Tag: Devotion

This text proves true both from a temporal and a spiritual standpoint. Both parties have strong desires, but how differently they go about to fulfill them!

13:2-3 (12:14) is a familiar theme in Proverbs, but will we ever get the message that what we say can do as much harm as what we do? Let us follow the adage: “Look before you leap” with: “Think before you speak.” We get back what we deserve. “Keep a strong bridle on the tongue and a strong hand on the bridle.” In proportion as we bridle the little member the peace of God will rule the heart.

This verse recalls the opening chapter of Proverbs. A wise son heareth his father’s instruction, but a scorner heareth not rebuke. Instruction includes, if necessary, discipline and correction. The message here is clear. Are you a teachable son? Will you submit to wise and loving parental discipline? Teachable sons are wise and profit thereby, but sons who scorn rebuke lose everything.

But the substance of the diligent (sharp, decisive) man is precious. His substance is what is of worth, or enough to satisfy. This man is the opposite of the slothful. He enjoys the fruits of his efforts. He gets a rich return, but this means more than just money! His substance may not be great in the eyes of some, but to him it is precious. It is worth its weight in gold! Most precious of all, it comes to him with the blessing of God. There is a general principle that labour enhances the relative value of a man’s possessions. The opposite is also true, “What costs nothing is worth nothing! It is only a bag of moonshine.” Consider these two reasons why his substance is precious to the diligent.

The slothful man roasts not that which he took in hunting. Roast occurs only here in the Hebrew. This has led some to suggest other meanings hike start or set out. Aramaic and Arabic roots suggest scorch. Of the three Hebrew young men, in the fiery furnace of Nebuchadnezzar, it was observed, there was not an hair of their head singed (Dan. 3:27). Jewish tradition has roast, and so our KJV.

At the funeral of David Livingstone, a man who appeared to be a derelict of humanity was seen to be weeping bitterly. When someone asked if he was a near relative of the great missionary. “No,” he replied, “but we were in the same class at school and worked at the same loom in the mill in Blantyre. Only I took the wrong road, and have become a useless drunkard.”

Life is a journey, a pilgrimage, if you will. We are all travelling along some path or other. What path are you travelling on? At the end will it mean downfall or deliverance? These two Proverbs contrast the life and thinking of the righteous and the wicked. There are just two paths, the Way of the Righteous, and the Way of the Wicked. Everyone is travelling one or other of these. One sometimes hears the cry: “Is there really a true path in this life? If so, how can I be sure I’m on it?” If that’s your cry, please read on.

Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop, but a good word maketh it glad. This is the positive side of our proverb.

Heaviness is a rare word in Hebrew, occurring six times as a verb, and three times as a noun. It is more than an anxious heart as one translation has it. There is a deeper note here. It is one of fear, even terror. And if we have not rather done it for fear of this thing (Jos. 22:24). It may come from an unjust censure, or evil tidings. “The rendering in this verse in the AV is to be retained” (Perowne).

This proverb furnishes a contrast between Decisiveness and Deceitfulness, between Mastery and Misery. The hand of the diligent shall bear rule; but the slothful shall be under tribute. Slothful also means knavery or deceit (Ps. 101:7, 120:2, Micah 6:12) as well as laziness. It always deceives the slothful in the end (Ps. 78:57). Under tribute is used only here in Proverbs. It is a collective noun for a group of forced labourers or a labour-gang, and leads to slavery. “A lazy spirit is always a loosing spirit” (Brooks). Its message is crystal clear: the lazy are the losers. “Sloth shortens life and lengthens sin”!