Proverbs 21 Commentary
The mention of kingship in verse 1 is meant to draw our attention to dominion. A man was created to rule from the very beginning. Dominion is perfect when a man mirrors his Creator. Verse 1 is referring to the rule of the Christ within an individual.
Verse 2 presents a different picture. An individual’s heart isn’t a stream in the LORD’s hand. So he thinks his own ways are right. But it should be the LORD’s ways and not his ways.
One of man’s ways is to still want a relationship with his Creator on his own terms. He sacrifices to the LORD but without obedience to the ways of the LORD. But it remains man’s way and not God’s way.
Sacrifices are a shortcut to the palace. Man is in a haste, the very opposite of diligence. It can only produce poverty. Nothingness. Nothingness because it doesn’t achieve its intended purpose. There is actually a consequence, a life with a quarrelsome wife.
The scripture has taken a very strong position against wickedness. Don’t share in its troubles. It is not a dress you put on for an occasion and take off after it is all done. Wickedness stays. It is a long night with a nagging wife.
Or like the wicked who crave evil; their neighbors get no mercy from them. If you choose wickedness for a neighbor or a wife, you are in for real trouble. This is life when a man’s heart isn’t a stream that the LORD channels. It is hell!
The Book of Proverbs is what it is. They are proverbs. The meaning is hidden. You are fooled by thinking it means what it says. Even more so because what a proverb says looks so real and true. But it is a proverb. It takes understanding to draw real value from this book.
The wicked become a ransom for the righteous, and the unfaithful for the upright. Verse 18.
Read it again and again. The careful New Testament reader will mint gold from this statement.
Whoever loves pleasure will become poor; whoever loves wine and olive oil will never be rich. Verse 17. This is what we have known and dearly love to be reminded of. But read it again. A man with a yacht, a private plane, a private home, countless watches, and vintage wine on his table every evening. He loves his wine. He is rich, so we think. These sayings remain proverbs and only a plowed field can draw real value from them.
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