Proverbs 3:29-31, Hear the Rules – Heed the Warnings!

February 6, Proverbs 3:29-31

Matt. 5:21-26; 1 Cor. 13 “… neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity” (Ps. 37:1).

Hear the Rules – Heed the Warnings!

The warnings run from vs. 25-31, and all begin Do not! Who says there should only be positive preaching? Here we are told how to do good negatively, and they all have their counterparts in the NT. Note that what not to do clearly suggests what we should do. Negatives merely serve to highlight the positives!

1. No Evil: Devise not evil against thy neighbour, seeing he dwells securely by thee (v.29). This verse pursues the theme of neighbourliness by showing another way we are accountable. An enemy might not trust us, but a neighbour would. To do him evil, therefore, is doubly wrong. It is a wrong deed and a broken trust. Love thinketh no evil, and Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself are admonitions for every believer, but too often ignored! Why should this be? Is not a selfish heart a sinful heart? If such conduct was a scandal even to the heathen, how much more is it to the followers of Christ? Apostle James says, This wisdom is not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish (3:13-18). That’s not very flattering, now is it? Our Saviour bore more than His share of men’s malice, but betrayal by a friend is “the unkindest cut of all” (Ps. 55:12; Jn. 13:18).
2. No Enmity: Strive not with a man without a cause, if he have done thee no harm (v.30). Guard against causeless striving with the emphasis on causeless. Seek to follow peace, if possible. Such strivings prove and obstacle to personal holiness (Heb. 12:14; Col. 3:12-14), and are unfitting in a true believer (2 Tim. 2:24). Is there ever a cause for strife? Yes, when God’s honour or the Crown Rights of the Redeemer are doubted or denied. What is condemned here is causeless enmity. Many an offense was just an oversight, a mistake, an error in judgment, with no harm done or intended. Much love should mean much mercy. Why not suffer wrong yourself than retaliate in such a case (1 Cor. 6:1-7)? How little is gained by causeless striving, but how much harm results! Modern versions omit without a cause thus forbidding all anger. How, then, do we explain the anger of Christ (Mk. 3:5), or Paul’s, Be ye angry and sin not (Eph. 4:26)?
3. No Envy: Envy thou not the oppressor, and choose none of his ways (v.31). The final warning is against envying the oppressor. He is a man of violence (marg.), a monster with an insatiable lust for power! We meet him everywhere, but don’t yield to envy, for envy feeds on itself and is soul-destroying. This warns us of another oppressor, the ‘green-eyed monster’ of envy. Why should we envy him when we consider the terrible crimes he has to spitefully executed, and must, one-day, answer for? Choose none of his ways, but again, what reason has the Christian to do so? The oppressor enjoys his tyranny and his cruel use of power (Eccl. 4:1). He is bad, root and branch. All his ill-gotten gain is too dearly bought. His wine may sparkle, but there is poison in the cup.

Thought: “In spiritual things there is no envy” (Richard Sibbes).

Prayer: Help me, O Lord, to do good negatively like this.