Proverbs 22

Proverbs 22:17-24

XXIII THE OF THE WISEProverbs 22:17-24:34. There are two collections of proverbs in this passage, as follows: (1) Proverbs 22:17-24:22; (2) Proverbs 24:23-34. The preface, or introduction, to the first collection consists of Pro 22:17-21.

This short paragraph is at once a conclusion and an introduction, a pause in the continuous teaching of the same Teacher, in which he sums up what has gone before, and opens the way for further instruction. In our present Hebrew text there is no break between Proverbs 22:16-17, but there is a slight break, to which however, no special importance can be attached, between Proverbs 22:21-22. The Revised Version is so printed as to indicate the commencement of a new section at Proverbs 22:17 and of a fresh paragraph at Proverbs 22:22. – Perowne.

The proverbs of this collection are contained sometimes in one, sometimes in two or three verses, sometimes they lapse into a continuous discourse, after the manner of the first nine chapters. In Proverbs 22:22-27 there are three tetrastichs. The first consists of Pro 22:22-23; the second, of Proverbs 22:24-25; the third, of Proverbs 22:26-27.

There is a warning relative to the poor here, one relative to an angry man, and one relative to sureties. The warning relative to the poor is not to rob the poor because Jehovah will plead their cause; the one concerning an angry man is to make no friendship with him lest he become a snare; the one concerning sureties is a positive prohibition against becoming surety at all.

There is also here a warning concerning land titles in Proverbs 22:28; Proverbs 23:10-11 and a black-reference to Deuteronomy 19:14. The ancient landmark must be kept intact. Land grabbing was not permitted even in that early day. A great law is set forth in Proverbs 22:29, thus: Seest thou a man diligent in his business? He shall stand before kings; He shall not stand before mean men. Labor yields her rewards: “Labor conquers all things.” Compare 1 Kings 10:8. Faithfulness in service is the basis of promotion.

In Proverbs 23:1-3 is a warning to watch the appetite, because the favor of the ruler, an Oriental despot, and the luxury that surrounds one under such circumstances, is a dangerous thing.

In Proverbs 23:4-5 we have another warning, viz: that the desire to become rich may not weary us since riches are very uncertain, as they may take wings and fly away like the eagle. This passage is in line with Paul’s advice to Timothy to charge the rich relative to the uncertainty of riches and what should be the attitude of the rich toward God’s cause. He says to Timothy, “Charge them that are rich in this present world, that they be not highminded, nor have their hope set on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; that they do good, that they be rich in good works, that they be ready to distribute, willing to communicate; laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on the life which is life indeed” (1 Timothy 6:17-19).

There is a parental admonition in Proverbs 23:13-14 relative to the chastisement of the child, commending the use of corporal punishment, meaning that this punishment will not necessarily result in death, or that he will not die as a result of his sin if thus corrected. The latter is the more preferable. There is a principle here enunciated, that life issues from obedience to law and one who has never learned the principle of obedience to the authorities, whether parent, government, or God, is not likely to yield himself to the lordship of Jesus Christ without which he can never escape hell.

There are two striking pictures in the section (Proverbs 22:15-21). The first picture is that of a father pleading with his son showing the parental interest in the boy and the happy result of a life in the fear of God. The second picture is that of a man brought to rags by gluttony and drunkenness, which reminds us of the prodigal son.

The admonition given in Proverbs 22:22 is a very solemn one and suggests the many observations of the author on filial relationships. How beautiful is the reverence for parents when they are old, and how abhorring the disrespect for them often seen in modern times! This is a very wholesome piece of advice.

The characteristics of the drunkard are pictured in Proverbs 23:29-35. Here we see him as a man of woe, a man of sorrows, a man of contention, a man of complaint, a man of wounds, a man with redness of eyes, a man with blurred vision, a man of perverse heart, a man tossed about like a vessel at sea, a man with deadened senses, and with all this, a man still drinking whenever he can get it.

In Proverbs 24:1-22 are many fine proverbs, the teachings in which cover a large range of human experience. It would be a profitable exercise to mark off the stanzas of this wonderful passage and then note the principal teachings found in it. It may be read with great interest.

The section, Proverbs 24:23-34 is a small collection of the proverbs of the wise and forms a kind of appendix to the preceding collection. There are two distinct parts of it, Proverbs 24:23-34. The most remarkable teaching found in Proverbs 24:23-29 is righteous judgment based on wisdom.

The picture in Proverbs 24:30-34 is that of a field of the slothful. There are several points of this description, viz: the owner is designated a sluggard, his field is grown up with thorns and nettles, the wall is down and the lesson of it all is the poverty and want of its owner. The last four lines constitute a striking parabolic proverb.

1. How many and what collections of proverbs are in these Proverbs 22:17-24:34?

2. What is the preface, or introduction, to the first collection, and what is its double function?

3. What are the characteristics of this section?

4. What kind of stanzas in Proverbs 22:22-27?

5. What is the warning relative to the poor here, what one relative to an angry man, and what one relative to sureties?

6. What is warning concerning land titles in Proverbs 22:28; Proverbs 23:10-11?

7. What great law is set forth in Proverbs 22:22-29?

8. What warning is given in Proverbs 23:1-3 and why this warning?

9. What warning is in Proverbs 23:4-5 and how does this teaching compare with the New Testament teaching on the same subject?

10. What parental admonition is in Proverbs 23:13-14 and how does parental chastisement deliver the child’s soul from hell?

11. What the two pictures are in the section, Proverbs 22:15-21?

12. What do you think of the admonition given in Proverbs 22:22?

13. What are the characteristics of the drunkard as pictured in Proverbs 23:29-35?

14. Mark the stanzas in Proverbs 24:1-22, select three of the best proverbs in this group and note the essential teachings in this section.

15. What can you say of the section, Proverbs 24:23-34?

16. What, to you, is the most remarkable teaching found in Proverbs 24:23-29?

17. What is the picture in Proverbs 24:30-34 and what are the last four lines of this section?