THERE is that which is far to be preferred to earthly treasure, though often it is forfeited to obtain the other.
1 A [good] name is rather to be chosen than great riches,
And loving favor rather than silver and gold.
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 Genesis 11:4, “let us make us a name;” Deuteronomy 26:19, “make thee high... in name;” 2 Samuel 7:9, 23; 8:13; and many other passages. In this sense then a name is far preferable to vast wealth, and to be kindly esteemed than immense revenues. It is a great mistake for the young to suppose that such an honored name is easiest found on the battlefield, in the halls of government, the ranks of great writers, or in the marts of worldwide commerce. No name is more lasting and enduring than that won by him who lives for God, and for the sake of the Lord Jesus Christ counts all earth has to offer as dung and dross. It was devotion to David that caused Abishai and Benaiah to win immortal names (2 Sam. 23:18, 22) and devotion to Christ has caused many to be remembered forever who otherwise would long since have fallen into oblivion. Who had heard in after years of the twelve apostles, had they 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?
2 The rich and poor meet together;
Jehovah is the maker of them all.
The fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man is a Scriptural doctrine if rightly used. In fact, it is alone from Scripture that men are given to know that God “hath made of one blood all nations of men, for to dwell on all the face of the earth” (Acts 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 manifest physical and ethnological differences, was never dreamed of by philosophers until enlightened by the inspired word of God. The fraternity of the higher races was more or less proudly owned by the sages of old; but to see in a despised and ignorant slave of inferior caste a brother, was something that the human mind revolted against. 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. This, the Christian Scriptures emphasize; and seeing in Adam the son of God, declare that God is “the Father of spirits,” therefore in a creatorial sense, the Father of all men.
But let it be remembered that universal fatherhood in this aspect is a very different thing to the precious truth of the family of God as made known 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 by practice sons of disobedience, are made children of God and partakers of the divine nature. A new life, eternal life, is imparted and the Holy Spirit given. Thus they cry, “Abba, Father.” It is such persons alone who form the new creation brotherhood, because possessors of a common life and nature.
The distinction here made needs to be kept in mind in our day of looseness and laxity, when men rebel against the truth of the fall, and would fain call God their Father apart from new birth, and link up saint and sinner in one great family.
The Christian unhesitatingly and freely owns that Jehovah is the maker of all, and that His heart goes out to every creature He has called into being; but he sees two families throughout Scripture, “the children of God and the children of the devil” (1 John 3:10). These are characteristic terms. Of course none is definitely called a child of the devil till he manifestly proves himself to be such by opposing the truth and rejecting Christ.
3 A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself:
But the simple pass on, and are punished.
These solemn words are designedly repeated in Proverbs 27:12. It is an evidence of God’s exceeding love that He has so faithfully warned us of the terrible consequences that follow the refusal to bow before Him in repentance, and to receive the grace He offers through Christ Jesus. The wise man sees the evil afar off and hides himself in the refuge God has provided. But the simple harden the heart and refuse to harken, thus ensuring their own destruction.
“A man shall be as a 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” (Isaiah 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” (Ps. 32:7). If He be rejected and His grace despised, certain and eternal judgment must follow. Contrast the Philippian jailer with the Roman magistrates (Acts 16:25-40).
4 The recompense of humility and the fear of Jehovah
Are riches, honor and life.
5 Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse:
He that doth keep his soul shall be far from them.
How different are the paths and the ultimate rewards of the godly and the perverse! Heaven and hell are not more diverse than the roads leading thereto. The godly man is marked out from his fellows by a meek and contrite spirit, and the fear of the Lord. The ungodly is insubordinate and self-willed. The way of the former leads to true riches, the honor that cometh from God, and life everlasting. The steps of the latter soon became entangled amid thorns and snares from which he who keeps his soul, by obedience to the word of Jehovah, shall be preserved. Contrast Hezekiah and his son Manasseh, before he was humbled (2 Chron. 29-33).
6 Initiate a child concerning the way he should go:
And when he is old he will not depart from it.
To start the child right is of all importance. The saying of the Jesuit, “Give me your child till he is twelve, and I care not who has charge of him afterward,” has passed into a proverb. The tree follows the bent of its early years, and so with our sons and daughters. If 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 properly instructed as to the vanity of all that men of this present evil age live for, from the beginning, 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; but 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. To speak piously of separation to Christ while manifesting the spirit of the world in dress, the arrangement of the home, and the company sought and kept, will readily be set down by observing little ones as dissimulation and hypocrisy; and we need not then wonder if they grow up to cast all our words behind them, and to love what our ways 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 (2 Tim. 1:5).
7 The rich ruleth over the poor,
And the borrower is servant to the lender.
He who heeds the Scriptural injunction to “Owe no man anything, but to love one another” (Rom. 13:8), will escape the awful bondage of the debtor. The rich almost invariably lord it over the poor, save where grace comes in to check the latent pride of the human heart. Therefore it is but 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 better far to be in straightened circumstances and cast upon God, than to have plenty for the time being but to know that it belongs to another. Nothing so crushes the spirit of a man as debt, if he have any conscience about it at all. The Christian should fear it and flee from it as from the effort of the enemy to subvert his peace and destroy his sense of dependence upon the Lord.
There is by no means the concern about this matter, among saints, that it demands; people think little or nothing of running bills and borrowing money without proper security, which afterward may cause them deep grief and bring dishonor on Christ. He who would be alone the Lord’s servant and in bondage to no man will shun debt in every form. Many a one by carelessness as to this, has left his family in as dire distress as did the son of the prophet whose decease is mentioned in 2 Kings 4:1.
8 He that soweth iniquity shall reap vanity:
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.
The two verses are in striking and intentional contrast; again reminding us of the certainty of a harvest like unto the character of the sowing.
He who sows iniquity will reap a dreadful crop of vanity; and though he take a lordly position and vent his anger against what is of God, his rod shall fail and his rule come to a derisive end, as in the case 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 of blessing for himself. Bread cast upon the waters returns after many days. See Ebed-melech (Jer. 38:7-12; 39:16-18).
10 Cast out the scorner, and contention shall go out;
Yea, strife and reproach shall cease.
See note on Proverbs 21:11. The scorner of this book is practically the same as the railer of 1 Corinthians 5. Such a man can work untold mischief among a company of the Lord’s people. His wretched evil-speaking, coupled with his contempt for all godly restraint, like the leaven placed in the meal, will, if unchecked, go on working till the whole is leavened. Therefore the necessity of obeying the word of God, “Put away from among yourselves that wicked person” (1 Cor. 5:11-13).
The law knew no mercy for such a character. One who scorned the God of Israel and troubled His people, was, at the mouth of two or three witnesses to be put to death that the evil might be put away from among them (Deut. 17:2-7).
In this dispensation of grace such an extreme measure is not commanded; but the saints are called upon to put him away from their company, in order that the rest may be saved from falling into his unholy ways, and thus the Name of Christ be kept from further dishonor. Outside, he is in the place where God can deal with him. Inside, he is a source of grief to the assembly and a reproach to the Lord. See Hymenaeus and Alexander (1 Tim. 1:20).
11 He that loveth pureness of heart,
Upon whose lips is grace, the king is his friend.
A righteous ruler delights in a man of pure heart and gracious words. And to such a one the King of kings is indeed a Friend. It is the pure in heart who see God, and they who are truly such will manifest it by obedience to the word, “Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt.” A bitter, acrimonious and fault-finding tongue belongs not to the pure-hearted man of God, but is generally the evidence that one is far from being right himself. Note what is said of Mordecai (Esther 10:2, 3).
12 The eyes of Jehovah guard knowledge,
But He overthroweth the words of the treacherous.
The Lord’s eye is upon 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, His eye is beholding and He will see that it shall accomplish that whereunto He sends it.
But the false words of the unfaithful shall come to naught. The Lord Himself will overthrow them. Error cannot always prosper. It may seem to thrive for the moment, but it shall be destroyed eventually. Contrast Micaiah and the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 22).
13 The slothful man saith, There is a lion without,
I shall be slain in the streets!
See notes on Proverbs 12:27; 15:19; 19:24; 21:25. Many are the excuses devised by the sluggard to account for his supineness 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 goes forth in the strength of faith finds the lions have been rendered powerless to destroy. Contrast with the slothful man of this verse, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, one of David’s mighty men (2 Sam. 23:20). See Proverbs 26:13.
14 The mouth of strange women is a deep ditch:
He that is abhorred of Jehovah shall fall therein.
See notes on Proverbs 2:16-19; 6:23-35; 7:4-27. It is with her flattering words that the strange woman allures him who stops to listen, to his destruction. None who walk with God will be taken by her; but he whose ways displease the Lord will readily fall a victim to her seductions, stumbling into sin and its fearful consequences as a blind man into a deep pit. Of this, Judah becomes a terrible example in Genesis 38.
15 Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child;
But the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.
See notes on Proverbs 13:24 and 19:18. To leave a child to itself is to ensure its ruin, for folly is bound up in its heart. Discipline, properly administered will correct the natural tendency to go astray. The rod is, of course, not necessarily strictly such. Corporal punishment is not always required, and might at times be very unwise. But firm, yet kindly, discipline is what the passage declares the importance of. The rod, throughout Scripture, speaks of authority and power; in this case that parental restraint to which the child owes so much. It was the lack of this that was responsible in large measure for the evil ways of both Absalom and Adonijah (2 Sam. 14; 1 Kings 1:6).
16 He that oppresseth the poor to increase his riches,
And he that giveth to the rich, shall surely come to want.
The one is as foolish as the other. To seek to accumulate wealth by oppression of the needy, or to endeavor to curry favor by gifts to those who need them not because of their riches; both courses are precursors of want instead of solid increase.
For the moment, he who practices what is here condemned, may seem to prosper and flourish; but his end will manifest the truth of God’s word. He shall not be able to find the happiness he sought, and will at last be obliged to own 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.
17 Bow down thine ear, and hear the words of the wise,
And apply thy heart unto my knowledge.
18 For it is a pleasant thing if thou keep them within thee;
They shall withal be fitted together in thy lips.
19 That thy trust may be in Jehovah,
I have made known to thee this day, even to thee.
20 Have not I written to thee excellent things
In counsels and knowledge,
21 That I might make thee know the certainty of the words of truth;
That thou mightest answer the words of truth to them that send unto thee?
We now have a challenge reminding us of that seven times repeated in Revelation 2 and 3, “He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.” Many have been the words of wisdom to which we have been listening; many more are to follow. The soul may become so used to them as to fail to discern their excellent character. What is needed is that the heart be applied to the knowledge thus imparted. 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.
The expression, “Have not I written to thee excellent things,” is a peculiar one. In the original, it is literally “have I not set them before thee in three ways” or, “a third time.” This is evidently in a superlative degree. “The excellent things in counsel and knowledge” are things of the highest value, beyond mere human wisdom. It is God Himself marking out the safe and right way in which His children should walk. Thus will they “know the certainty of the words of truth,” and be enabled to use them aright in reply to all who inquire. Blessed it is, in a day of doubt and skepticism, to be able to rest the soul on the very words of the Living God, knowing their true and precious character.
In the New Testament we find four inspired apostles quoting unhesitatingly from this book as that which, like all other Scripture, was God-breathed. Paul quotes from it in Romans 12:19, 20, and Hebrews 12:5, 6; James in chapter 4:6 of his epistle; Peter twice in his first, and once in his second letter, namely 1 Peter 4:8, 17, 18; 2 Peter 2:22; and Jude, in the twelfth verse of his trenchant arraignment of the false teachers already creeping in among the saints.
But what is of deepest interest to the believer, our Lord Himself, in His address at the table of the Pharisee, as recorded in Luke 14, uses this treasury of proverbial truth as His textbook, and quotes approvingly from three verses of its 25th chapter (verses 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 pursue our study, may it be with a fuller sense of the sacred character of the homely admonitions and hints as to daily life which are to come before us.
22 Rob not the poor, because he is poor,
Neither oppress the afflicted in the gate;
23 For Jehovah will plead their cause,
And spoil the soul of those that spoiled them.
This is a warning word to those who sit in the place of judgment, to which the gate refers. If the ways of justice are perverted, let him who renders a false and oppressive sentence, remember that the supreme Judge is looking on, and 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 own throne—a great white throne, unsullied by iniquity. If wrong is perpetrated upon the needy now, Jehovah Himself will appear as their Advocate in that highest court of all, when dreadful indeed will be the portion of those who have used the judgment-seat on earth for the furtherance of iniquity. What will be the state of the Herods and Pilates when dragged before that bar of infinite holiness?
24 Make no friendship with an angry man;
And with a furious man thou shalt not go:
25 Lest thou learn his ways,
And get a snare to thy soul.
A man is known and formed by the company he keeps. “Evil communications corrupt good manners.” Therefore the importance of considering carefully the question of intimate association and companionship, not to say 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 upon one’s own soul. Anger and malice are the works of the flesh. With such the Christian should have no association, for we are too easily defiled by such things; and to go on with one displaying such evidences of unjudged carnality is to endanger one’s own walk and testimony. A Saul is no fit friend for a David. See chapter 21:21.
26 Be not thou one of them that strike hands,
Or of them that are sureties for debts.
27 If thou hast nothing to pay,
Why should he take away thy bed from under thee?
See notes on Proverbs 6:1-5, and 11:15. Some there are who will never learn by precept. Therefore they must be taught by bitter experience. It would not be difficult to find numerous examples of persons who have read Proverbs all their lives, but who, despite its many warnings as to suretyship, have lost nearly all they had through endorsing notes or going on the bond of men who turned out unworthy of their confidence. How much that is painful, and shameful too, might have been avoided had such a passage as this been heeded!
When grace was reigning, they who “had nothing to pay” were frankly forgiven all their debt (Luke 7:40-43); but when stern justice has to be dispensed, he who has not the means to meet his self-imposed obligation is in danger of losing his very bed from under him.
28 Remove not the ancient landmark
Which thy fathers have set.
This is almost a repetition of that which the Lord, of old, had spoken through Moses: “Thou shalt not remove thy neighbor’s 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” (Deut. 19:14).
Each Israelite had received his portion directly from Jehovah. Its bounds were marked out by clearly-indicated landmarks, which all were commanded to respect. He who removed them forcibly, or in secret, would have to do with God for his transgression.
In this dispensation of grace the portion of the people of God is heavenly, not earthly. Their 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, alas, this is the wretched business in which many learned doctors and wiseacres are engaged today. Nothing is too sacred for their irreverent handling. Precious truths like those of Atonement and Justification by Faith—yea, even the mystery of the Holy Trinity and the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ—are, in their eyes, but common things, which they may dismiss or ignore as they please. But a day of reckoning is coming, when God will judge them in righteousness, and when those who have been misled by their removal of ancient and venerable landmarks 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 Satan’s instruments for overthrowing the saving truths of Scripture. See Paul’s warning word to Timothy (2 Tim. 1:8-13, and 4:1-5). Compare Proverbs 23:10,11.
29 Seest thou a man diligent in his work?
He shall stand before kings;
He shall not stand before mean men.
Reward is sure for the diligent. He who applies himself with earnestness to his appointed labor will work his way into notice, and be recognized because of his ability. How much more when it is unto the Lord he labors, seeking His approbation, rather than that of his fellows! “Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord,” is the canon for the ordering of the believer’s 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 stand before the King, and enjoy the sunshine of His approval by and by, must labor now to be well-pleasing to Him. In this the faithful life of Daniel may well speak to us. He was a man who, whatever the changes of government, always came to the front, standing before kings.