Proverbs 21

Proverbs 21:1

21:1 Just as a channel or canal directs the flow of water, so the LORD rules and overrules a king’s thoughts and actions. This is an encouragement to Christians under oppressive governments or to missionaries taking the gospel to hostile lands. 21:2 A man is not a valid judge of his own life or service; he judges by outward appearances. The LORD weighs the thoughts and motives of people’s hearts. 21:3 The LORD is not as pleased with burnt offerings and sacrifice as with obedience to His voice (1Sa_15:22). God is not a ritualist. What He wants is inward reality. 21:4 This proverb lists three things that are sin in God’s sight: a haughty look, i.e., the outward expression of conceit; a proud heart, i.e., the inward reservoir; and the plowing of the wicked, which may mean their prosperity, happiness, life, or hope. 21:5 Those who work diligently for their living are contrasted with those who seek to get rich overnight. The first are assured of plenty; the second, of poverty. 21:6 Those who seek riches through fraud and by a lying tongue are chasing the wind. They are pursuing that which will elude them, and they will perish in the process. Their position is like that of a desert traveler chasing a mirage; it proves to be a snare of death for him. 21:7 The violence of the wicked will destroy them, because they refuse to do justice. There is a moral principle at work in the universe which guarantees that violence, wickedness, and injustice will never escape unpunished. Never! 21:8 “Very crooked is the way of a guilty man, but as for the pure, his work is upright” (JND). Guilt causes a man to lie, to hide, to masquerade, to fear, and to act deceitfully. The man who has confessed and forsaken his sins has nothing to hide; he can walk in the light. 21:9 Houses in Bible lands had flat roofs. This proverb says that it would be better to live alone in a cramped corner of one of those roofs, exposed to heat, cold, rain, snow, wind, and hail, than to live in a house shared with a nagging, cantankerous woman. The storms from without would be more endurable than the tempest inside. 21:10 The soul of the wicked is always plotting some new evil, and he shows no mercy to his neighbor in perpetrating it. Thus his sin is both deliberate and ruthless. Modern sociological excuses for crime simply won’t hold water. 21:11 Even if a scoffer might not learn a lesson from the punishment he receives, the naive person will see it and be warned. A wise man doesn’t need to be punished; he will learn from simple instruction. 21:12 The righteous God wisely considers the house of the wicked, overthrowing the wicked for their wickedness. God keeps close watch on all the affairs of ungodly men; at the proper time He throws the switch which brings their doom upon them. 21:13 The rich man of Luk_16:19-31 was quite unconcerned about the desperate need of the beggar at his gate. In the afterlife, he himself cried for relief but his cry went unanswered. 21:14 The Bible often reports facts without approving them. Thus it observes that an angry man will quiet down if the offender slips him a gift, and a man who is in a rage is appeased by a bribe tucked in his pocket. 21:15 It is a joy for the just to do justice, but destruction will come to the workers of iniquity. This is illustrated by the second advent of Christ. It will be a time of ecstasy for the redeemed, but a time of horror for all others (2Th_1:6-9). 21:16 You meet all kinds of people in Proverbs. This man who wanders is like a vagrant in the Sahara of sin. When you last see him, he is resting in the assembly of the dead. 21:17 Instead of giving the satisfaction and fulfillment they promise, pleasure and luxurious living (wine and oil) only serve to impoverish a man. They drain his financial resources and also reduce him to spiritual poverty. 21:18 In Isa_43:3, God says that He gave Egypt as a ransom for His people, Israel. The Lord rewarded Cyrus for liberating the Jews by permitting him to possess Egypt and the neighboring kingdoms. In a broad sense the verse means that the wicked are punished so that the upright can go free. 21:19 A touch of sanctified humor! The writer would prefer the discomfort, distance, and loneliness of a desert to being cooped up with an angry, quarrelsome woman. 21:20 The contrast here is between the cottage of the wise man where there is a plentiful supply of all good things, and the home of a foolish man where sin, waste, and extravagance lead to scarcity. We are reminded of the alcoholic who used to sell his furniture and other household goods in order to buy whiskey. After his conversion to Christ, someone said to him, “You don’t really believe that stuff about Jesus’ turning water into wine, do you?” His answer was, “I don’t know about turning water into wine, but I know that in my house He turned whiskey into furniture!” 21:21 The point here seems to be that the one who pursues righteousness and mercy gets more than he bargained for; in addition to righteousness he receives life and honor. 21:22 The wise Christian brings down the . . . stronghold, not with artillery and bombs, but with faith, prayer, and the Word of God (see 2Co_10:4). In the spiritual conflict, wisdom can accomplish what armed might is unable to do. 21:23 Whoever can control his mouth saves himself from stacks of trouble. “Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell” (Jam_3:5-6). 21:24 If you meet a proud and haughty man, just call him “Scoffer.” That’s his name! The name, of course, stands for what a person is. “For as his name is, so is he” (1Sa_25:25). 21:25, 26 The lazy man is torn apart between his craving for riches on the one hand, and his determination not to exert himself on the other. It’s a killing impasse! While he spends his time in a dream-world of unfulfilled hopes, the righteous man works hard and earns money so that he can give unsparingly to worthy causes. 21:27 God is “turned off” by the donations of unrepentant sinners but He hates it even more when a gift is intended to “buy Him off” or induce Him to condone, approve, or bless some wicked scheme. 21:28 “A false witness will perish, but the word of a man who hears will endure” (RSV). The false witness swears before God that he will tell the truth, then deliberately perjures himself. The man who listens carefully and answers honestly gives testimony that can never be shaken. 21:29 The brazen face of a wicked man shows that he is confirmed in his iniquity. He has a forehead of brass. The upright man, by being teachable, is safe and establishes his behavior. 21:30 Man is powerless to outwit God in wisdom, understanding, or strategy. None of his plots can avail against the LORD. “Every purpose of the Lord shall be performed” (Jer_51:29). 21:31 Men may go to elaborate plans to insure military success, but victory on the day of battle comes from the LORD alone. It is better to trust in Him than in horsesor in nuclear weapons(see Psa_20:7). Plumptre summarizes verses 30 and 31 as follows: Verse 30: Nothing avails against God. Verse 31: Nothing avails without God.