TRUTH IN PROVERBS 16

 

                                    Proverbs 16 (collage, 1994)

There is no doubt that most Christians, if asked, would agree that the Proverbs teach God's truth. But the remaining question is, “What sort of truth?” Theologians sometimes classify the various types of truth in the Old Testament as God's laws enumerated in the Pentateuch, the inspired prophetic and ethical teachings of the Prophets, and the wisdom sayings in the poetic Wisdom books. And if one were to rank these sources of truth in order of importance, some would put the Wisdom books on the lowest tier. The reason for this is probably the fact that the Book of Proverbs, for example, actually contains a variety of types of truthful teachings, most of them representing general statements to which there may be exceptions.

As an example of that last point, consider these adages from Proverbs 16 (most quotes from TEV):

    “When you please the LORD, you can make your enemies into friends.” (Proverbs 16:7)

    “The king speaks with divine authority; his decisions are always right.” (Proverbs 16:12)

    “Long life is the reward of the righteous; gray hair is a glorious crown.” (Proverbs 16:31)

I think that none of us would totally agree that these are universal truths. However, they may all be true in certain cases. It has been said that the proverbs are not promises, but principles.

But even within the umbrella of “general truth” one can detect at least four different types of sayings in Proverbs 16, which I will categorize for convenience sake as: theological, ethical / moral, practical, and observational in rough order of descending importance. Here are some specific comments regarding these sayings:

Theological Truths

    “We may make our plans, but God has the last word.” (Proverbs 16:1)

    “You may make your plans, but God directs your actions.” (Proverbs 16:9)

    “Men cast lots to learn God's will, but God himself determines the answer.” (Proverbs 16:33)

These three times in this chapter, including at its start and finish, we are given a humbling lesson regarding God's careful oversight of each individual's walk through life to remind us that we are not masters of our own fate.

    “The king speaks with divine authority: his decisions are always right.” (Proverbs 16:10)

Although this statement certainly sounds dubious to us, Scott notes, “The king was held to be endowed with a special measure of divine wisdom; cf viii 14-16; Isa xi 2.” That may have been true for those few kings of Israel who were true to God, but we would be cautious in applying the same principle to earthly rulers today.

Ethical / Moral Truths

    “The LORD hates everyone who is arrogant; he will never let them escape punishment.” (Proverbs 16:5)

Whybray comments: “Humanity participates with God in creating history, but God establishes only what is pure and purges away the dross. Verse 5b virtually repeats 11:21, and v. 5 is similar to 11:20a, but substitutes 'high' (gebah) for 'power' (iqqese). Since he is an abomination to the LORD (see 3:32), the LORD will get rid of him.”

    “The LORD wants weights and measures to be honest and every sale to be fair.” (Proverbs 16:11)

This saying is duplicated in 11:1. Whybray notes that “there is a law in Deut. 25:13-16 on this subject expressed in very similar terms...Giving short weight either by tinkering with the scales or by using false weights was a practice frequently condemned in ancient Near Eastern laws, and in the Old Testament it is condemned also by the prophets Micah (6:11) and Amos (8:5).”

    “The highway of the upright avoids evil; those who guard their way preserve their lives.” (Proverbs 16:17)

“The comparison between crooked and straight [as other translations render it] probably stems from the image offered by the paths of Palestine...Every inhabitant of Palestine held a mental picture of such circuitous paths, making 'crooked ways' and 'the way of the crooked' a vivid and common image applied to one who avoids the difficult, acts unpredictably and fails to do what is right...Whatever is crooked bends away from what is straight. Thus whenever the Bible speaks about crooked things, it presupposes a straight standard, a standard grounded in the character of God himself.” (Dictionary of Biblical Imagery)

    “Pride leads to destruction, and arrogance to downfall.” (Proverbs 16:18)

Regarding pride, “The most instructive verses are found in Proverbs (8:13; 11:2; 13:10; 14:3; 16:18; 29:23). In these passages pride is tied to folly, teaching us that the proud make a basic error in their judgment of reality and in measuring one's place within the world that God has created. As a result of this error in judgment and perception..., Yahweh's order in creation, wisdom itself, works against the proud and brings them to destruction...The proud do not fear Yahweh and do not submit themselves to wisdom. They are already in Sheol.” (J.R. Wilson)

    “It is better to be humble and stay poor than to be one of the arrogant and get a share of their loot.” (Proverbs 16:19)

Whybray explains that the term divide the spoil or get a share of their loot “is primarily a military one, but here it probably refers to the sharing of loot by a gang of criminals. Their 'pride' consists in their refusal to accept the rule of law.”

Practical Truths

This category contains good advice for how to conduct yourself in life if you wish to succeed in practical matters. Note that these are not necessarily ethical teachings, but that does not mean that they are advocating immorality either.

    “A wise man will try to keep the king happy; it the king becomes angry, someone may die. The king's favor is like the clouds that bring rain in the springtime – life is there.” (Proverbs 16:14-15)

    “Pay attention to what you are taught, and you will be successful.” (Proverbs16:20a)

    “It is better to be patient than powerful. It is better to win control over yourself than over whole cities.” (Proverbs 16:32)

    “A wise, mature person is known for his understanding. The more pleasant his words, the more persuasive he is.” (Proverbs 16:21)

Greenman says, “According to Proverbs, practical wisdom is gained gradually in the context of instruction and correction from parents and wise elders in the community and shows itself in openness to correction (Prov. 15:9; 16:21).”

    “Intelligent people think before they speak; What they say is then more persuasive.” (Proverbs 16:23)

“The rational capacity of the heart is evident in a number of texts. 'The discerning heart seeks knowledge' (Prov 15:14 NIV) and 'the wise man's heart guides his mouth' (Prov 16:23 NIV).” (DBI)

“Proverbs says much about the proper use of one's words. Right words can encourage and uplift, impart wisdom, and protect. Words should be spoken with restraint (10:19; 11:12; 13:3; 15:28; 16:23; 17:27; 21:23; 29:20), and should be fitting or appropriate to the occasion.” (Zuck)

Observational Truths

These sayings can be the most troublesome for some people to understand since they can be wrongly interpreted as advocating unethical practice or at best appear to be amoral in nature. That is because the authors are simply pointing out the sometimes harsh realities of the world in which we live. And they are doing it for the sole purpose of highlighting pitfalls of which we should be aware.

    “A laborer's appetite makes him work harder, because he wants to satisfy his hunger.”(Proverbs 16:26)

Scott notes in regard to this saying: “The striking figure, word play and brevity indicate a popular saying; the sentiment may be either mocking or pathetic.”

NEB translates the first line as “The laborer's appetite is always plaguing him.” Whybray notes, “There is a play on words here: the words translated by laborer and plaguing are similar in Hebrew, and their repetition makes a kind of jingle. No moral is drawn, and the cryptic nature of the saying may be deliberate: it is a 'hard saying' or 'riddle.'”

    “Evil people look for ways to harm others; even their words burn with evil.” (Proverbs 16:27)

“The tongue is a fire insofar as it is a small thing that can have large and destructive consequences (Jas 3:5-6; cf. Prov 16:27).” (DBI)

    “Gossip is spread by wicked people; they sow trouble and break up friendships.” (Proverbs6:28)

Other passages using the image of sowing for initiating evil include Job 4:8; Proverbs 6:14,19; 22:8.

“This synthetic proverb adds two more to the catalogue of malicious speakers: the perverse person and the perfidious slanderer. The former, who turns the moral order on its head, sets the whole community at loggerheads; the latter, who sullies another's reputation behind his back, alienates his closest friend from himself and others. Both types distort reality to put others in the worst light (cf. 6:19). The talebearer, however, escalates the social damage in that by sowing suspicion and promoting hostilities he looses the closest ties (cf. 1 Pet. 4:15).” (Waltke)