Proverbs 28

1 The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.

We all have a conscience that speaks to us. Sometimes when things begin to eat away at us from the inside, we get frustrated and on edge. Fleeing is not necessarily the act of one running away on the outside, it can be running away on the inside. This is the first step of self-deception. Thusly, being deceived, we find logical justifications in our minds to support our actions or feelings. The first step to avoid this internal trauma is to be bold and face the issue head on. Realizing a seemingly harmless wicked thought exist in our mind and then immediately taking action to remove it is the action taken by a righteous possessor of Wisdom. Simply putting aside internal conflicts leaves a future shackled by guilt.

2 For the transgression of a land many are the princes thereof: but by a man of understanding and knowledge the state thereof shall be prolonged.

The phrase “transgression of a land” means a land full of transgressions or rebellion. Then obviously a land full of rebellion has numerous rebels who think they are the prince or leader. That is what rebels do, they lead whom ever will buy into their way of thinking. You may have a mental picture in your mind of these burly, longhaired men who have never seen a razor riding on horses with swords out and shields up. The mud flings in the air behind them as they seek to overpower their enemies. The thunder of the ground resonates their intentions. Your imagination can run rampant with the impending clash; however, I want to bring this one home for a moment. Lets say the land where the rebellions exist is the land of ourselves, the Temple where we exist. Are there many rebels there? Rebels shouting, “This is ok for me to do, after all, no one is watching and it will not harm the person I am!” The very foothold that Wisdom requires is at the foundation and that foundation has to be primary and principled. We cannot let some band of rebels carry any part of us off to the slaughter. Understanding this and having the knowledge Wisdom imparts will bring us to a unified state and our peace will be prolonged.

3 A poor man that oppresseth the poor is like a sweeping rain which leaveth no food.

The word “poor” is used twice here but they are two different Hebrew words. The first usage “A poor man” at the beginning of the verse is one who is in want or having lack of fulfillment in their desires. The second usage, “the poor” is someone who is thin and weak having a lowly existence. It is interesting that the use of this description is used to describe the oppressor but then again look at whom they oppress. The NIV has translated “A poor man” as “A ruler” which is interesting from the perspective that this person “thinks” they are a ruler. The basic principle is found in Pr 14:31 “He that oppresseth the poor reproacheth his Maker: but he that honoureth him hath mercy on the poor.” The word “oppresseth” here comes from the Hebrew root word meaning to strive, contend or quarrel. Taking advantage of the poor is wrong and the result will be the lack of basic needs such as food.

4 They that forsake the law praise the wicked: but such as keep the law contend with them.

Drive the speed limit, stop at the stop signs, don’t run the stop lights, use your turn signal, don’t take things from work to use at home, make sure you pay for everything at the check-out counter, pay your taxes (ouch), get the picture? By doing things that are forsaking the law, our actions sing praise to the wicked. Then there is the next step, contending with those that do not. This is much simpler that we think. By being a testimony of a law abiding citizen, we send a message. By being faithful, we are blessed.

5 Evil men understand not judgment: but they that seek the LORD understand all things.

The wicked are unable to understand judgment because they have justified their actions in their minds. You have to also understand not only have they justified their actions, those same actions have been done by those around them and they were not judged. (Because they did not get caught.)

6 Better is the poor that walketh in his uprightness, than he that is perverse in his ways, though he be rich.

It is clearly better to be found poor with character and integrity than to be corrupt with all the money in the world. Remember the perverse have a perverted way of life, a perverted way of thinking and can only hope for perverted peace. This is a basic principle and one that protects us from wondering why bad people seem to be getting away with their sin. There are several verses making this point and even one that states the effects on our children: Pr 10:9 "He that walketh uprightly walketh surely: but he that perverteth his ways shall be known." Pr 10:29 "The way of the LORD is strength to the upright: but destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity." Pr 13:6 "Righteousness keepeth him that is upright in the way: but wickedness overthroweth the sinner." Pr 19:1 "Better is the poor that walketh in his integrity, than he that is perverse in his lips, and is a fool." Pr 20:7 "The just man walketh in his integrity: his children are blessed after him."

7 Whoso keepeth the law is a wise son: but he that is a companion of riotous men shameth his father.

This verse is a double warning, first, a father should be concerned about who his children have as friends. In today’s society being popular and running with the IN crowd is important because it is viewed as a form of health personality wise. The backlash comes when those companions become unruly and get into trouble or worse they become wicked and immersed in sinfulness. Secondly, a person should do an inventory of who their companions are. The word “companion” used here means close associate and not a casual acquaintance. The word is translated as pastor or shepherd as well, indicating there is a teaching component to the relationship. This brings the shame into a new light. Imagine if you looked out of your window and saw your child teaching all the other kids how to be wicked.

8 He that by usury and unjust gain increaseth his substance, he shall gather it for him that will pity the poor.

Basically if you make a living unjustly you will see it given away. I would always wonder what happened to the stuff accumulated by those involved in illegal drugs. Some of them would have huge houses and several cars. Most of that stuff is auctioned off at a sheriff’s auction and the money goes to various foundations to help the poor. Sound familiar?

9 He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination.

“The law” refers to direction or instruction and in this case by the use of this word means both human or divine law. This is basically saying if we don’t pay attention to the law each prayer lofted toward Heaven will be returned void. However, there is something much more profound to notice here. The verse clearly says, “even his prayer…” which is to say there are other conditions in their lives that are an abomination as well. By the way this is written it conveys the fact that everything about someone that has turned his or her ear from hearing the law, is an abomination. This condition is a sad state in which to be, for we know the only escape from lawlessness is through prayer. This warning from Wisdom is for us to not only pay attention to the Law of LORD but the laws that govern our surroundings as well.

The word, “abomination” means disgusting, unclean or of wickedness. In many cases it refers to hideous acts of mankind including homosexuality (Leviticus 18:22 & 20:13) and marriage (Ezra 9:12-14).

10 Whoso causeth the righteous to go astray in an evil way, he shall fall himself into his own pit: but the upright shall have good things in possession.

Often the fools of wickedness seek to purge the land of righteous ones in order to propagate their deceitfulness. Their sewing to the destruction of others never fails to lead them to their own destruction. When the froward possess good things it is but for a moment due to their insatiable appetite for destruction.

11 The rich man is wise in his own conceit; but the poor that hath understanding searcheth him out.

The root of conceit is found deep inside us and is often watered by the spring of selfishness. Look at what Christ said in Luke 18:9-14;

9 And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:
10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.
11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.
12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

12 When righteous men do rejoice, there is great glory: but when the wicked rise, a man is hidden.

This depicts the celebration of good versus the celebration of evil. There is certainly “great glory” in the celebration of the accomplishments of righteous men. But the celebration of the wicked must be subdued lest the act of celebration reveal the wickedness accomplished.

13 He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.

One simple mercy is the one that comes from not having the burden and weight of the oppression covering sins brings. Think about this for a second. When you have tried to cover something up, it was hard to do. Not only that but the ongoing concern of the thing being revealed is always there. Maybe in some instances its not so bad but in others it is horrible. You see I have had the same sickening thing engulf my gut and wrench my chest at the chance of being discovered. Not a good place is it?

14 Happy is the man that feareth alway: but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief.

There are many that tend to puff themselves up in order to appear to be a solid individual. However, when you look inside there is nothing but hot air. The terminology of the phrase “the man that feareth alway” is in the context of not putting more faith in themselves than is justifiable. The best analogy would be a small dog. Small dogs seem to be overly brave when they are young. They run up to the big dogs barking their tails off. If they meet the wrong big dog and not fearing what the big dog might do, eventually meet the wrong big dog.

The contrast of one who “hardeneth his heart” vs. one who “feareth alway” is to remind us to consider the constant tuning of our character. Like the farmers field if our character gets no attention the thorns and thistles of life will overrun the richness of the soil at our roots.

15 As a roaring lion, and a ranging bear; so is a wicked ruler over the poor people.

Notice the “roaring lion” which is a sound that brings intense fear. The “ranging bear” is a bear that is running or rushing its victims, it says ranging not raging. This oppression of the “poor people” from within themselves is tough enough as they fret for their very life. Having to constantly seek to find the next life-sustaining morsel or accommodation constantly taxes their spirit. When you add to that the oppression of a ruler who has no regard for them, their fear is magnified.

16 The prince that wanteth understanding is also a great oppressor: but he that hateth covetousness shall prolong his days.

Covetousness is like a constant drop of water landing in a deep well, resounding over and over as it lands. No matter how full the well it is never enough. The word “covetousness” used here is from the root word in the Hebrew, to gain by unrighteous violence. This is not a simple desire to have more than you already have.

17 A man that doeth violence to the blood of any person shall flee to the pit; let no man stay him.

The phrase “doeth violence” simply means a physical attack and when the term “blood” is suffixed it pretty much means left for dead. “Flee to the pit” refers to a pit, cistern or well which is dark and thought to be a good place to hide. The objective: go out, attack, run to the dark to hide.

Proverbs 1:10 – 16 “¹⁰My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not. ¹¹If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause: ¹²Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit: ¹³We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil: ¹⁴Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse: ¹⁵My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path: ¹⁶For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood.”

Those who are capable of doing violence to others just to obtain their possessions are callous in every way. Their heart has no capacity for the concerns of his fellow man, only for himself. At the end of this verse it warns that “no man stay him” which means to hide or protect them from justice.

18 Whoso walketh uprightly shall be saved: but he that is perverse in his ways shall fall at once.

The word “uprightly” means complete or whole and having integrity. The Hebrew word is taken from the root meaning finished or be at an end. This would imply that one walking uprightly has come to a knowledge of God and has chosen to follow His ways.

In contrast, “perverse” means twisted, pervert and distorted. In the Hebrew this word is only used five times in the entire Bible. It is an end as well. Which is to say both uprightly and perverse are the end to choices, one is Salvation and the other Fallen.

19 He that tilleth his land shall have plenty of bread: but he that followeth after vain persons shall have poverty enough.

Simply put, if we work hard we will have plenty. The word “vain” in the Hebrew means empty. Following an empty person is easy to fall into but it can be very taxing on a friendship. As this verse says; they are the opposite of having plenty so they are constantly in need. If we are vain or empty, meaning we have nothing to offer, we might find ourselves with shallow friendships. According to Dictionary.com[1] vain is defined as follows;

1. excessively proud of or concerned about one's own appearance, qualities, achievements, etc.; conceited: a vain dandy.

2. proceeding from or showing personal vanity: vain remarks.

3. ineffectual or unsuccessful; futile: a vain effort.

4. without real significance, value, or importance; baseless or worthless: vain pageantry; vain display.

At the root of being vain is selfishness. It is like alcoholism in a way where waking to the fact we might be vain is one of the most difficult steps. I have turned this around a bit from the perspective of the verse because I believe it is important to make sure we, ourselves are not vain or empty before we are able to determine the vanity of others.

There is another aspect that we need to consider as well. What are we “followeth after” in our lives? Are we following Christ, Wisdom and the Love of the LORD or do we have our success here on earth based on what those around us think and feel? It is no wonder a vain person becomes worthless because mankind changes everyday. If we were to follow a changing set of standards there would be no hope of obtaining real value.

20 A faithful man shall abound with blessings: but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent.

The word “faithful” means firmness, steadfastness and steadiness. The word “blessings” is from the Hebrew word meaning prosperity. This verse could then read: A firm, steadfast and steady man shall abound with prosperity.

We have heard “haste makes waste” but this is saying haste makes chased. What I am saying is this, often while trying to create riches quickly we have to try to make transactions that are not entirely honest. When the discovery is made the person or persons are sure to chase us down to correct the matter.

21 To have respect of persons is not good: for for a piece of bread that man will transgress.

To have “respect of persons” is to feel differently or treat people differently based on what they have or how wealthy they are. James 2:1-4 “¹My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. ²For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; ³And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool: ⁴Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?”

This verse is also teaching that as soon as we think someone is above doing something treacherous, for a piece of bread they could become corrupt. This is a good place to discuss something that occurs all the time in religious circles. I call it focus of faith. What it means is this, when we worship, where is the focus of our faith? We have to be careful we do not allow our faith to be rooted in the leadership of our local assemblies. For they are men and women just like us. As soon as they leave or something happens to them, we could find ourselves wondering and then wandering.

22 He that hasteth to be rich hath an evil eye, and considereth not that poverty shall come upon him.

The general tone here is that gaining something hastily, especially riches, has to be done in a troubled manner. The Hebrew word “hasteth” means to disturb, alarm, terrify, and hurry. It is a sort of nervous or fidgety pursuit of wealth. The phrase “evil eye” means there is nothing safe. If it is something they want, they will figure a way to obtain it no matter what means they have to go through. They are so focused on getting rich they loose sight of the fact they lack the essentials for just living. In most cases when someone sets out to become rich they set their sights on something that will make them very rich. The fact they do not have clothing or food or a place to sleep is of little concern or priority.

23 He that rebuketh a man afterwards shall find more favour than he that flattereth with the tongue.

It may come as a shock to all of us to know that being rebuked is a good thing. This may not be the best example but it serves the purpose; my wife may see a car that she is not convinced I see, she will tell me about it and if I knew the car was there I just tell her I see it but thanks for telling me anyway. There have been times when I didn’t see the car and for those times I am grateful for the rebuke of my expert-driving prowess. Sometimes we do not see everything in our lives that might be taking us down the wrong path.

The word “rebuketh” means to correct. If we are going to correct someone we must be sure our correction of others is right. Another thing to clearly understand is that if we are correcting be ready to be corrected. The wrong spirit of correction will land us squarely in the pits of pride. While it may seem to be easier and more encouraging to flatter someone this verse clearly points out that in the long run, if we know something is wrong, we should make an effort to correct them.

24 Whoso robbeth his father or his mother, and saith, It is no transgression; the same is the companion of a destroyer.

Don’t jump off the deep end on this one just yet. The word “robbeth” means to tear away, seize or plunder. Although the word used is one that might conjure thoughts of hitting our father over the head to steal his stuff, the figurative use here implies there is an ongoing transgression. What is implied here is the constant reliance upon the parents for their resources and not being considerate or mature enough to return them. That is why it is the work of the destroyer. Another thing to make note of in this verse is that there is a word in the original Hebrew not translated here. It is at the end of the verse and the word is the Hebrew word for person or mortal man. By putting this word at the end of the verse as is in the original the destroyer-person is not referring to the devil but instead someone that may be instigating the removal of the parents resources. That might help to explain the boldness necessary to even contemplate robbing our parents.

25 He that is of a proud heart stirreth up strife: but he that putteth his trust in the LORD shall be made fat.

This form of pride is one that causes contentions and is in contrast of one that is “made fat” or has peace. When someone strives to be in opposition they not only repel those around them but they propagate and feed the turmoil that grows inside them. Matthew 15:11 “Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.” This form of pride is one where they are always right, one where they know more, one where their foolishness is in the form of making others suffer like they do.

26 He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered.

Trusting in the heart as the sole litmus can be a dangerous proposition; Jeremiah 17:9 "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" However, walking in Wisdom brings not only delivery but in most cases there is insight to avoid foolishness before it happens.

27 He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack: but he that hideth his eyes shall have many a curse.

First things first, we need to understand what is meant by “poor” in order to fulfill this instruction properly. This verse is not telling us to “giveth” to every person that walks up to us asking for help. I have seen many that are not lacking or hungry to the point they would be considered Biblically poor. Those wanting handouts or needing handouts because of their laziness are not considered poor. They are considered sluggards. Don’t misunderstand me here, they have a condition, which depicts them as poor, but they are only lazy. Biblically poor conditions are from being orphaned, widowed or maimed and there are temporary circumstances where conditions may require help from others. In many cases giving does not mean money. Often it may require time or other resources.

28 When the wicked rise, men hide themselves: but when they perish, the righteous increase.

The natural instinct of a righteous man is to stay out of the way of the wicked. One with Wisdom knows well that there is nothing but trouble surrounding evil. Paul in his conclusion to the Christians in Rome wrote; Romans 16:19 "For your obedience is come abroad unto all men. I am glad therefore on your behalf: but yet I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil." The phrase “simple concerning evil” means to literally be ignorant about wrong. Some would say it is good to know what to steer clear of in life by understanding evil. That is not the case. Recall the instructions concerning the harlot? We are told to not even walk down the same street they are on.