Proverbs 17

The contrast in verse 1, rendered in a “better ... than” construction, is simple and understandable. The wise man will agree that poverty with peace is better than prosperity with strife (cf. Pro 15:16-17). He prefers “peace”, when there is nothing more than “a dry morsel” to satisfy hunger with, to “strife” when there is an abundance of food. The “dry morsel” is bread without anything to make it easier and more palatable to swallow (cf. Rth 2:14; Jn 13:26).

A meager meal “and quietness with it” means that those who partake of it find satisfaction in fellowship with God and with one another. As a result, the meager meal becomes a feast. This is better than “a house full of feasting” with slaughtered animals where those who partake of it are at odds with one another. As a result, the banquet is immersed in bitterness. Abundance often brings with it a deterioration of values and standards, resulting in an increase in envy and strife.

Here it seems to be about sacrificial animals brought into the temple, God’s house, as peace offerings, some of which the offeror may eat together with others (Lev 3:1-17; 7:28-34). Having disagreements while eating the peace offering is contrary to its character. On the contrary, the peace offering is an expression of unity. Such a situation occurs in the church in Corinth. The believers feel spiritually rich, but among themselves there is division. Paul admonishes them about this (1Cor 11:17-34).

The saying in verse 2 is about “a servant who acts wisely”, a servant who makes good use of all his abilities in serving his lord. Opposed to the servant’s way of doing things is the way of that lord’s son. The son lives a wicked life. His father is ashamed of this. He disinherits his son and in his place makes the servant co-heir with the brothers, meaning he adopts him as a son. This gives the servant a place above the disinherited son, resulting in his rule over the son.

It is an encouragement to all who are faithful in their work. Faithfulness is rewarded with a position of ruling and sharing in the inheritance of the family. One who serves faithfully in humility is placed above one who has a certain position but behaves unworthily in it.

The first line of verse 3 makes clear the meaning of the second line of verse. Just as in “the refining pot” and “the furnace” respectively silver and gold are heated to make those precious metals purer, so the LORD tests hearts (Mal 3:2-4; 1Pet 1:6-7; cf. Isa 48:10; Zec 13:9). God examines every thought and motive. Those examinations and trials are always to the increase of the worth of him who is being purified.

God wants to purify by the heat of trials the hearts of His own from everything that prevents Christ from becoming visible. The God-fearing also asks God Himself to do so (Psa 26:2). In that mind, we are able to eat the peace offering with quietness (verse 1) and are worthy heirs (verse 2).

“An evil-doer” and “a liar” love to listen to lies and destructive talk (verse 4; cf. Jer 5:30-31). What is at issue here is that those who listen to such talk are of the same stock as those who allow such talk to be heard. The “lips” and “tongue” mean speaking; the qualifications “wicked” and “destructive” say that such speaking causes devastation.

The people who listen to gossip are as guilty of it as those who tell it. If there were no listeners, there would be no gossip. Listeners to gossip help keep the gossip going. So it is with gossip magazines. If there were no buyers, there would be no gossip magazines. The buyers of gossip magazines are just as bad gossipers as the compilers and publishers of them.

And what about us? Do we also enjoy programs in which lies and destruction are presented as entertainment and glorified that way? If we keep watching and do not turn away, that is, turn off the program, we are the same as the people who are called evildoers and liars here.

The mocking of the poor is done because an accident has befallen him, making him poor (verse 5). This is evident from the second line of verse. Anyone who mocks a poor person despises the latter and his own Maker and will therefore be punished. After all, man was made in His image (Gen 1:26-27; Jam 3:9). The second line of verse declares that such a person “will not go unpunished”, but will be punished.

The mockery of the poor man manifests itself in gloating over the calamity that has befallen him. A person may rejoice over the misery that afflicts another. Mockery of the Maker can be seen as a derogatory remark addressed to God, with the content that He was unable to save that poor person from that calamity. In addition to God being mocked, the poor person also gets the full brunt. The mocker enjoys the fact that the poor person has fallen into misery. He rubs salt in his many wounds by telling him that he owes his poverty to himself, it is his own failure.

The Edomites gloated over the calamity that had befallen Israel. The prophet Obadiah shows that they will not be held to be innocent. God promises that He will punish the Edomites (Oba 1:12-16). The same is also true of Ammon (Eze 25:6-7). Job said he was free from such behavior (Job 31:29). How is our reaction to calamity striking someone, especially someone we dislike?

It is a man’s honor when he lives so long that he sees children and grandchildren each serving their own generation in the way God wants (Psa 128:6; Gen 50:23; cf. Acts 13:36). When the generations appreciate and imitate each other in goodness, there is harmony. There is an emphasis on the responsibility of (grand)parents for their (grand)children. The next generation is reminded to look back to previous generations with respect.

In what is said here, the ideal situation is presented. We know that the world is full of wayward parents and unruly children who cannot look back on a happy childhood. But for each new generation lies the challenge of breaking that trend. This verse is an incentive to work on that.

Children can ensure that their children can think of them as Godly parents and their parents as Godly grandparents. The children will not be ashamed of their parents and grandparents, but rather testify gratefully that they have such a “glory”. This, in turn, may result in their children’s children walking in the way of the Lord. The line down from children and children’s children, the gender line down, is the crown of old age; the line up from parents and grandparents, the gender line up, is the glory of their children, or their descendants.

The teaching of this verse is that just as we do not expect excellent utterances from the mouths of fools, we certainly do not expect a lie from a prince. When a fool speaks excellent things, it is like lipstick on a pig. Normally he vomits out the greatest folly and suddenly he lets out wonderful utterances. Then our ears do not know what they hear. When a cunning person comes with nice talk, he is up to something. His words are inconsistent with his character.

Conversely, lying lips do not belong to a prince, to a respectable person. With such a person do not belong words that harm another. By a prince, someone is meant who has a certain status and on whom one relies. To his status fits the code of honor of truthfulness and no false words. Lies simply are not fitting for him.

The meaning is that “a bribe” works like a magic stone by which “its owner” who uses it succeeds and prospers everywhere. “A charm” is so attractive to the one to whom its possessor presents it, that the latter cannot resist the temptation to accept the bribe and in return give what is requested. A charm emanates from it to the recipient, melting away all resistance. A bribe opens doors that would otherwise remain closed, as if a magic formula had been spoken.

The proverb demonstrates the effect of a bribe without comment. It does not recommend the use of bribes. The law clearly prohibits the taking of bribes (Exo 23:8). What Solomon says is reality from the point of view of one who gives the bribe: this is the way it works. It is like a stone that brings good luck, a stone that has magical properties and works like a charm. It is a ‘lucky stone’.

This proverb deals with the contrast between “he who conceals a transgression” and “he who repeats a matter”, by passing it on to someone else. The former promotes “love” and the latter “separates intimate friends”. Friendship requires the ability to conceal a transgression, forgive it and forget it. Failure to do so is the end of intimate friendships. Dredging up the past and continuing to speak about it has destroyed many friendships and marriages.

The true friend will bury the wrong out of love rather than launch a campaign in which he passes it on to whomever will hear it. Repeating is an activity that destroys love and trust and thereby destroys what deserves to be preserved. Concealing does not mean that a transgression is silenced or ignored, but that it is not talked about with others, that it is not passed on.

“Love covers a multitude of sins” (1Pet 4:8). Every child of God has experienced this, because through the love of the Lord Jesus, which He demonstrated on the cross of Calvary, his sins are covered. They no longer exist before God. This does not mean that God condones them, but that He forgives and conceals them if there is repentance and conversion. The concealing of the transgression happens after confession, after which God forgives. In imitation of Him, we may act this way when someone commits a transgression against us (Eph 4:32; 5:1-2).

Concealing a transgression (verse 9) does not mean that the transgression is not denounced. This is done by confronting the transgressor with his transgression, rebuking him for it. “One who has understanding” will benefit from the rebuke, but the fool will not (verse 10).

This verse contrasts one who has understanding and a fool in their response to a rebuke. One who has understanding and is humiliated by a rebuke will learn from it. But on a fool, even “a hundred blows” will make no impression. Blows comes down on his back, but it does not change his heart; he remains a fool.

The difference between one who has understanding and a fool is especially evident by the way a rebuke is responded to. The rebuke Peter received, both from the Lord Jesus and Paul (Mt 16:23; Gal 2:11-15), went deeply into him. It did not produce resentment, but he learned from it. But the many and fierce plagues that came upon Egypt did not change Pharaoh’s mind (Exodus 7-12). He remained a fool and perished in his folly.

“A rebellious man” (verse 11) is completely insensitive to discipline. He lives in rebellion against God and his neighbor. As a devoted follower of the great rebel against God, the devil, he is bent on causing unrest and uproar. Nothing but “evil” stands before him; he deliberately seeks it.

This rebellious man will be sought out by “a cruel messenger” sent specifically to him for the purpose of killing him. It is a matter of cause and effect. Insurgents have no other purpose than to seek evil. As a result, retribution is sent in the form of a merciless messenger. This expression can refer to a merciless messenger sent by the king; it can also refer to storms, a disease, or an accident as God’s messenger of retribution.

Benaiah was a messenger sent out to kill the opponents of David and Solomon (1Kgs 2:13-46). A person who seeks only evil is not open to anything good. Therefore, he must be dealt with that way.

It is more dangerous to meet a fool engaged in folly than “a bear robbed of her cubs” (verse 12). Man, who is supposed to be intelligent and rational, is more dangerous in his folly than the bear acting according to its instinct (2Sam 17:8; Hos 13:8a). The fool is totally blind to his folly and acts in stupid blindness. The lesson is: do not come near that bear and certainly not near a fool.

We often underestimate the enormous danger of foolishness. Folly is shutting out God. It involves taking God’s warnings as a joke, as Lot’s sons-in-law did (Gen 19:14). This puts a person in far greater danger than any other earthly danger. From a bear you know what to expect, from a fool you often do not.

Adam is the first to whom verse 13 fully applies. He has returned evil for all the goodness of God. Therefore evil came upon his house, that is, upon his entire posterity, which has not departed until today. Evil only departs when it is confessed. Then the reverse happens: God returns good for evil for everyone who believes.

The verse applies generally to every person who returns evil for good, including the believer, without saying whether God immediately returns evil on him or does so only later. David experienced that Saul returned evil for the good he did for him. Nabal has done the same toward David. But David himself also returned evil for good when he had Uriah killed while Uriah served him with full commitment. Therefore, evil did not depart from his house (2Sam 12:9-12).

Above all, the Jews returned evil for good to the Lord Jesus. We hear this when He says: “Thus they have repaid me evil for good and hatred for my love” (Psa 109:5; 35:12). As a result, evil did not depart from the house of Judah. The Lord told His disciples – and thus He also tells us – that, just as He did, they should act the other way around: “Love your enemies, and do good” (Lk 6:35). The following exhortation applies to us in this context: “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Rom 12:21).

Conflicts must be stopped before they get out of hand. That is what this proverb suggests to us. The picture is that of a small leak, for example in a dam, through which water slowly begins to flow. If action is not taken quickly, the leak will get bigger and become a large hole. The disaster of flooding that follows is incalculable. We can apply this to a strife that needs to be resolved, otherwise it may turn into a lawsuit. Going to court might mean a legal victory, but at the same time the strife becomes permanent and irreparable.

A quarrel often begins over a small matter. If one does not resolve it immediately and properly, it can grow into a war. The best thing to do is to stop it yourself and say nothing back. If both sides insist on being right, things will get out of hand. It is like a small spark that causes a huge fire if the spark is not quickly extinguished. At the beginning of the church, there was disagreement between two groups of widows. Before it turned into a real strife, the twelve apostles stopped this disagreement by a wise decision (Acts 6:1-6).

In the administration of justice, what matters is that justice is upheld, that is, the wicked are judged and the righteous are acquitted. If that is reversed and a judge “justifies the wicked” and “condemns the righteous”, then both the one and the other are “an abomination to the LORD” (cf. Isa 5:20). We see the clearest and most heinous illustration of this proverb in the ‘trial’ of the Lord Jesus. Pilate acquitted the wicked Barabbas and declared the Righteous One guilty (Mt 27:24-26).

The great wonder of the grace of God is that the first line of verse applies to God Himself. The letter to the Romans shows this line of verse from God’s side on the basis of Christ’s work. God acquits the wicked on the basis of righteousness. He has declared the Righteous One guilty by imputing to Him the punishment of the wicked, enabling Him to justify the wicked: “But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness” (Rom 4:5).

A fool is a fool because he does not seek God, whereas that is first necessary to become wise. The fool has no interest in obtaining wisdom in the way it should be obtained. Money has no value in this case, it is of no value, because what is needed –a relationship with God – cannot be bought. He may want the reputation of the wise, but he cannot meet its requirements, for he lacks the mind, the spiritual mind, for it. Simon the magician, who wanted to buy the gift of the Holy Spirit for money, was such a fool (Acts 8:18-19).

There is surprise and indignation in the question. It basically says that it makes no sense for a fool to have money in his hands to buy wisdom because he has no brain. He would not even recognize wisdom if he saw it.

The love of a true friend is constant. His love does not change with circumstances. He is a friend for better or worse, in good times and in times when friendship is tested. Christ shows that He is such a friend Who always loves in all circumstances (Jn 13:1). He calls us His “friends” (Jn 15:14-15). He also calls us “brothers” (Jn 20:17; Heb 2:11-12). By the way, nowhere in Scripture does it say that His followers call Him “friend” or “brother”. Therefore, we will not call Him that either. He is far above us.

Friendship involves sharing thoughts. Friends are there for one another and always help one another (Lk 11:5-8). A brother is a blood relative. There is a family relationship. Ruth and Naomi and also David and Jonathan show what friendship and family kinship means for practice, especially in times of distress.

It is perfectly true of the Lord Jesus, Who shares His thoughts with us as a friend, and Who is as a brother to us in heaven to assist us in our difficulties, which He knows from His own experience. That a brother is born in distress means that precisely when we are “in adversity”, we appeal to Him.

It is foolish to offer security for guaranty to someone who is in debt (cf. Pro 6:1-5). To “pledge” means that it is promised. It is like putting a signature to an agreement, confirming the promise. A person who becomes guarantor for his neighbor is “a man lacking in sense”. After all, you never know what you will face. The debt may well be so great as to be unpayable.

What the Lord Jesus did when He became guarantor Himself may seem “lacking in sense” from a human point of view, but it was not. For He knew how high the price was and He knew He could pay it. It reminds us of the statement in the letter to Philemon where the apostle Paul, as a true follower of the Lord Jesus, also offers himself as guarantor to Philemon with regard to Onesimus (Phlm 1:18).

We can “get caught in a transgression” (Gal 6:1) without loving that transgression. Someone else can then restore us. But “he who loves transgression” (verse 19) possesses a depraved mind. His actions show that he loves strife. A transgression affects mutual relationships. He who loves to transgress prefers to quarrel. By his pernicious talk, he constantly puts pressure on good relationships.

The meaning of “he who raises his door” is not entirely clear. In the context in which this expression is used, the door here seems to represent “the mouth”. The meaning then may be ‘having a big mouth’ (cf. 1Sam 2:3; Psa 141:3; Mic 7:5). He who loves argument has a big mouth to heaven, to God, and also to his fellow man (Psa 73:8-9). He does not seek someone’s prosperity, but someone’s “destruction”.

Verse 20 shows the origin of verse 19. He who loves transgression shows that he “has a crooked mind”. He who has a crooked mind not only seeks the destruction of others, but will himself “find no good”. By “good” are meant the blessings of God that He gives to all who serve Him. He who has a crooked mind seeks what is good in his own eyes. He strives for possession at the expense of others.

He is “perverted in his language”, the words he speaks are false. He speaks falsity, which shows that he is averse to the truth. He pursues the downfall of others, but will himself fall into evil and work his own downfall. Instead of finding true good, he faces a life of calamity. The prosperity he seeks for himself ends in his fall into evil.

It is a sorrow for a father to sire a child who turns out to be a fool. He hoped for a son who would be an asset to the family and the faith, but he only finds disappointment when his son turns out to be a fool. A God-fearing father will not rejoice over his foolish son. The father “was seeking a godly offspring” (Mal 2:15), but his son turns out to be of the devil. He raised his son “in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Eph 6:4), that he might live to the glory of God, but he has rejected all his father’s teaching. The father will not rejoice over his son, but his foolishness will break his heart.

No one knows what kind of child he is siring. That is why it is so important to pray before a child is conceived, that God will give a child who will live to His glorification. Yet God-fearing parents can have wicked children. It remains the choice that a child, once he or she is up for that, must make for himself or herself: for or against Christ.

We cannot always blame parents for the choice children make, and parents cannot claim that their children will be God-fearing. Parents do have a responsibility to educate, to make every effort to ensure that the child learns the way of the Lord. Thereby they will show the child in their own live how to go that way. Whether the child then goes that way is the choice he will have to make for himself.

“A joyful heart” is one that rejoices in God and the things of the Lord. A joyful heart someone gets when in it dwells the peace of God. Such a heart “is good medicine” that promotes healing of the body and spirit. Someone who has “a broken spirit” experiences the opposite. There is no joy; it has disappeared because of all the sorrows and miseries under which he is burdened. This process “dries up the bones”. As mentioned earlier, bones give the body the strength to move forward. When bones are dried up, it means that health has disappeared and powerlessness has entered (cf. Eze 37:1-14).

This verse is not a condemnation of someone who is depressed. Its meaning is not that he should just be happy so that the depression will go away. Again, it presents what is generally true without passing judgment on the condition a person is in. Someone who is depressed does know that a joyful heart is good medicine. The problem is that he does not have a joyful heart. He will not get a joyful heart by constantly telling him to have one. Such a person needs a very different approach. What is needed most of all is understanding and patience. Let those who are dealing with this pray to the Lord for wisdom for that.

Bribery perverts justice. He who lets himself be bribed is “a wicked man”. It seems to be about influencing a judicial decision, because it is about “perverting the ways of justice”, that is, not letting justice take its course. Justice is not only stopped, but turned into injustice, while the appearance of justice is kept up. The fact that a judge accepts this gift “from the bosom” indicates that it is done secretly. It is a secret transaction, not pure. A corruptible judge is a wicked man.

Perverting the ways of justice can also happen in work situations. A person can bribe his employee with a gift to keep quiet about a criminal offense he has committed. The same thing can happen within a family and in God’s church. The bribe does not have to be money. It can also consist of promotion or gifts or preferential treatment.

“One who has understanding” perseveres in following the course of wisdom. He always has wisdom as his compass in mind, he lives in the presence of wisdom. He looks to that and then determines his route through life. He concentrates on wisdom because he understands the real problems of life and knows that only wisdom can guide him around or through them. One who has understanding knows what it is to have a “simple eye” (Mt 6:22; Lk 11:34), that is, to keep his eye focused on only one object, which keeps him following the straight path.

The fool lacks any serious concentration. He is unable to focus his attention firmly on anything. Because he has no understanding, his eyes roam the whole world, but they find no resting place anywhere. He is like a student who does not hear what his teacher says, because his eyes constantly roam the classroom. As a result, the teaching of the wisdom teacher eludes him.

The eyes are the window of the soul. What is perceived with the eyes affects the soul. Man has become a sinner by seeing, coveting and taking. With television and the Internet, it is possible to direct the eyes “to the ends of the earth”. This is happening en masse. People let themselves be led by what they see on these media and thus remain blind to wisdom, which is Christ, “in Whom all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden” (Col 2:3). As a result, they remain foolish and will perish in their folly unless they gain an eye to the wisdom from Above.

The one who has understanding will keep his eye unfailingly fixed “on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, Who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Heb 12:2).

It is an intense grief to have a child who develops into a fool (verse 21). Here the emphasis is on the son who brings this sorrow to his father and is the cause of the bitterness of his mother, who “bore him”. The joy with which the birth was announced has turned into grief. The joy of birth after the sorrow of childbirth is changed into bitterness because of the way the foolish son goes.

A foolish son not only violates his own soul, he is not only rebellious against God, but shows the utmost ingratitude toward his parents. His mother bore him with grief and then taught him. His father taught him wise lessons about life. But he rejects everything. His greatest folly is that he remains indifferent to what he does to his father and mother.

Father and mother share the pain of the path their foolish son is taking. Through this they can sense and comfort and encourage each other to go to the Lord with their distress. This prevents them from blaming each other. They can also help each other deal with this very difficult situation. The mother can help the father deal with his anger, the father can help the mother not succumb to the grief. Sometimes the reverse is also true.

This is another proverb that deals with the evil of unfair legal practices. Everyone will agree that it is “not good to fine the righteous” with the unrighteous, because he has done nothing that justifies it. When it does happen, it shows how decayed society is. God, Who established the rule of law, is not taken into account.

Even more wicked is to “to strike the noble for [their] uprightness”. Here the law is so decayed that people who are upright are physically pained precisely because of that uprightness. The noble are people who want to stand up for justice. That would deserve appreciation, but it is punished. It is in this time that we live. Uprightness means living according to God’s Word. Those who want to do that increasingly face opposition and enmity.

For the righteous and the noble who must pay and suffer for adhering to God’s Word, they suffer for the sake of righteousness. They are called “blessed” (1Pet 3:14). “For it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong” (1Pet 3:17).

The first line of verse 27 is about keeping the tongue in check not to say thoughtless and untimely things. Literally it says that he “spares his words”. Those who do so appear to have “knowledge”. The second line of verse is about having “a cool spirit”. This is the opposite of being hot tempered. “A man of understanding” will not lose his temper or become heated during a discussion. We learn here that to have calmness, composure, self-control and restraint, we must develop knowledge and understanding.

A man of understanding has a source of knowledge within him. He has gained that knowledge because he is wise. That he now has that knowledge means that he has understanding and knows what to say and especially what not to say. He will not boast of his knowledge and be a man of few words. He is patient and waits when it is God’s time to say something.

To keep silent is a sign of wisdom (verse 28). Even a fool seems wise and is considered wise when he is silent, that is, by those who do not know him. In any case, he hides his foolishness by keeping silent. If this is already true of the fool, how much more is it true of the wise that his silence proves that he is a wise one. Of course the fool does not become wise; he only hides his foolishness. The fool may be silent and give the impression that he is wise, but God knows his heart, and neither will the wise let himself be deceived.