CHAPTER 22

(1000 B.C.)

CHOOSING A GOOD NAME

¹A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold. (The sense of this Proverb is that most men would sacrifice anything and everything, even their good name, in order to obtain riches. Such is a sorry choice! To do so deems the right way of God as less than the way of riches.)

²The rich and poor meet together: the LORD is the maker of them all. (This doesnt mean that God made some men to be rich and some to be poor, but rather that He is the Maker of all, regardless as to whether they are rich or poor. Moreover, since they are equal before God, they should be the same before a king or leader.)

³A prudent man foresees the evil, and hides himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished. (The prudent man is the one who lives his life by the Bible and, therefore, foresees evil. He can, therefore, protect himself from its environment.

The simple can be likened to those who do not know or believe the Bible and are, therefore, ignorant of the vicissitudes of the spirit world.)

⁴By humility and the fear of the LORD are riches, and honour, and life. (Verse 4 is contrasted with Verse 1. These are the true riches, and honor, and life.)

⁵Thorns and snares are in the way of the froward: he who does keep his soul shall be far from them. (The word froward is often used by the Holy Spirit in these Proverbs. It means to be habitually disposed to disobedience and opposition. Such will find their way beset by thorns and snares.)

⁶Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. (The words, train up, mean to hedge up or hedge in. It is like building a fence around a child; however, what are to be fenced in must be two things: the child and the Bible. This is the way he should go.)

⁷The rich rule over the poor, and the bor rower is servant to the lender. (It is not wrong to borrow money as long as our capabilities are such that we can easily repay; however, if those capabilities are ever diminished, the borrower will learn, to his dismay, the truth of this statement.)

⁸He who sows iniquity shall reap vanity: and the rod of his anger shall fail. (This is the law of sowing and reaping [Lk. 6:38; Gal. 6:7-8].)

⁹He who has a bountiful eye shall be blessed; for he gives of his bread to the poor. (Most people go through life desiring to be getters and consequently are discontented. The true Christian goes through life as a giver and consequently is happy, because giving is Gods economy [Jn. 3:16].)

¹⁰Cast out the scorner, and contention shall go out; yes, strife and reproach shall cease. (The scorner is one who scorns the Bible and sets his own course. Wherever he is, strife and reproach will be also.)

¹¹He who loves pureness of heart, for the grace of his lips the king shall be his friend. (There is never any friction between just men and just governments.)

¹²The eyes of the LORD preserve knowledge, and He overthrows the words of the transgressor. (God prospers truth but overthrows false teaching.)

¹³The slothful man says, There is a lion without, I shall be killed in the streets. (This Proverb illustrates the truth of the absurdities that the slothful come up with to keep from working!)

¹⁴The mouth of strange women is a deep pit: he who is abhorred of the LORD shall fall therein. (The Hebrew word for strange women is zur, and means a Hebrew woman who has turned apostate by leaving Jehovah and going to a foreign religion. Such refers to all false religion and false doctrine.)

¹⁵Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him. (The word foolishness in the Hebrew is ivveleth, which means silliness, perverseness, careless of body and soul.

This does not refer to the sin nature, but instead to the by-product of the Fall, which is a perverted or erroneous way.

The rod of correction cannot subdue a sin nature, but it can subdue foolishness, and even drive such from him.)

¹⁶He who oppresses the poor to increase his riches, and he who gives to the rich, shall surely come to want. (The want that God says will come to the oppressor is not always material want. Above all, it is spiritual want.

Giving to the rich in order to curry favor will not come out with the intended results. In fact, such gifts are wasted, and the giver is that much more impoverished.

Men are importuned to look to God for their sustenance and not to rich people or any other source [Mk. 11:24].)

¹⁷Bow down your ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply your heart unto my knowledge. (Strangely enough, the Gospel is not given by seeing, but by hearing [Rom. 10:17].)

¹⁸For it is a pleasant thing if you keep them within you; they shall withal be fitted in your lips. (The Holy Spirit frames the words perfectly. Diligence given to the Word of God and the making of it a part of our very being is not laborious, but rather pleasant.)

¹⁹That your trust may be in the LORD, I have made known to you this day, even to you. (It is impossible to have trust in the Lord, unless one adequately knows His Word [Rom. 10:17].)

²⁰Have not I written to you excellent things in counsels and knowledge,

²¹That I might make you know the certainty of the words of truth; that you might answer the words of truth to them who send unto you? (The word excellent in the Hebrew is shalishim, which means threefold or three.

There is no distinct proof exactly as to what this means if it does not refer to the three writings of Solomon: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon.

Gods Word is truth. It does not merely contain truth, but in fact is Truth.)

²²Rob not the poor, because he is poor: neither oppress the afflicted in the gate:

²³For the LORD will plead their cause, and spoil the soul of those who spoiled them. (By now it should be obvious that God looks very sternly at those who would oppress the afflicted.)

²⁴Make no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man you shall not go:

²⁵Lest you learn his ways, and get a snare to your soul. (Association breeds similarity.

Such anger addressed here is a Godless direction and means to get what it desires at any cost, whether to others or self. It does not know the Will of God and does not want the Will of God. It is a pursuit that characterizes most of the world. It means to step on as many people as one has to in order to get where one is going.

Believers should not associate with such individuals.)

²⁶Be not you one of them who strike hands, or of them who are sureties for debts.

²⁷If you have nothing to pay, why should he take away your bed from under you? (The striking of hands has to do with the making of contracts. In other words, Dont be quick to do so unless you know exactly what youre doing.

Sureties for debts refers to standing good for someone elses debt. Never go into such an agreement unless you are prepared to pay the debt yourself, for that is what you will probably have to do.)

²⁸Remove not the ancient landmark, which your fathers have set. (Landmarks of old separated fields and properties and served as boundaries. If they were movable objects such as stones, some people were tempted to gradually move the stones over, especially if the property was owned by those who were living elsewhere or were incapacitated, thereby stealing their land.

The Lord is saying that He observes all things, even to the moving of a stone. Honesty in all matters is demanded by the Holy Spirit.)

²⁹Seest you a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men. (The Hebrew word for mean is chashok, which means men of no repute.

The Holy Spirit is saying that those who are not diligent concerning their affairs can rest assured that they will never see advancement; conversely, they shall forever deal with men of no repute.)