Author: Denis Gibson

What dangers there are in possessing riches! A dinner of herbs (v.17a) is surely not better than a stalled ox. Can that be true? Can poverty be better than riches? That would not be so without some qualification. The poor contend with serious obstacles, the direct result of poverty. Rich folks do enjoy many advantages primarily because they are rich. What the proverbs say, over and over, is that poverty with the fear of the Lord is better than riches without God. Compare, an average rich person, without God, with an average poor person who knows the fear of the Lord. You will find that the condition of the godly is better than the other, no matter how rich he or she might be (Eccl. 4:6).

Verse 16 and 17 are the first of many better than proverbs. Verse 16 also renews the theme of the Book of Proverbs, namely, the fear of the Lord. Today’s proverbs provide a much-needed reminder in our day that spiritual wealth is to be preferred to material bounty. “Taken in excess, even nectar is poison.”

The Bible is the “heart-specialist” book! Its diagnosis of your heart condition will be true. Will you accept its findings and follow its infallible prescription? Our three proverbs today all have this in common – they deal with the heart. “The Bible speaks much about human hearts and much to human hearts” (Thomas).

Handling criticism well is never easy, for most of us at any rate. A scorner considers any criticism of him or his work to be beneath contempt; he scorns it! This springs from a consciousness or belief in his own superiority or ability. Scorn for the evil or ignoble, should be the attitude of every true child of God, but the scorner disdains the reproof of a holy and merciful God. As we saw in our last study, the admonition to receive reproof rings out again and again. The reason for this repetition should be obvious. Our stubborn, proud, self-righteous, sinful hearts resist, resent, and more often reject criticism, even when it is kindly meant.

I’m OK! You’re OK! That’s the devil’s psychology, and many have bought into it “hook, line and sinker.” This psychology produces “schools without failure” because we are assured there are “no right answers”! It also produces “salvation without guilt,” Robert Schuller style! Among many evangelicals this humanistic, self-esteem, non-judgmental, psychology is king.

Hell and destruction are before the Lord (15:11). He who sees into hell, can most certainly see into our hearts. The KJV is said to mislead when it translates sheol as hell (Kidner). Much as some want to believe that the dead are out of God’s mind and memory (Ps. 88:10-12), they really know better (Job 26:6, Ps. 139:8)!

This is a proverb where the first line amplifies the second. Modern versions, following the RV (1881), re-interpret the first line of this proverb, Correction is grievous unto him that forsaketh the way (KJV), to read, “Stern discipline awaits him who leaves the path” (NIV, NKJV). These versions all paraphrase here, and that changes the true thrust of its message! There is no word for “awaits” in the text, and then they make bad to modify grievous, hence, “stern discipline.” While Perowne accepts the RV reading, Kidner appreciates that the AV is “perhaps” preferable to RV, a cautious concession indeed! Scholars love to cover their backs!

Ritualism and liberalism have eaten the heart out of Protestantism. What remains of a once great testimony is now an empty shell. Many either do not know, or will admit, that such a departure has taken place within their ranks. In Proverbs 15:8 we meet the word prayer for the first time, but it is repeated twice more.

Our two proverbs today are closely related. Here we find that the sacrifice of the wicked and the way of the wicked both are abomination to the Lord. The prayer of the upright parallels him that followeth hard after righteousness, both of whom God delights in and loves. “The pair of sayings show how intensely our regular behaviour matters to God” (Kidner). God is not a robot. He is a Being with a heart big enough to enfold us all.

Do you dream of being rich or richer than you are? How much would make you content? The snare of riches is that we never have quite enough yet. The question, “Who wants to be a millionaire?” has already been upgraded to, “Who wants to be a billionaire?” Yet, “Better is an handful, with quietness, than both the hands full with travail and vexation of spirit” (Eccl. 4:6). This proverb speaks of the blessing or the bane of riches.