the poor and withhold their wages.
22:17-21
The challenge in verse 17 reminds us of the admonition repeated seven times in Revelation 2 and 3: He that hath an ear, let him hear We have read many words of wisdom in the book of Proverbs and many more are to follow. The soul may become so used to them as to fail to discern their excellent character. We must apply our hearts to the knowledge given in these proverbs. For it is of all importance that they be kept within and fitted to the lips of the hearer, whose trust must be in Jehovah if he is to exemplify them in his life.
In the original the expression translated, Have not I written to thee excellent things, (20) is literally have I not set them before thee in three ways or a third time. This indicates the superlative nature of the counsel contained in this book. These excellent things are things of the highest value, beyond mere human wisdom. It is God Himself marking out the safe and right path for His children. Thus will they know the certainty of the words of truth, (21) and be enabled to use them correctly in reply to all who inquire. In this day of doubt and skepticism, it is a blessing to be able to rest the soul on the true and precious words of the living God,
In the New Testament we find four inspired apostles quoting unhesitatingly from the book of Proverbs. Paul quoted from it in Rom 12:19-20, and Heb 12:5-6; James in chapter 4:6 of his Epistle; Peter twice in his first, and once in his second letter, namely 1Pe 4:8,17-18; 2Pe 2:22; and Jude in the twelfth verse of his trenchant arraignment of the false teachers already creeping in among the saints.
But of deeper interest to the believer is that our Lord Himself, in His address at the table of the Pharisee as recorded in Luke 14, used a portion of this treasury of proverbial truth as His text (Pro 25:6-8). Added to this we find allusions and references to its teaching throughout the later books of the Old Testament and all parts of the New. God has linked this plain and intensely practical portion- these words of truth-inseparably with all the rest of His holy Book. As we continue our study, may it be with a fuller sense of the sacred character of the simple admonitions and hints for daily life that are contained in the book of Proverbs.
22:22-23
These proverbs contain a warning word to those who sit in the place of judgment (gate in kjv). If the ways of justice are perverted, let him who renders a false and oppressive sentence remember that the supreme Judge is observing all; He will render to every man according as his work has been. Righteous judgment is precious in His sight because it then reflects the integrity of His divine throne-a great white throne, unsullied by iniquity. If wrong is perpetrated on the needy now, Jehovah Himself will appear as their Advocate in that highest court of all. Then dreadful indeed will be the reward of those who have used the courts of earth for the furtherance of iniquity. What will be the position of the Herods and Pilates when dragged before that bar of infinite holiness?
22:24-25
A man is known and formed by the company he keeps. Evil communications corrupt good manners (1Co 15:33). Therefore it is important to consider carefully those whom we choose for companionship and fellowship. To keep company with a man given to wrath and fury is to be contaminated by his hasty ways and to bring a snare on ones own soul. Anger and malice are the works of the flesh. The Christian should have no association with one quickly angered, for we are too easily defiled by such conduct. To continue friendship with one displaying these evidences of unjudged carnality is to endanger ones own life and testimony. A Saul is no fit friend for a David. See Pro 21:24.
22:26-27
See notes on 6:1-5 and 11:15. There are some who will never learn by rules. Therefore they must learn by bitter experience. Many people who have read the warnings of Proverbs all their lives, regarding the dangers of accepting liability for another mans debts, have lost nearly all they had through unwise commitment to men who turned out unworthy of their confidence. Much pain and shame might have been avoided had this passage in Proverbs been heeded!
When grace rules, they who have nothing with which to pay are frankly forgiven all their debt (Luk 7:40-43). But when stern justice has to be dispensed, he who does not have the means to pay his self-imposed obligation is in danger of losing his very bed from under him.
22:28
This is almost a repetition of what God said to Moses: Thou shalt not remove thy neighbours landmark, which they of old time have set in thine inheritance, which thou shalt inherit in the land that the Lord thy God giveth thee to possess it (Deu 19:14).
Each Israelite had received his portion of land directly from Jehovah. Its borders were marked out by clearly-indicated landmarks, which all were commanded to respect. He who removed them forcibly, or in secret, would have to deal with God for his violation.
In this dispensation of grace the allotment of Gods people is heavenly, not earthly. Our inheritance is in the precious truth which He has committed to us. To remove the landmarks-the great distinguishing doctrines of Scripture-will be to incur the divine displeasure. Yet, unfortunately, many supposedly learned doctors are engaged in that wretched business today. No truth of Scripture is too sacred for their irreverent handling. Precious truths like those of atonement and justification by faith-even the mystery of the Holy Trinity and the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ-are, in their eyes, but common ideas, which they may dismiss or ignore as they please. But a day of reckoning is coming, when God will judge them in righteousness; and those who have been misled by their removal of ancient and venerable landmarks of Gods Word will curse them for the loss of their souls. Terrible will be the accounting of men who, while posing as instructors of the flock of Christ, have all the while been Satans instruments for overthrowing the saving truths of Scripture. See Pauls warning word to Timothy (2Ti 1:8-13, and 4:1-5). Compare with Pro 23:10-11.
22:29
Reward is sure for the diligent. He who applies himself with earnestness to his appointed labor will be noticed and recognized because of his ability. How much more when he labors for the Lord, seeking His approval, rather than that of his fellowman! Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord, is the principle on which the believer orders his daily service (Rom 12:11). Often, one fears, we act as though it read, Fervent in business; slothful in spirit; serving yourselves.
He who would one day stand before the King and enjoy the sunshine of His approval, must labor now to be well-pleasing to Him. The faithful life of Daniel is a good example of this godly diligence. He was a man who, whatever the changes of government, always came to the front, standing before kings.
Pro 22:2
The text reminds us that all mankind are alike in their origin. Moreover, the souls of all alike are equally precious in His sight, who is no respecter of persons; so precious that for all alike He has shed His own blood; and all shall stand before Him at last as equal, to be judged alike. How is it, then, that He allows this strange disparity at present to divide them, placing, as it would seem, both the one class and the other in a situation of great temptation, from the very fact of the one’s want and the other’s superfluity? All that we can do is reverently to adore these traces of wisdom and goodness which God has allowed to be visible, and such traces are not wanting in this strange phenomenon of rich and poor.
I. The poverty of the poor is a blessing to themselves. (1) They are, by their very situation, under the especial care of the Good Shepherd. (2) Their poverty is a great assistance to them in keeping their hearts humble.
II. The poverty of the poor is a blessing to the rich. (1) They teach the rich sympathy. (2) They arc an outward visible sign; established on earth by God Himself to teach the rich the nothingness of all worldly goods.
III. If the poor are to fulfil for us either of these great purposes for which God has ordained that they shall always exist amongst us, we must diligently cherish towards them a kind and friendly spirit.
A. C. Tait, Lessons for School Life, p. 142.
I. “The Lord is the Maker of them all.” The God who creates light and darkness has created the happy and the wretched; there is no escape from this, if we believe in God at all. He cannot have created the human race and then have left it alone to rush into a social chaos and confusion of itself. There is not a smile on any face, but the light of God is reflected in it; there is not a sigh or a tear but is noted in His book. There is a great mystery in evil and suffering, but not, therefore, a great injustice. Signs enough break through the darkness that encompasses us to prove that God is full of love, and the more we live to Him shall we discern them. If the Divine providence looked only to the present life, then bodily want must be an absolute evil; but since there are two lives-since there is a short life and also an eternal; since there are two parts of human nature, the perishing body and the immortal soul-it is impossible for us to judge of the real character or temper of bodily suffering till we can know how it affects the higher part of us and our everlasting interests. Meantime, we believe that the hand of God is upon all them for good that seek Him; though He gives grief, yet will He have compassion, according to the multitude of His mercies.
II. Read by the light of the gospel, the text puts on another meaning. The rich and poor are brethren. The feelings and interests which they have in common are far more weighty than those outward circumstances that divide them. In the pages of the New Testament we read a recognition of the rights of the poor. Rich and poor are equal when they stand at the foot of the Redeemer’s Cross, craving pardon for their sins; seeking His righteousness to cover their uncleanness. They are equal when they come before God to worship. They are equal when both shall stand before the judgment-seat of the Lord, to give an account of all things done in the body.
Archbishop Thomson, Penny Pulpit, No. 3,253.
References: Pro 22:2.-C. Kingsley, All Saints’ Day and Other Sermons, p. 397; W. Arnot, Laws from Heaven, 2nd series, p. 200; R. Harvey, Christian World Pulpit, vol. i., p. 532.
Pro 22:3
One main element of safety is a just estimate of danger. He who foresees the evil hides himself until it pass; and he who so hides himself escapes the storm which lays lofty rashness low.
I. In the ordinary business of life there are evils which may be foreseen by the prudent, and places of shelter in which he may safely lie. A disciple who has his heart in heaven should beware of fretting because his hands are full all day long with earthly business. Labour, when the Lord appoints it for His people, is a strong wall built round them to keep dangerous enemies out.
II. Evils lie before us in the region of practical morality-evils for which the prudent keep a sharp look-out. A strong tower of defence, from which all the fiery darts of the wicked will harmlessly rebound, is that name of the Lord into which the righteous run. All the power of the world and its god can neither drive a refugee forth from that hiding-place, nor hurt him within it.
III. But the greatest evils lie in the world to come, and only the eye of faith can foresee them. To be caught by death unready and placed before the judgment-seat without a plea, and then cast out for ever, are evils so great that in their presence all others disappear like stars in the glare of day. But great though they are, the prudent may foresee, and the trustful prevent them. There is a refuge, but its gate opens into time. If the prudent do not enter now, the simple will knock in vain at the closed door when he has passed on into eternity without any part in Christ.
W. Arnot, Laws from Heaven, 2nd series, p. 205.
Reference: Pro 22:4.- J. E. Vaux, Sermon Notes, 2nd series, p. 64.
Pro 22:6
It is well to remember the general truth that all life can be trained. Dead substances cannot be trained. The higher you rise in the scale of life the more wide is the scope and the possibility of training. (2) Children are not only capable of training, but they will be trained in spite of us. And if we do not take them in hand, and with a very definite end in view, which we pursue with inflexible purpose and unflagging constancy-an end not lower than heaven, not narrower than eternity, and not meaner than their salvation-another process will assuredly be going on which will ere long fill us with dismay. We must know that children are always at school, even when they seem to be away from it. What is meant by training up a child in the way he should go? It may be said to consist in four things-true teaching, discipline, example, and prayer.
I. True teaching, or, if you will, the teaching of the truth which concerns it, in its relations to God and man. Store children’s minds with truth. Let them know all that it is right to do, both with respect to God and man, that they be not destroyed for lack of knowledge.
II. Example. To tell a child what is to be done is a very valuable thing, but to show how it is done is far more valuable. The precept is then seen to be more than a merely cold and perhaps impracticable injunction. The power of one’s example is the power of character.
III. Prayer. You are not left to this work alone. There is none in which you may more certainly calculate on the help of God, if you seek it, than in the endeavour to guide your children in the way that leads to heaven. He Himself is concerned for the welfare of your children. They are His gifts to you, and are meant to be, not curses, but blessings. He may seem for a season to delay His answers, but even while He delays He may be, in fact, working out the very results you have so earnestly sought.
E. Mellor, The Hem of Christ’s Garment, p. 52.
References: Pro 22:6.-Preacher’s Monthly, vol. iv., p. 248; E. Blencowe, Plain Sermons to a Country Congregation, 2nd series, p. 268; W. Arnot, Laws from Heaven, 2nd series, p. 209; C. J. Vaughan, Memorials of Harrow Sundays, p. 210.
Pro 22:7
Consider the reasons of this alleged superiority, why it should be “more blessed to give than to receive,” why “the rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.”
I. The first reason is found in the resemblance which is thus acquired to our Redeemer and Creator. Might it not almost be said of the Creator that He gives everything and receives nothing; that He is always the lender and never the borrower? Or, again, if our thoughts be turned on the “one Mediator between God and man,” was not the whole of Christ’s vicarious obedience one continued course of giving rather than receiving? If it be the very summit of Christian perfection to be conformed to the image of the Redeemer, is there not more of this conformity in giving than receiving?
II. The giver or the lender has necessarily an advantage over the receiver or the borrower, and the having this advantage quite explains how the one is “servant to the other.”
III. We find another proof of this position in what we may call the reflex character of benevolence, which causes whatever is bestowed to return to us tenfold. If God hath determined, out of His infinite lovingkindness, that not even a cup of cold water given in the name of a disciple shall lose, though it could not claim, a reward, it must necessarily be more blessed to be the lender than the borrower, inasmuch as whatever is bestowed, whether it be time, or counsel, or wealth, or labour, or experience, shall come back to ourselves abundantly multiplied.
H. Melvill, Penny Pulpit, No. 2,338.
References: Pro 22:7.-W. Arnot, Laws from Heaven, 2nd series, p. 225. Pro 22:7-16.-R. Wardlaw, Lectures on Proverbs, vol. iii., p. 40. Pro 22:11.-J. E. Vaux, Sermon Notes, 1st series, p. 16. Pro 22:17-29.-R. Wardlaw, Lectures on Proverbs, vol. iii., p. 53. Pro 22:13.-Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xxviii., No. 1670. Pro 22:22, Pro 22:23.-W. Arnot, Laws from Heaven, 2nd series, p. 244.
Pro 22:28
It cannot but be perplexing in the extreme, to devout and moderately thoughtful minds, to find how constantly we catch new theories of what we had once felt to be fixed and immutable truth. Men extinguish the fair lights which the Divine hand has kindled, and set up lurid flames and beacons of their own. But as surely as you follow the one, so surely shall you find yourself among the breakers,-the breakers of controversy, doubt, and haply of despair; while, following the other, the voyage shall be prosperous and serene, under the command of the great Pilot who “holds the winds in His fist, and the waters in the hollow of His hand.”
I. “Our fathers trusted in Thee and were helped.” Apostles, fathers, and old sires, who held fast the form of sound words, have set their sign upon the landmark which they believed to be of God. We are not going to lay down the rule that you and I are bound to believe everything that our fathers believed, or that a man’s creed and faith is to be hereditary, and handed down unchanged to his posterity. But, when we recollect the firmness with which the old men clung to the broad doctrines of the gospel, and the strength they gathered, and the rest and peace and joy of soul they drank from them as from a crystal spring, these memories ought to check that mania for fashionable doubting which is so rife amongst us now, and lead us to cherish with some reverence the intimations of the past.
II. We live in a novelty-loving age, and men make novelties in creeds, just as they would make new things in dress. But while, in one grand sense, it is true that when we pass beyond these lower scenes old things shall pass away, and all things shall become new, it is also true in another, and perhaps a subtler, sense, that new things shall pass away, and all things shall become old. The novelty of the regenerated life shall be evolved out of the antiquity of the old landmarks. “Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this world? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? “Forsake not your first love. Take the quiet place of the disciple at the feet of Him who is the Light of the world.
A. Mursell, Lights and Landmarks, p. 1.
Pro 22:29
(with Rom 12:8; 1Sa 2:30)
I. The Bible always recognises a basis of character which is found in the natural endowments of a man. The Bible does not glorify men because of beauty and strength, because of great mental parts, powers of reason or imagination; but it never hesitates to speak of these as parts of the perfectness of life, as conditions and qualities which by proper use and right direction may be turned to the good of men and the glory of God.
II. According to the teaching of the Bible, there must be the diligent use of these natural powers. Simply for man to possess certain capacities and faculties, physical and mental, is not sufficient. He has to discipline and practise, develop and perfect, them. The stigma of folly and the terror of ruin alike are declared against that man who is careless and uncertain, who heeds not the opportunities which are presented to him, and lets the precious moments of life fly by while his powers are undisciplined and his God is unserved.
III. The diligence of life must, according to the Scripture ideal, be accompanied by the virtues and purities of a moral self-restraint.
IV. The ideal man of the Scriptures is to be inspired by a sense of the Divine presence and power.
L. D. Bevan, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xxiii., p. 168.
References: Pro 22:29,-Preacher’s Monthly,vol. ii., p. 468. Pro 23:1-3.-W. Arnot, Laws from Heaven, 2nd series, p. 237. Pro 23:1-11.-R. Wardlaw, Lectures on Proverbs, vol. iii., p. 70.
CHAPTER 22 Instructions Continued
Better than great riches, better than silver and gold is a name and loving favor. If a person has riches and a bad name and is not well thought of, he is less honorable than the poor man who has a name and good reputation. In Ecclesiastes, Solomon says: A good name is better than precious ointment Ecc 7:11). The third verse has a wise message: The prudent man foreseeth the evil and hideth himself, but the simple pass on, and suffer for it. The Lord has revealed in His Word the evil which is in store for the sinner and the impenitent. He also has prepared a hiding place, an ark of safety, in His Son, our Lord. The prudent believeth the Word and flees to the refuge; the simple, the unbelieving, pass on and suffer for it when the evil comes. Humility and the fear of the Lord has a reward, while thorns and snares are in the way of the froward. sowing and reaping is found in Pro 22:8 and Pro 22:9. He that soweth iniquity reaps vanity, or calamity; he that has a bountiful eye, who looks upon the poor and needy with kindness and supplies their wants reaps blessing. In Pro 22:11 we read, He that loveth pureness of heart, for the grace of his lips the king shall be hisfriend. In such, whose hearts are pure and whose words are gracious, the Lord, the King, delights.
Beginning with Pro 22:18 we find another call to hear, and to apply the heart to His knowledge: For it is a pleasant thing if thou keep them within thee, they shall withal be fitted in thy lips. That thy trust may be in the LORD, I have made known to thee this day, even to thee. This is the personal message to Solomon by the Lord, heeded by him for many years and finally disobeyed.
The proverb of Pro 22:28 : Remove not the ancient landmarks, which thy father has set, is a restatement of Deu 19:14. It is repeated in Pro 23:10. In Job 24:2 we read Some remove the landmarks. These landmarks were for Israel sacred things, for their possessions were staked off according to the Lords will; to meddle with them was a transgression. While Israel, Gods earthly people had landmarks, Gods heavenly people also has landmarks of the heavenly realm, the blessed doctrines of the Word of God, which constitute the faith once and for all delivered unto the saints. And how man removes these landmarks in our day! How true it is, Some remove the landmarks, that which our fathers cherished, believed and trusted in. The rationalist, the ritualist and the delusionist do it constantly and thus destroy the foundation upon which everything rests.
name: 1Ki 1:47, Ecc 7:1, Luk 10:20, Phi 4:3, Heb 11:39
loving favour rather than: or, favour is better than, etc. Act 7:10
Reciprocal: Gen 44:7 – General Neh 6:13 – and that they
Pro 22:1. A good name A good reputation among wise and good men; is rather to be chosen than great riches That is, we should be more careful to pursue that course of life, and do those things, by which we may obtain and retain a good name, than that way and those things by which we may raise and increase a great estate. For great riches bring great cares with them, and expose men to danger, but add no real value to a man. A fool and a knave may have great riches, but a good name, which supposes a man to be wise and honest, redounds to the glory of God, and gives a man a greater opportunity of doing good. By great riches we may relieve mens bodily wants; but, by a good name, we may recommend religion to them; and loving favour Hebrew , good grace, or favour; that is, an interest in the esteem and affections of all about us, or hearty love and kindness from them; rather than silver and gold Is a blessing much more to be prized than the possession of abundance of gold and silver.
Pro 22:1. A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches. When a man lives revered for his piety, it is better than to be feared for his power.
Pro 22:2. The rich and the poor meet together, in the common dust: and the small and great stand at the judgment-seat of God. Therefore the rich should consider the poor as brethren, and the poor should not be insolent to their benefactors.
Pro 22:3. A prudent man foreseeth the evil coming, be it famine, war or winter, and provides against it. How much more then should we prepare to appear before God, who will judge the world in righteousness, and punish the foolish for their sin.
Pro 22:6. Train up a child in the way he should go. No man can estimate the blessings which may be comprised in the gift of a son, of joy to the family, of glory to the church, or honour to the nation. And it is generally true, that men adhere to the principles, the religion and customs of their fathers. Hence, as our children, corrupt by nature, are prone to go astray, let us train them up to a proper acquaintance with Gods word: and let us put some book into their hand which exhibits the reasonableness and evidences of christianity in one entire view. Dr. Jenkins, and Dr. George Benson, on the Reasonableness of the Christian Religion, are fine works. Addisons Evidences, though but fragments, are very good, and have weight from his name. Lardners Credibility is a gigantic work. He published a volume every year. In my Introduction to Christianity, I have done my best. No young man should go out into the world unarmed with a knowledge of the evidences of his religion.But while we endeavour to sow the seeds of truth in the mind, we must aim at the conversion of the soul by the power of divine grace. We are born proud, self-willed, vindictive, and lovers of ourselves. Therefore pride must be changed into humility, anger into meekness, and self-love into the love of God. In endeavouring to impress these truths, let us take advantage of circumstances; for when death, afflictions, and providential visitations soften the heart, it is then more open to receive instruction.
Pro 22:8. He that soweth iniquity shall reap vanity. They that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, shall reap what they sow. Job 4:8. Solomon had in his eye wicked rulers, who bore the shapat, or rod of the elders. This rod shall be turned against them, when the king hears of their crimes, for castigation, and by placing it in more worthy hands. For, on the contrary, as in Pro 22:11, he that loves pureness, in private and public conduct, the king shall be his friend.
Pro 22:13. The slothful man saith, There is a lion without. Lions, in time of drought, follow the streams; and wolves in winter, make wide ranges in quest of food. To kill a lion in single combat, which brave men sometimes did, ennobled their character. The slothful man, on the contrary, is here condemned for the sins of cowardice and fear.
Pro 22:20. Have not I written to thee excellent things. The Hebrew and the LXX read, three things. The Jews, in their schools, divided literature into three branches, physical, moral, and divine. Others turn it, Have I not written three books. The Proverbs, for a beginning; the Ecclesiastes, for a progress; and the Song of Songs, for perfection. Yet our version gives the spirit of the textexcellent things.
Pro 22:27. Why should he (in a case of execution) take away thy bed from under thee? Our brokers do this daily, in distraining for rent. And though it be the law of nations, it is not the law of nature.
Pro 22:29. Seest thou a man diligent in his business; [a man of celerity, dispatch, and expedition in his work] he shall stand before kings. He shall rise from humble life to commercial affluence, and from commercial affluence to rank and fortune, as a man of distinction and talents. But let him tremble lest he should love riches more than God: let him tremble lest he should leave vast wealth to infidel and profligate children. Let him be liberal to the poor and to the cause of religion, in proportion as God is liberal to him; for it is an awful issue to gain the world, and lose the soul. He should not forget in affluence, that the pastor who has laboured for his salvation has perhaps but a scanty income.
Pro 22:6. in the way he should go puts more into the Heb. than it contains. It is lit. train up a child in proportion to his wayi.e. train him suitably. The moral implication is absent. The stress is on the effect of training.
Pro 22:11. RV hides disorder of MT. Read, probably, The king loves the pure in heart, grace of lips is his good pleasure.
Pro 22:12 a is difficult. RV will not pass. The lit. Heb. is the eyes of Yahweh guard knowledge. The abstract knowledge in Heb. cannot mean its possessors; the eyes of Yahweh are nowhere said to guard anybody, and no Hebrew would say that the eyes of Yahweh guard knowledge in the sense of possessing it, nor does it give any connexion with Pro 22:12 b. Possibly we should read the eyes of Yahweh are upon those who keep knowledge.
Pro 22:14. The parallel in Pro 23:27 suggests that adulteress is the original reading for strange woman.
Section III. The Sayings of the Wise.This section falls into two divisions: (a) Pro 22:17 to Pro 24:22, (b) Pro 24:23-34. The first division abandons the couplet of the previous collection, and is characterized by the quatrain form. The first half of the quatrain generally consists of a prohibition, the second of a reason for it, based upon practical experience.
22:1 A [good] name [is] rather to be chosen than great riches, [and] {a} loving favour rather than silver and gold.
(a) Which comes by well doing.
"In our modern, hedonistic, pleasure-seeking culture, character and reputation have a way of being ignored if not actually denigrated. True value must be seen, however, not in what one has but in what he or she truly is. A good name is an asset whose currency is unaffected by the boom or bust of the material world." [Note: Merrill, p. 495.]
CHANNEL 23
THE TREATMENT OF THE POOR
“The rich and the needy meet together; The Lord is the maker of them all.”- Pro 22:2
“He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed, for he giveth of his bread to the poor.”- Pro 22:9
“He that oppresseth the poor, it is for his increase; he that giveth to the rich it is for want.”- Pro 22:16
“Rob not the poor because he is poor, neither oppress the humble in the gate; for the Lord will plead their cause and despoil of life those that despoil them.”- Pro 22:22-23
IF we would understand and lay to heart the very striking lessons of this book on the treatment of the poor, it will he well for us to observe that there are four words in the Hebrew original which are rendered by our English words “poor” or “needy.” These words we will try to discriminate and to use with more exactness in the present lecture, that we may not miss any of the teaching by the blur and obscurity of careless language. First, there is a word (ld;) for which we will reserve our English word “poor”; it signifies a person who is weak and uninfluential, but not necessarily destitute or even in want. The “poor” are those who form the vast majority of every society, and are sometimes described by the word “masses.” Secondly, there is a word (Vl;) which may be rendered “needy.” It covers those who are in actual want, people who through bereavement, or infirmity, or unavoidable calamity are unable to secure a sufficiency of the necessaries of life. Thirdly, there is a word which we may perhaps render by “humble,” for though it more literally describes the afflicted and sad, it contains within it a hint of moral commendation which suggests a transition from the idea of simple weakness and helplessness to that of patient and humble dependence on God. Lastly, there is a word which we will render “destitute.” If we keep these notions-“poor,” “needy,” “humble,” “destitute”-distinct, and yet combined, to form one conception, we shall find that the proverbs before us refer to that large section of mankind who are in a worldly and material sense considered the least fortunate; those to whom it is a lifelong effort merely to live; those who have no margin of security on which to fall hack in case of disaster or sickness; those who are engaged in precarious employments or in casual labor; those who may keep their heads above water by diligence and unremitting exertions, but may at any time go under; those who owing to this constant pressure of the elementary needs have but little leisure to cultivate their faculties, and little opportunity to maintain their rights. We are to think of the large class of persons who in more primitive times are slaves, who in feudal times are serfs, who in modern times are called the proletariat; those in whose interest the laws of society have not hitherto been framed, because they have not until quite recently been admitted to any substantial share in the work of legislation; those who have always found it peculiarly difficult to secure justice, because justice is a costly commodity, and they have no means to spare since “the destruction of the poor is precisely their poverty.” {Pro 10:15} We are not to think of the idle and the vicious, who are so often classed with the poor, because they, like the poor, are without means, -we must rigorously exclude these, for they are not in the mind of the writer when he gives us these golden precepts. We must remember that it is part of our peculiar English system, the result of our boasted Poor Law, to discredit the very word poverty, by refusing to discriminate between the poor in the scriptural sense, who are honorable and even noble, and the pauper in the modern sense, who is almost always the scum of a corrupt social order, in four cases out of five a drunkard, and in the fifth case the product of someone elses moral failings. It requires quite an effort for us to see and realize what the Scriptures mean by the poor. We have to slip away from all the wretched associations of the Poor House, the Poor Law, and the Guardians. We have to bring before our minds a class which in a wholesome state of society would be a small, numerable minority, but in our own unwholesome state of society are a large and well-nigh innumerable majority, -not only the destitute and the actually needy, but all the people who have no land on which to live, no house which they can call their own, no reserve fund, no possibility of a reserve fund, against the unavoidable calamities and chances of life, the people who are trodden down-who tread each other down-in the race of competition; all those, too, who, according to the godless dogma of the day, must go to the wall because they are weak, and must give up the idea of surviving because only the fittest must expect to survive. There rise up before our imagination the toiling millions of Europe-of England-worn, pale, despondent, apathetic, and resigned or bitter, desperate, and resentful; not destitute, though they include the destitute; not needy, though they include the needy; but poor, without strength except in combination, and often when combined without light or leading.
I. Now the first thing we have to observe is that the poor, in the sense we have tried to define, are a special concern to the Lord. “Rob not the poor,” says the text, “because he is poor, neither oppress the humble in the gate, for the Lord will plead their cause, and despoil of life those that despoil them.” “Remove not the ancient landmark, and enter not into the fields of the fatherless; for their Redeemer is strong, He shall plead their cause against thee.” {Pro 23:10-11} “The Lord will establish the border of the widow.” {Pro 15:25} So intimate is the connection between the Lord and His poor creatures that “he that oppresseth the poor reproacheth his Maker, but he that hath mercy on the destitute honoreth.” {Pro 14:31} “Whoso mocketh the needy reproacheth his Maker, and he that is glad at calamity shall not be unpunished.” {Pro 17:5} On the other hand, “He that hath pity on the poor lendeth unto the Lord, and his good deed will He pay him again.” {Pro 19:17}
Not, of course, that there is any favouritism with God, not that He has an interest in a man because of his means or lack of means; but just because of His large and comprehensive impartiality. “The needy man and the oppressor meet together; the Lord lighteneth the eyes of them both.” {Pro 19:13} “The rich and the needy meet together, the Lord is the Maker of them all.” {Pro 22:2} His special interest in the poor arises only from their special need, from the mute cry which goes up to Him, from the appeal to Him as their only friend, deliverer, and protector: just as His lesser interest in the rich arises from their self-satisfied independence of Him, from their infatuated trust in themselves, and from their conviction that already all things belong to them. We should make a mistake if we supposed that the Lord recognizes any class distinctions, or that He valued a man because he is poor, just as we value a man because he is rich. The truth rather is that He absolutely ignores the class distinctions, regarding the mingled mass of human beings, rich and poor, oppressor and oppressed, as on a plane of dead equality, and then distinguishing between them on a totally different principle, -on a moral, a spiritual principle; and, if there is any preference, it is on the ground of certain valuable moral effects which poverty sometimes produces that He takes the poor into his peculiar and tender care, honoring them with so close a friendship that service to them becomes service to Him.
This is certainly good news to the masses. “You are undistinguished, and unobserved,”-the voice of wisdom seems to say, -“In this world, with its false distinctions and perverted ideals, you feel at a constant disadvantage. You dare hardly claim the rights of your manhood and your womanhood. This great personage, possessing half a city, drawing as much unearned money every day as you can earn by unremitting toil in fifteen or twenty years, seems to overshadow and to dwarf you. And there are these multitudes of easy, comfortable, resplendent persons who live in large mansions and dress in costly garments, while you and your family live in a couple of precarious rooms at a weekly rental, and find it all you can do to get clean and decent clothes for your backs. These moneyed people are held in much estimation; you, so far as you know, are held in none. Their doings-births, marriages, deaths-create quite stir in the world; you slip into the world, through it, and out of it, without attracting any attention. But be assured things wear a different appearance from the standpoint of God. Realize how you and your fellow-men appear to Him, and you at once recover self-respect, and hold up your head in His presence as a man. That simple truth which the Ayrshire peasant sang you may take as Gods truth, as His revelation; it is the way in which He habitually thinks of you.”
How the scales seem to fall away from ones eyes directly we are enabled to see men and things as God sees them! The sacred worth of humanity shines far brighter than any of its tinsel trappings. We learn to estimate ourselves aright, undisturbed and unabashed by the false estimates which are current in the world. Our true distinction is that we are men, that we belong to a race which was made in the image of God, was dear to His heart, and is redeemed by His love. The equality we claim for men is not a leveling down-it is quite the reverse; it is raising them up to the higher level which they have deserted and forgotten; it is teaching then to live as men, distinguished not by their accidental circumstances or possessions, but by their manhood itself. It is giving men self-respect instead of self-esteem, teaching them not to vaunt themselves as one against another, but to claim their high and honorable title, one and all, as the sons of God.
II. But now it follows that, if the Lord Himself espouses the cause of the poor, and even identifies Himself with them, ill-treatment of them, injustice to them, or even a willful neglect of them and disregard of their interests, must be a sin and a very terrible sin. “He that despiseth his neighbor sinneth; but he that hath pity on the humble, happy is he.” {Pro 14:21} In the East to this day the proverb, “He that withholdeth corn, the people shall curse him; but blessing shall be upon the head of him that selleth it,” has its full significance. But even in the West, where the name of Christ is borne by the nations, it is a common thing for one or two greedy and selfish capitalists to form a “corner”-as the commercial slang of the day denominates it-in some article of industry, i.e., to secure all the raw material in the market, and to hold it until a famine price can be demanded. Meanwhile, the mills are idle, the looms are silent, the workpeople are unemployed, and their families suffer. Our moral sense is not yet sufficiently cultivated to condemn this hideous selfishness as severely as it deserves, and to regard the perpetrators of it as enemies of the human race. “The people curse” them, that is all. But as we have seen that the cause of the wage-earners is the cause of the Lord, we may rest quite confident that He to whom vengeance belongs enters every action of the kind in His inerasable accounts, and reserves the inevitable punishment for these “oppressors of the poor.”
There is another evil of modern industrial life which is alluded to in the Proverbs before us. No oppression of the poor is more terrible than that which is exercised by those who themselves are needy. The system which results from necessity of this kind is termed “sweating.” The hungry contractor undertakes the job at the lowest possible price, and secures his profit by getting hungrier and weaker creatures than himself to do the work at a price lower than possible, literally at starvation wages. What force, then, to modern ears is there in the saying, “A needy man that oppresseth the Door is like a sweeping rain which leaveth no food!”
The Divine oversight of these industrial abuses is not, as we sometimes suppose, pretermitted. Wisdom and Justice and Love hold the reins, and though the rapacity and cupidity of men seem to have a wide range, they are inevitably pulled up in the end, if not in this partial and transient life, yet in that long Eternity through which the Eternal will work out His purposes. As He Himself sides with the poor and pities them, and turns with indignation against their oppressors, it follows necessarily that he that augments his substance by usury and increase gathereth it for him that pities the poor. In fact, the merciful and pitiful nature has all the forces that rule the universe on its side, notwithstanding appearances to the contrary: “The merciful man doeth good to his own soul, but he that is cruel troubleth his own flesh.” {Pro 11:17}
It is the strange paradox of all selfishness that the selfish man is really quite blind to his own true interests. He most conscientiously lives for himself, and seeks his own good, but the good he sought proves to be his evil, and of all his innumerable foes he finds at last that he himself is the worst. The selfish man is always coming to want, while the unselfish man whose whole thought has been for others is richly provided for. “He that giveth unto the needy shall not lack, but he that hideth his eyes shall have many a curse.” {Pro 28:27} “There is that scattereth and increaseth yet more, and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth only to want.” {Pro 11:24}
“He that hideth his eyes shall have many a curse!” Yes, nothing is more striking than this truth, that not only positive oppression of the poor, but mere indifference to their state, mere neglect of their sufferings, involves us in sin. There are many who can honestly say that they have not deliberately wronged their fellow men, and will on that ground plead innocent; but that is not enough. We are as members one of another responsible in a degree for all the injustice and cruelty which are practiced in the society to which we belong. If we are drawing an income from invested money, we are responsible for the cruel exactions of excessive work, for the heartless disregard of life and limb, and for the constant under-payment of the workers which makes the dividends so princely. Nay, when we buy and use the cheap goods, which are cheap because they have been made at the cost of health and happiness and life to our brothers and our sisters, their blood is upon our heads, though we choose to forget it. For listen-“Whoso stoppeth ears at the cry of the poor,” whoso tries to ignore that there is a labor question, and that the cry for increased or even regular wages, and for tolerable homes, and wholesome conditions of work, is a reality, and in form of unions, or strikes, or low wails of despair, is addressed to us all-“he shall cry and shall not be heard.” {Pro 21:13} Such is the inexorable law of God. And again: “Deliver those that are carried away unto death,”-those who are sacrificing the sweetness of life, the sap of the bones, the health of the marrow, to the ruthless exigencies of the industrial machine; “and those tottering to slaughter see thou hold back,”-not leaving them to “dree their own sad weird,” helpless and unregarded. “If thou say, Behold we knew not this man,”-how could we make ourselves acquainted with all the toiling masses of the city by whose labor we lived and were maintained in comfort?-“Doth not He that weigheth the hearts consider it; and He that keepeth thy soul, doth not He know it, and shall not He render to every man according to his work?” {Pro 24:11-12} That is to say, if we plead, “When saw we Thee ahungered, or athirst, or sick and in prison, and came not to Thee?” Our Lord will say, “Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to Me.” And we “shall go away” into everlasting punishment, while the righteous go into life eternal.
III. For it follows, from the whole consideration of this subject, that those who make their life a ministry to the poor obtain a blessing, -yes, the only true and permanent blessing that life is capable of yielding. “He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed; for he giveth of his bread to the poor.” {Pro 22:9} The very form of the saying is significant. Does it not imply: “It is obvious that to give our bread to the poor is a blessing to ourselves, so obvious that it needs only to be stated to be admitted, and therefore, as the bountiful eye, the philanthropic observation, the readiness to see suffering and to search out the sufferers, necessarily leads to this generous distribution, it must be a blessing to its possessor”? Indeed, this is a true test of righteousness, as the Lord teaches in the parable just quoted. It is “the righteous that takes knowledge of the cause of the poor, while the wicked understands not to know it.” {Pro 29:7} A religion which takes no knowledge of the masses is a false religion; a Church and a Ministry which “understand not to know” the condition of the people and the needs of the poor are not Christs Church and Christs Ministry, but flagrantly apostate; and nothing is plainer than this-that from such a Church and Ministry He will accept no orthodoxy of belief or valiant defense of the creed in lieu of obedience to all His plain and unmistakable commandments. If we look at governments, the test is practically the same. “The king that faithfully judgeth the poor, his throne shall be established forever.” And it is because the Messianic King, alone of all sovereigns and governments, rightly and fully understands and maintains the cause of the poor, that He alone of sovereigns shall be established for ever, and of the increase of His government there shall be no end. And for the flagrant neglect of this vital question on the part of all governing persons and assemblies, that King will call to account those pompous and wordy magnates who have borne the sword in vain, considering all interests rather than those of the poor, whom they were specially appointed to judge; and of the needy, to whose succor they were peculiarly bound to run. And what holds in the state holds in the family. The virtuous woman, and head of the household-she whom God can approve and welcome into everlasting habitations-is emphatically not she who is always striving for social aggrandizement, always seeking for her children wealthy settlements and spurious honors; but is one who “spreadeth out her hand to the poor, yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.” {Pro 31:20} Well may we try to take Gods view of this question, to understand what He means by the poor, and how He regards them, and how He expects us to treat them. For this, if it is not the secret and the center of all true religious life, is at least the infallible test of whether our religious life is true or not. By our treatment of His poor, the Son of Man, who is to judge the world, declares that we shall be judged. “By that we shall be condemned or by that we shall be acquitted.”
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Shades of the prison house begin to close
(Wordsworth.)
Fuente: The Complete Pulpit Commentary
Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Expositor’s Dictionary of Text by Robertson
Fuente: The People’s Bible by Joseph Parker
Fuente: B.H. Carroll’s An Interpretation of the English Bible
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: William Kelly Major Works (New Testament)
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Fuente: Through the Bible Commentary
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Fuente: An Exposition on the Whole Bible
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary
Fuente: Commentaries on the New Testament and Prophets
Fuente: The Sermon Bible
Fuente: Gaebelein’s Annotated Bible (Commentary)
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Sutcliffe’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Expositors Bible Commentary