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God’s Providence

Proverbs 21:1-31



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God’s Providence

Text:

Proverbs 21:1-31,

1. The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD; he directs it like a

watercourse wherever he pleases.

2. All a man’s ways seem right to him, but the LORD weighs the

heart.

3. To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the LORD than

sacrifice.

4. Haughty eyes and a proud heart, the lamp of the wicked, are sin!

5. The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to

poverty.

6. A fortune made by a lying tongue is a fleeting vapor and a deadly

snare.

7. The violence of the wicked will drag them away, for they refuse to

do what is right.

8. The way of the guilty is devious, but the conduct of the innocent is

upright.

9. Better to live on a corner of the roof than share a house with a

quarrelsome wife.

10. The wicked man craves evil; his neighbor gets no mercy from

him.

11. When a mocker is punished, the simple gain wisdom; when a

wise man is instructed, he gets knowledge.

12. The Righteous One takes note of the house of the wicked and

brings the wicked to ruin.

13. If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out

and not be answered.

14. A gift given in secret soothes anger, and a bribe concealed in the

cloak pacifies great wrath.



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15. When justice is done, it brings joy to the righteous but terror to

evildoers.

16. A man who strays from the path of understanding comes to rest

in the company of the dead.

17. He who loves pleasure will become poor; whoever loves wine and

oil will never be rich.

18. The wicked become a ransom for the righteous, and the

unfaithful for the upright.

19. Better to live in a desert than with a quarrelsome and ill-

tempered wife.

20. In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, but a

foolish man devours all he has.

21. He who pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and

honor.

22. A wise man attacks the city of the mighty and pulls down the

stronghold in which they trust.

23. He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from

calamity.

24. The proud and arrogant man—“Mocker” is his name; he

behaves with overweening pride.

25. The sluggard’s craving will be the death of him, because his

hands refuse to work.

26. All day long he craves for more, but the righteous give without

sparing.

27. The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable—how much more so

when brought with evil intent!

28. A false witness will perish, and whoever listens to him will be

destroyed forever.

29. A wicked man puts up a bold front, but an upright man gives

thought to his ways.

30. There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against

the LORD.

31. The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but victory rests

with the LORD. (NIV)



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Introduction:

I. Smith stated:

A. “A kinship exists between all vices just as between all virtues.”

1. Human vice springs from a disturbance in one’s

relationship with God.

B. Chapter 21 begins and ends with references to the providence of

God.”

Commentary:

Proverbs 21:1, The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD; he

directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases. (NIV)

I. The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord; …

A. God has ultimate control of the king and his heart. (See Smith.)

B. Bland observed that God has control not only of “ordinary

humans,” but of kings and historical events as well and, yes, even

over the hearts (minds) of all men.

1. Proverbs 16:1-9, To man belong the plans of the heart,

but from the LORD comes the reply of the tongue. All a

man’s ways seem innocent to him, but motives are

weighed by the LORD. Commit to the LORD whatever

you do, and your plans will succeed. The LORD works

out everything for his own ends—even the wicked for a

day of disaster. The LORD detests all the proud of heart.

Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished. Through

love and faithfulness sin is atoned for; through the fear of



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the LORD a man avoids evil. When a man’s ways are

pleasing to the LORD, he makes even his enemies live at

peace with him. Better a little with righteousness than

much gain with injustice. In his heart a man plans his

course, but the LORD determines his steps. (NIV)

C. Coffman observed “that the power of God is sufficient to cause

any king to follow strictly the will and purpose of God.”

1. However, kings and all others are free moral agents.

2. Certainly God did not will for Solomon to build pagan

temples and marry a thousand heathen women. (See

Coffman.)

D. McGee well wrote, “A man may be a pharaoh in Egypt, a king

of Babylon, a Caesar of Rome, an Alexander the Great, a

Napoleon, a Joe Stalin, an Adolph Hitler, or any famous or

infamous ruler of the future. No man is independent of Almighty

God, and we need to recognize our dependence upon Him.”

1. God can control a king and human history as easily as he

can change the course of a little babbling brook, McGee

rightly stated.

II. he directs it like a watercourse (channels and water) wherever he

pleases (wants).

A. The most powerful, dictatorial, autocratic monarch was not

beyond God’s jurisdiction! (Smith)

B. God could change the king’s behavior as construction workers

change the course of canals, watercourses or irrigation ditches.



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1. Bland identified these watercourses as irrigation channels

used to fertilize parched wilderness land.

a. Proverbs 5:16, Should your springs overflow in

the streets, your streams of water in the public

squares?

2. “God manages both water and kings with little effort,”

Bland wrote.

Proverbs 21:2, All a man’s ways seem right to him, but the LORD

weighs the heart. (NIV)

I. All a man’s ways seem right to him, …

A. Humans are prone to self-deception and self justification.

1. Every man feels strongly attached to his own opinions.

(Clarke)

2. Proverbs 16:2, All a man’s ways seem innocent to him,

but motives are weighed by the LORD.

3. Proverbs 14:12, There is a way that seems right to a

man, but in the end it leads to death.

4. Jeremiah 17:19, This is what the LORD said to me:

“Go and stand at the gate of the people, through which

the kings of Judah go in and out; stand also at all the

other gates of Jerusalem.

B. God does not see as humans see; his perception is accurate and

perfectly clear. (See Bland.)



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1. Proverbs 16:2, 25, All a man’s ways seem innocent to

him, but motives are weighed by the LORD. There is a

way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to

death. (NIV)

2. Proverbs 30:12, those who are pure in their own eyes

and yet are not cleansed of their filth; (NIV)

3. Proverbs 17:3, The crucible for silver and the furnace

for gold, but the LORD tests the heart. (NIV)

4. Proverbs 20:24, A man’s steps are directed by the

LORD. How then can anyone understand his own way?

C. The LXX via The Pulpit Commentary reads, “Every man

appears to himself righteous, but the Lord directs the hearts.”

II. but the Lord weighs the heart (evaluates the motives).

A. God evaluates the actions and motives producing the actions

and is able to accurately determine the rightness or wrongness of

what is done.

B. The Contemporary English Version reads, “We may think we

are doing the right thing, but the Lord always knows what is in our

hearts.”

C. God is the final determiner of what actions and motives are

right and which are wrong! (See McGee.)

Proverbs 21:3, To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the

LORD than sacrifice. (NIV)

I. To do what is right (equity) and just (justice), …



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A. Nothing takes the place of righteousness and justice with God!

… certainly not sacrifices or religious rituals!

B. Moral obedience is superior to ceremonial worship! (The Pulpit

Commentary)

1. Proverbs 15:8, The LORD detests the sacrifice of the

wicked, but the prayer of the upright pleases him.

2. Proverbs 21:27, The sacrifice of the wicked is

detestable— how much more so when brought with evil

intent!

3. Micah 6:6-8, With what shall I come before the

LORD and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I

come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year

old? Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of

rams, with ten thousand rivers of olive oil? Shall I offer

my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body

for the sin of my soul? He has shown you, O mortal, what

is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act

justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your

God.

4. Matthew 12:7, If you had known what these words

mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have

condemned the innocent.

C. Righteousness and justice are combined in a number of

passages.

1. Genesis 18:19, For I have chosen him, so that he will

direct his children and his household after him to keep

the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, so



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that the LORD will bring about for Abraham what he has

promised him.”

2. 2 Samuel 8:15, David reigned over all Israel, doing

what was just and right for all his people.

3. Job 37:23, The Almighty is beyond our reach and

exalted in power; in his justice and great righteousness,

he does not oppress.

4. Isaiah 56:1, This is what the LORD says: “Maintain

justice and do what is right, for my salvation is close at

hand and my righteousness will soon be revealed.

5. Righteousness, equity, justice flow from love, not simply

from a legalistic obedience of law.

D. “To do justly and to speak the truth are more pleasing to God

than the blood of sacrifices.”

II. is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.

A. God does not accept sacrifices from those who are unrepentant

sinners and evildoers.

1. Remember Saul and Agag?

a. 1 Samuel 15:1-33, Samuel said to Saul, “I am the

one the LORD sent to anoint you king over his

people Israel; so listen now to the message from the

LORD. This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘I

will punish the Amalekites for what they did to

Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from

Egypt. Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally

destroy all that belongs to them. Do not spare them;



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put to death men and women, children and infants,

cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.’” So Saul

summoned the men and mustered them at Telaim—

two hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten

thousand from Judah. Saul went to the city of

Amalek and set an ambush in the ravine. Then he

said to the Kenites, “Go away, leave the Amalekites

so that I do not destroy you along with them; for you

showed kindness to all the Israelites when they came

up out of Egypt.” So the Kenites moved away from

the Amalekites. Then Saul attacked the Amalekites

all the way from Havilah to Shur, near the eastern

border of Egypt. He took Agag king of the

Amalekites alive, and all his people he totally

destroyed with the sword. But Saul and the army

spared Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle, the

fat calves and lambs—everything that was good.

These they were unwilling to destroy completely, but

everything that was despised and weak they totally

destroyed. Then the word of the LORD came to

Samuel: “I regret that I have made Saul king,

because he has turned away from me and has not

carried out my instructions.” Samuel was angry,

and he cried out to the LORD all that night. Early in

the morning Samuel got up and went to meet Saul,

but he was told, “Saul has gone to Carmel. There he

has set up a monument in his own honor and has

turned and gone on down to Gilgal.” When Samuel

reached him, Saul said, “The LORD bless you! I

have carried out the LORD’s instructions.” But

Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of sheep in

my ears? What is this lowing of cattle that I hear?”

Saul answered, “The soldiers brought them from the

Amalekites; they spared the best of the sheep and

cattle to sacrifice to the LORD your God, but we



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totally destroyed the rest.” “Enough!” Samuel said

to Saul. “Let me tell you what the LORD said to me

last night.” “Tell me,” Saul replied. Samuel said,

“Although you were once small in your own eyes,

did you not become the head of the tribes of Israel?

The LORD anointed you king over Israel. And he

sent you on a mission, saying, ‘Go and completely

destroy those wicked people, the Amalekites; wage

war against them until you have wiped them out.’

Why did you not obey the LORD? Why did you

pounce on the plunder and do evil in the eyes of the

LORD?” “But I did obey the LORD,” Saul said. “I

went on the mission the LORD assigned me. I

completely destroyed the Amalekites and brought

back Agag their king. The soldiers took sheep and

cattle from the plunder, the best of what was

devoted to God, in order to sacrifice them to the

LORD your God at Gilgal.” But Samuel replied:

“Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and

sacrifices as much as in obeying the LORD? To obey

is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the

fat of rams. For rebellion is like the sin of

divination, and arrogance like the evil of

idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the

LORD, he has rejected you as king.” Then Saul said

to Samuel, “I have sinned. I violated the LORD’s

command and your instructions. I was afraid of the

men and so I gave in to them. Now I beg you, forgive

my sin and come back with me, so that I may

worship the LORD.” But Samuel said to him, “I will

not go back with you. You have rejected the word of

the LORD, and the LORD has rejected you as king

over Israel!” As Samuel turned to leave, Saul caught

hold of the hem of his robe, and it tore. Samuel said

to him, “The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel



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from you today and has given it to one of your

neighbors—to one better than you. He who is the

Glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind; for

he is not a human being, that he should change his

mind.” Saul replied, “I have sinned. But please

honor me before the elders of my people and before

Israel; come back with me, so that I may worship

the LORD your God.” So Samuel went back with

Saul, and Saul worshiped the LORD. Then Samuel

said, “Bring me Agag king of the Amalekites.” Agag

came to him in chains. And he thought, “Surely the

bitterness of death is past.” But Samuel said, “As

your sword has made women childless, so will your

mother be childless among women.” And Samuel

put Agag to death before the LORD at Gilgal.

B. “Right living transcends the offering of sacrifices!” (Bland)

1. Right living includes what is just and fair.

a. Proverbs 1:3, for acquiring a disciplined and

prudent life, doing what is right and just and fair;

(NIV)

b. Proverbs 2:9, Then you will understand what is

right and just and fair—every good path. (NIV)

c. Proverbs 8:20, I walk in the way of righteousness,

along the paths of justice, (NIV)

d. Matthew 23:23, “Woe to you, teachers of the law

and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of

your spices—mint, dill and cummin. But you have

neglected the more important matters of the law—



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justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have

practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.

Proverbs 21:4, Haughty eyes and a proud heart, the lamp of the

wicked, are sin!

I. Haughty eyes (a high look) and a proud heart, …

A. A haughty, proud, conceited person looks disdainfully upon

others.

1. Proverbs 6:17, haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that

shed innocent blood,

2. Proverbs 30:13, those whose eyes are ever so

haughty, whose glances are so disdainful;

3. “A high-minded man is stout-hearted in his pride.” (LXX

via The Pulpit Commentary)

4. The Contemporary English Version reads, “Evil people are

proud and arrogant, but sin is the only crop they produce.”

II. the lamp (ploughing) of the wicked, are sin!

A. “The lamp of the wicked,” Smith wrote, “is the sinner’s

outward prosperity and inward joy” based on self-interest with

which God is highly displeased.

B. Bland defines lamp as “the internal makeup of humans.”

1. Proverbs 13:9, The light of the righteous shines

brightly, but the lamp of the wicked is snuffed out.



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2. Proverbs 24:20, for the evil man has no future

hope, and the lamp of the wicked will be snuffed out.

3. Bland wrote, “Or it may be that haughty eyes, a proud

heart, and the lamp of the wicked are examples of sin.”

4. “Lamp” is also a metaphor for prosperity and happiness.

a. 2 Samuel 22:29, You are my lamp, O LORD; the

LORD turns my darkness into light.

5. Bland also wrote, “It may be that pride results in the lamp

of the wicked ‘failing.’”

6. The lamp of the wicked includes their posterity. (Clarke)

C. Coffman quoted the Good News Bible as saying haughty looks

and a proud heart are sins which mark the wicked man.

1. Coffman concluded, “It is evident that the translators do

not know exactly what this passage says.”

2. However, “One thing is clear, God hates pride and

arrogance,” Coffman wrote.

3. Coffman further explained, “The uncertainty derives from

the word translated ‘vow’ in the Anchor Bible. It means

either ‘newly plowed land’ or ‘a lamp.’ ‘Vow’ seems to be a

guess.”

4. The wicked are full of sin and what they do and produce

are evil. (See Clarke.)

D. “Ploughing” or tillage may refer to land cultivated for the first

time and carries the meaning, “… high look, proud heart, even all



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the field which the godless cultivate, all that they do, is sin.” (The

Pulpit Commentary)

1. McGee explained, “The plowing (or tillage) of the lawless

is sin,” means, “God says that when an evil man with an evil

heart is doing anything –even plowing- it will not be

acceptable in His sight.”

2. “The righteousness of man is filthy rags in the sight of

God.” (McGee)

Proverbs 21:5, The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as

haste leads to poverty.

I. The plans (thoughts) of the diligent lead to profit (plenty) …

A. Verse 5 contrasts diligence with haste. (Smith)

B. Those who plan well and work steadily will experience

increasing prosperity. (Smith)

1. Proverbs 12:11, He who works his land will have

abundant food, but he who chases fantasies lacks

judgment. (NIV)

2. Proverbs 13:11, Dishonest money dwindles away, but

he who gathers money little by little makes it grow. (NIV)

3. Proverbs 14:23, All hard work brings a profit, but

mere talk leads only to poverty. (NIV)

C. Bland stated, “This verse contrasts those who plan with those

who do not plan.”



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1. Proverbs 16:1-9, To man belong the plans of the heart,

but from the LORD comes the reply of the tongue. All a

man’s ways seem innocent to him, but motives are

weighed by the LORD. Commit to the LORD whatever

you do, and your plans will succeed. The LORD works

out everything for his own ends— even the wicked for a

day of disaster. The LORD detests all the proud of heart.

Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished. Through

love and faithfulness sin is atoned for; through the fear of

the LORD a man avoids evil. When a man’s ways are

pleasing to the LORD, he makes even his enemies live at

peace with him. Better a little with righteousness than

much gain with injustice. In his heart a man plans his

course, but the LORD determines his steps. (NIV)

II. as surely as haste leads to poverty.

A. “Get-rich-quick” schemes end in disaster (poverty). (Smith)

1. Proverbs 20:21, An inheritance quickly gained at the

beginning will not be blessed at the end.

2. Proverbs 28:20, A faithful man will be richly blessed,

but one eager to get rich will not go unpunished.

B. “Those who do not (plan) are doomed, “ Bland stated.

1. These people are usually characterized by impetuousness.

(Bland)

2. Haste makes waste!

C. Quoting the Anchor Bible, Coffman gives the meaning of this

verse as, “The plans of the keen man show a profit, but all who are

too hasty show a loss.”



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Proverbs 21:6, A fortune made by a lying tongue is a fleeting vapor

and a deadly snare. (NIV)

I. A fortune made by a lying tongue…

A. Gain secured by deceit is temporary. (Smith)

B. Moffatt via Coffman wrote, “A man making money by fraud

chases a bubble to his own doom.”

C. Making a fortune by honest means is not wrong! (McGee)

II. is a fleeting vapor and a deadly snare.

A. Sinful deceit ends in death. (Smith)

B. “The fortunes or rewards of practicing deceit are twofold. The

fortunes made by a fleeting vapor and a deadly snare (like “the

seeking of death”), Bland wrote.

C. The Pulpit Commentary states this could be a reference to a

desert mirage which ends in disappointment and nothingness.

1. Isaiah 35:7, The burning sand will become a pool, the

thirsty ground bubbling springs. In the haunts where

jackals once lay, grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.

(NIV)

2. Proverbs 13:14, The teaching of the wise is a fountain

of life, turning a man from the snares of death. (NIV)

3. Proverbs 14:27, The fear of the LORD is a fountain of

life, turning a man from the snares of death. (NIV)



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4. I Timothy 6:9, People who want to get rich fall into

temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful

desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. (NIV)

Proverbs 21:7, The violence of the wicked will drag them away, for

they refuse to do what is right. (NIV)

I. The violence of the wicked will drag them away (destroy them), …

A. “People who resort to violent deeds get caught in the knot of

their own evil schemes.” (Smith)

B. Bland correctly and emphatically stated, “Those who refuse to

practice the virtues of wisdom (righteousness and justice, v.3), will

reap what they sow. Those who live by the sword will die by the

sword.”

1. Please be advised!

2. Psalm 9:15, The nations have fallen into the pit they

have dug; their feet are caught in the net they have

hidden. (NIV)

3. Proverbs 1:18-19, These men lie in wait for their own

blood; they waylay only themselves! Such is the end of all

who go after ill-gotten gain; it takes away the lives of

those who get it. (NIV)

4. Genesis 9:6, “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man

shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God

made man. (NIV)

C. Clarke wrote, “The wicked shall be terrified and ruined by the

means they use to aggrandize themselves.”



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II. for they refuse to do what is right.

A. These people are those who, because of continual refusal to do

right, find themselves more and more deeply entrenched in sin and

“shall have judgment without mercy.” (See Clarke.)

Proverbs 21:8, The way of the guilty is devious, but the conduct of

the innocent is upright. (NIV)

I. The way of the guilty (person) is devious (exceedingly crooked), …

A. Sinners are not straightforward and upright, but rather are

devious, stealthy, and perverse.

1. Bland wrote that the guilty person is underhanded,

deceptive, and works on the sly.

II. but the conduct of the innocent (pure) is upright (straight).

A. Inversely, the innocent, pure, upright person is honorable,

respected of God and man whose actions are consistent and

transparent.

1. Contrasted with the behavior of sinners is the way of the

innocent or righteous which is straightforward. (See Bland.)

B. In this proverb the crooked way of the guilty is contrasted with

the straight way of the righteous.

1. Proverbs 2:15, whose paths are crooked and who are

devious in their ways. (NIV)

2. Those alien from what is right, stealthy, perverse, crooked,

and guilty are contrasted with the open, straightforward,



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simple, and uniform life of the righteous. (The Pulpit

Commentary)

3. Psalm 18:26, to the pure you show yourself pure, but to

the crooked you show yourself shrewd. (NIV)

4. Proverbs 20:11, Even a child is known by his actions,

by whether his conduct is pure and right. (NIV)

Proverbs 21:9, Better to live on a corner of the roof than share a

house with a quarrelsome wife. (NIV)

I. Better to live on a corner of the roof (housetop)…

A. The roofs of Palestinian houses were flat due to limited rainfall

in the area, although rainy seasons were routinely experienced.

B. “It is preferable to live alone and experience discomfort than to

live with a contentious woman”/man. (Smith)

1. Proverbs 25:24, Better to live on a corner of the roof

than share a house with a quarrelsome wife. (NIV)

2. Proverbs 21:19, Better to live in a desert than with a

quarrelsome and ill-tempered wife. (NIV)

C. Bland wrote, “The corner of the roof could refer to a small

room (a shed (Clarke)) or a ‘cramped attic’ in the upper chambers

of the house, such as the Elisha’s room described in 2 Kings 4:10,

Let’s make a small room on the roof and put in it a bed and a

table, a chair and a lamp for him. Then he can stay there

whenever he comes to us.” (NIV)

1. “More than likely,” Bland continued, “…the corner room

refers to dwelling on the corner of a roof exposed to the



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elements. This makes the contrast sharper and more

extreme.”

2. “The flat roof of an Eastern house, which was used as an

apartment for many purposes (including) sleeping and

conferences, exercise, domestic matters, retirement and

prayer.” …which was comfortable during most of the year in

the East.

a. I Samuel 9:25-26, After they came down from the

high place to the town, Samuel talked with Saul on

the roof of his house. They rose about daybreak and

Samuel called to Saul on the roof, “Get ready, and I

will send you on your way.” When Saul got ready,

he and Samuel went outside together. (NIV)

b. II Samuel 11:2, One evening David got up from

his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace.

From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman

was very beautiful, (NIV)

c. Joshua 2:6, (But she had taken them up to the

roof and hidden them under the stalks of flax she

had laid out on the roof.) (NIV)

d. Psalm 102:7, I lie awake; I have become like a

bird alone on a roof. (NIV)

II. than share a house (broad, spacious, or shared) with a quarrelsome

wife.

A. The unusually comfortable house envisioned here is more than

offset by a quarrelsome, contentious, nagging spouse. (See Smith.)



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B. Bland expresses the conclusion, “It is better to make oneself

vulnerable to the stormy blasts of nature on the outside, than to

expose oneself to the storms of a quarrelsome wife on the inside.”

C. The book of Proverbs addresses “quarrelsome men” also!

1. Proverbs 26:17-28, Like one who seizes a dog by the

ears is a passer-by who meddles in a quarrel not his own.

Like a madman shooting firebrands or deadly arrows is a

man who deceives his neighbor and says, “I was only

joking!” Without wood a fire goes out; without gossip a

quarrel dies down. As charcoal to embers and as wood to

fire, so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife. The

words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to

a man’s inmost parts. Like a coating of glaze[a] over

earthenware are fervent lips with an evil heart. A

malicious man disguises himself with his lips, but in his

heart he harbors deceit. Though his speech is charming,

do not believe him, for seven abominations fill his heart.

His malice may be concealed by deception, but his

wickedness will be exposed in the assembly. If a man digs

a pit, he will fall into it; if a man rolls a stone, it will roll

back on him. A lying tongue hates those it hurts, and a

flattering mouth works ruin. (NIV)

D. This shared house, as was customary in the East, could be the

residence of several families. It could be called “a house of

festivity.” (Clarke)

1. Proverbs 25:24, Better to live on a corner of the roof

than share a house with a quarrelsome wife. (NIV)

E. McGee reminded us that,…

1. Job’s wife was a hindrance to him.



23

2. David married Saul’s daughter who called him a fool,

disgraceful.

Proverbs 21:10, The wicked man craves evil; his neighbor gets no

mercy from him. (NIV)

I. The wicked man craves (desires, has an appetite for) evil;…

A. The wicked man is totally self-centered, addicted to evil, and

does not let anyone or anything deter him from his sinful life.

(Smith)

1. An example of this type craving is Amnon’s rape of

Tamar. (Bland)

a. 2 Samuel 13:1-19, In the course of time, Amnon

son of David fell in love with Tamar, the beautiful

sister of Absalom son of David. Amnon became

frustrated to the point of illness on account of his

sister Tamar, for she was a virgin, and it seemed

impossible for him to do anything to her. Now

Amnon had a friend named Jonadab son of

Shimeah, David’s brother. Jonadab was a very

shrewd man. He asked Amnon, “Why do you, the

king’s son, look so haggard morning after morning?

Won’t you tell me?” Amnon said to him, “I’m in

love with Tamar, my brother Absalom’s sister.” “Go

to bed and pretend to be ill,” Jonadab said. “When

your father comes to see you, say to him, ‘I would

like my sister Tamar to come and give me something

to eat. Let her prepare the food in my sight so I may

watch her and then eat it from her hand.’” So

Amnon lay down and pretended to be ill. When the

king came to see him, Amnon said to him, “I would



24

like my sister Tamar to come and make some special

bread in my sight, so I may eat from her hand.”

David sent word to Tamar at the palace: “Go to the

house of your brother Amnon and prepare some

food for him.” So Tamar went to the house of her

brother Amnon, who was lying down. She took some

dough, kneaded it, made the bread in his sight and

baked it. Then she took the pan and served him the

bread, but he refused to eat. “Send everyone out of

here,” Amnon said. So everyone left him. (NIV)

2. Coffman observed that men do not always sin because of

weakness.

a. Often men sin because they crave an evil way of life.

b. Proverbs 4:16, For they cannot sleep till they do

evil; they are robbed of slumber till they make

someone fall. (NIV)

c. Proverbs 10:23, A fool finds pleasure in evil

conduct, but a man of understanding delights in

wisdom. (NIV)

II. his neighbor gets no mercy (favor) from him.

A. The covetous person is merciless. (Smith)

1. The priest and Levite in the parable of the Good Samaritan

showed no mercy to the unfortunate man who had fallen into

the hand of robbers and was left for dead.

a. Luke 10:25-37, On one occasion an expert in the

law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked,

“what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “What is



25

written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read

it?” He answered: “‘Love the Lord your God with

all your heart and with all your soul and with all

your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love

your neighbor as yourself.’” “You have answered

correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”

But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus,

“And who is my neighbor?” In reply Jesus said: “A

man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho,

when he fell into the hands of robbers. They

stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away,

leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going

down the same road, and when he saw the man, he

passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when

he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the

other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came

where the man was; and when he saw him, he took

pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his

wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the

man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took

care of him. The next day he took out two silver

coins and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after

him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse

you for any extra expense you may have.’ “Which of

these three do you think was a neighbor to the man

who fell into the hands of robbers?” The expert in

the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”

Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.” (NIV)

2. Isaiah 13:18, Their bows will strike down the young

men; they will have no mercy on infants nor will they look

with compassion on children. (NIV)

3. Isaiah 26:10, Though grace is shown to the wicked,

they do not learn righteousness; even in a land of



26

uprightness they go on doing evil and regard not the

majesty of the LORD. (NIV)

4. Proverbs 12:10, A righteous man cares for the needs of

his animal, but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel.

B. “The soul of the ungodly shall not be pitied by anyone.”

(LXX)

1. “They who have no pity for others shall (receive) no

pity themselves; on the other hand, the Lord says,

‘Blessed are the merciful; for they shall obtain mercy.’”

(Matthew 5:7) (The Pulpit Commentary)

Proverbs 21:11, When a mocker is punished, the simple gain

wisdom; when a wise man is instructed, he gets knowledge.

I. When a mocker (scorner) is punished, the simple (naïve) gain

wisdom;…

A. Simpletons learn the hard way (Smith) by chastisement of

himself or others.

1. Proverbs 19:25, Flog a mocker, and the simple will

learn prudence; rebuke a discerning man, and he will

gain knowledge. (NIV)

B. Bland centered on the question, “Who is the recipient of

wisdom and knowledge in this proverb?”

1. If the simple is the subject in both lines, the simple learn,

acquire wisdom and knowledge, from observing a mocker

being punished and from observing the wise man being

instructed. (Bland)



27

2. If two types of people are in view, the simple learn by

watching the mocker being punished while the wise learn by

being instructed.

3. Proverbs 1:4-5, for giving prudence to the simple,

knowledge and discretion to the young— let the wise

listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get

guidance— (NIV)

4. Proverbs 19:25, Flog a mocker, and the simple will

learn prudence; rebuke a discerning man, and he will

gain knowledge. (NIV)

II. When a wise man is instructed, he gets knowledge.

A. The wise person uses every opportunity to increase his

knowledge.

1. “He learns from others and hence avoids their mistakes.”

(Smith)

2. Psalm 32:6, Therefore let everyone who is godly pray to

you while you may be found; surely when the mighty

waters rise, they will not reach him. (NIV)

3. “The wise man uses every opportunity, takes advantage of

every circumstance and event to increase his knowledge and

experience.” (The Pulpit Committee)

Proverbs 21:12, The Righteous One takes note of the house of the

wicked and brings the wicked to ruin.

I. The Righteous One (God) takes note of (wisely considers) the house

of the wicked…



28

A. Proverbs 21:12, The Righteous One takes note of the house

of the wicked and brings the wicked to ruin. (NIV)

B. Rather than understanding “The Righteous One” to be a

reference to God, Coffman wrote, “This proverb states that a wise

man, living after God’s commandments may, by his own personal

observation of what happens all around him, be able to see all the

proof he needs that wickedness is a tragic disaster to all who adopt

it as their life-style.”

C. “This verse is understood as implying the pious concern of a

righteous man for a wicked family, whom he endeavors by his

instructions to bring into the way of knowledge and peace,” Clarke

wrote.

D. However, by capitalizing “the Righteous One,” several versions

clearly indicate this to be a reference to God.

1. These versions include the NIV, NET, NRSV, and the

CEV.

a. The Contemporary English Version reads, “God is

always fair! He knows what the wicked do and will

punish them.”

II. and brings the wicked to ruin.

A. God ultimately overthrows the wicked! (Smith), (Bland

concurs.)

1. God watches sinners and he will punish them at the right

time.



29

a. Proverbs 22:12, The eyes of the LORD keep watch

over knowledge, but he frustrates the words of the

unfaithful. (NIV)

b. Job 12:19, He leads priests away stripped and

overthrows men long established. (NIV)

Proverbs 21:13, If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too

will cry out and not be answered. (NIV)

I. If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor,…

A. This speaks of the heartless unsympathetic person who is

untouched by and unresponsive to the needs of others.

B. The Contemporary English Version reads, “If you won’t help

the poor, don’t expect to be heard when you cry out for help”

1. Remember the priest and Levite who turned a deaf ear to

the man who had fallen among robbers.

a. Luke 10:25-37, On one occasion an expert in the

law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked,

“what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “What is

written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read

it?” He answered: “‘Love the Lord your God with

all your heart and with all your soul and with all

your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love

your neighbor as yourself.’” “You have answered

correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”

But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus,

“And who is my neighbor?” In reply Jesus said: “A

man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho,

when he fell into the hands of robbers. They

stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away,



30

leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going

down the same road, and when he saw the man, he

passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when

he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the

other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came

where the man was; and when he saw him, he took

pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his

wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the

man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took

care of him. The next day he took out two silver

coins and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after

him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse

you for any extra expense you may have.’ “Which of

these three do you think was a neighbor to the man

who fell into the hands of robbers?” The expert in

the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”

Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.” (NIV)

II. he too will cry out and not be answered.

A. The hard hearted person finds no sympathy. (Smith)

B. The person who will not help those in need will themselves face

needs and will not be helped by others in the time of his distress.

(See Smith.)

1. Luke 6:38, Give, and it will be given to you. A good

measure, pressed down, shaken together and running

over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure

you use, it will be measured to you.” (NIV)

2. Proverbs 14:21, He who despises his neighbor sins, but

blessed is he who is kind to the needy. (NIV)

3. The unsympathetic person will receive what he has sown.



31

4. Galatians 6:7, Do not be deceived: God cannot be

mocked. A man reaps what he sows. (NIV)

5. Proverbs 19:17, He who is kind to the poor lends to the

LORD, and he will reward him for what he has done.

(NIV)

6. Matthew 18:23, “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is

like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his

servants. (NIV)

7. Matthew 25:41-43, “Then he will say to those on his

left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the

eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I

was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty

and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and

you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not

clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look

after me.’ (NIV)

8. James 2:13, because judgment without mercy will be

shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy

triumphs over judgment!

C. This is a powerful reason for giving to the needy: If you don’t

give to the poor, you will become destitute and no one will help

you!

1. It is so very easy to be rich one day and penniless the next.

2. Economic depressions and recession repeatedly teach this

lesson.



32

Proverbs 21:14, A gift given in secret soothes anger, and a bribe

concealed in the cloak pacifies great wrath. (NIV)

I. A gift given in secret soothes (purifies, subdues) anger,…

A. This is a statement of fact and is not to be taken as advice to be

followed.

1. Bribery is not advised, but it often does work. (See

Coffman.)

a. Proverbs 17:8, 23, A bribe is a charm to the one

who gives it; wherever he turns, he succeeds. A

wicked man accepts a bribe in secret to pervert the

course of justice. (NIV)

b. Proverbs 18:16, A gift opens the way for the giver

and ushers him into the presence of the great. (NIV)

B. Jacob sought to pacify Esau with gifts. (See McGee)

1. Genesis 32:6-31, When the messengers returned to

Jacob, they said, “We went to your brother Esau, and

now he is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are

with him.” In great fear and distress Jacob divided the

people who were with him into two groups, and the flocks

and herds and camels as well. He thought, “If Esau comes

and attacks one group, the group that is left may escape.”

Then Jacob prayed, “O God of my father Abraham, God

of my father Isaac, O LORD, who said to me, ‘Go back to

your country and your relatives, and I will make you

prosper,’ I am unworthy of all the kindness and

faithfulness you have shown your servant. I had only my

staff when I crossed this Jordan, but now I have become

two groups. Save me, I pray, from the hand of my brother



33

Esau, for I am afraid he will come and attack me, and

also the mothers with their children. But you have said, ‘I

will surely make you prosper and will make your

descendants like the sand of the sea, which cannot be

counted.’” He spent the night there, and from what he

had with him he selected a gift for his brother Esau: two

hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two

hundred ewes and twenty rams, thirty female camels with

their young, forty cows and ten bulls, and twenty female

donkeys and ten male donkeys. He put them in the care of

his servants, each herd by itself, and said to his servants,

“Go ahead of me, and keep some space between the

herds.” He instructed the one in the lead: “When my

brother Esau meets you and asks, ‘To whom do you

belong, and where are you going, and who owns all these

animals in front of you?’ then you are to say, ‘They

belong to your servant Jacob. They are a gift sent to my

lord Esau, and he is coming behind us.’” He also

instructed the second, the third and all the others who

followed the herds: “You are to say the same thing to

Esau when you meet him. And be sure to say, ‘Your

servant Jacob is coming behind us.’” For he thought, “I

will pacify him with these gifts I am sending on ahead;

later, when I see him, perhaps he will receive me.” So

Jacob’s gifts went on ahead of him, but he himself spent

the night in the camp. (NIV)

II. and a bribe concealed (given secretly, ready to be given) in the cloak

pacifies great wrath.

A. Bribery is forbidden in Scripture.

1. Proverbs 15:27, A greedy man brings trouble to his

family, but he who hates bribes will live. (NIV)



34

2. Proverbs 17:23, A wicked man accepts a bribe in secret

to pervert the course of justice. (NIV)

B. What is said here is the way things are, not the way they should

be.

C. Bland explained, “It is possible that this refers to a form of plea-

bargaining. The one who injures another provides secret

compensation for the one injured in order to appease.”

Proverbs 21:15, When justice is done, it brings joy to the righteous

but terror to evildoers. (NIV)

I. When justice is done, it brings joy to the righteous but terror to

evildoers (workers of iniquity).

A. The righteous rejoice to see justice administered while evildoers

are terrified when justice is administered because they realize they

may be the next to receive the penalties administered to them

because of their sins, crimes.

B. “A stable society can exist only when justice is strictly

administered,” Smith wrote.

C. The Anchor Bible via Coffman reads, “When justice triumphs,

good men rejoice, but this spells ruin for evil doers.”

D. “The righteous feel real pleasure in doing what is right; they

have the answer of a good conscience, and the feeling that they are

as far as they can, making God’s will their will, and this brings

deep comfort and stable joy.”

1. Proverbs 21:10, The wicked man craves evil; his

neighbor gets no mercy from him. (NIV)



35

2. Proverbs 10:23, A fool finds pleasure in evil conduct,

but a man of understanding delights in wisdom. (NIV)

3. Proverbs 15:21, Folly delights a man who lacks

judgment, but a man of understanding keeps a straight

course. (NIV)

Proverbs 21:16, A man who strays from the path of understanding

comes to rest in the company of the dead. (NIV)

I. A man who strays from the path of understanding…

A. This person wanders away from the path of wisdom,

understanding, virtue, religious life. (See Smith)

1. As a result, Bland wrote, this man will experience

premature death and will not enjoy a fulfilling life.

a. Proverbs 9:18, But little do they know that the

dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of

the grave. (NIV)

II. comes to rest (will end up) in the company (assembly) of the dead

(lost, separated spirits).

A. Those who leave the right way of the Lord for the wrong way of

the devil are heading straight for death, physical and spiritual.

1. Proverbs 2:18, For her house leads down to death and

her paths to the spirits of the dead. (NIV)

2. Proverbs 24:14, 20, Know also that wisdom is sweet to

your soul; if you find it, there is a future hope for you,

and your hope will not be cut off. for the evil man has no



36

future hope, and the lamp of the wicked will be snuffed

out. (NIV)

B. The “company of the dead,” “Raphaim,” “The inhabitants of

Sheol” specify the destiny of those who stray from the way of the

Lord.

1. Psalm 88:10, Do you show your wonders to the dead?

Do those who are dead rise up and praise you? (NIV)

2. The Rephaim were giants thought by some to have been

descendents of the rebel angels.

a. Genesis 6:1-4, When men began to increase in

number on the earth and daughters were born to

them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of men

were beautiful, and they married any of them they

chose. Then the LORD said, “My Spirit will not

contend with man forever, for he is mortal; his days

will be a hundred and twenty years.” The Nephilim

were on the earth in those days—and also

afterward—when the sons of God went to the

daughters of men and had children by them. They

were the heroes of old, men of renown.

C. McGee observed that the wayward need regeneration rather

than rehabilitation.

Proverbs 21:17, He who loves pleasure will become poor; whoever

loves wine and oil will never be rich. (NIV)

I. He who loves pleasure (feasts) will become poor;…

A. Over indulgence in life’s material comforts leads to poverty.

(See Smith.)



37

1. Proverbs 11:24, One man gives freely, yet gains even

more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty.

(NIV)

B. Bland wrote that chapters 1-9 address the temptations of youth:

lust, laziness, and luxury.

1. These people want luxury and wealth, laziness and

prosperity, etc., things that are irreconcilable.

2. They need to understand that they cannot have their cake

and eat it too. (See Bland.)

3. Those who engage in expensive pleasures when they

should be working will certainly become poor.

II. whoever loves wine and (anointing) oil will never be rich.

A. Smith wrote that wine and oil were used in luxurious banquets.

1. “Indulgence in such luxuries would be a token of

prodigality and extravagance which are the precursors of

financial ruin,” Smith stated.

2. “Wine and oil” were adjuncts of banquets.

a. Psalm 23:5, You prepare a table before me in the

presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with

oil; my cup overflows. (NIV)

b. Psalm 104:15, wine that gladdens the heart of

man, oil to make his face shine, and bread that

sustains his heart. (NIV)



38

c. “Indulgence in these kinds of things was considered

to be wasteful and extravagant.” (The Pulpit

Commentary)

d. Wasteful and extravagant conduct leads directly to

destitution!

Proverbs 21:18, The wicked become a ransom for the righteous, and

the unfaithful for the upright. (NIV)

I. The wicked become a ransom (atonement, substitutes) for the

righteous,…

A. Miscarriages of justice do occur!

B. Bland wrote, “…the punishment the wicked receive serves as

compensation for the righteous.”

1. Proverbs 11:8, The righteous man is rescued from

trouble, and it comes on the wicked instead. (NIV)

C. Coffman wrote, “This is not clear; but the teaching seems to be

that in the providence of God his punishments of mankind fall

rather upon the wicked than upon the righteous.”

D. Haman’s execution rather than Mordecai’s is cited as an

example of this principle. (See Coffman.)

E. “The false and evil man will suffer in the place of the just and

the honorable.” (Dios Habla Hoy via Coffman.)

II. and the unfaithful (upright) (are taken in the place of) for the upright.



39

A. Coffman mentioned that the sparing of the Israelite firstborn

while executing the Egyptian firstborn is an example of this

principle’s application.

B. The Contemporary English Version reads, “God’s people will

escape, but all who are wicked will pay the price.”

C. Clarke wrote:

1. “God often in his judgments cuts off the wicked, in order

to prevent them from destroying the righteous.”

2. “And in general, we find that the wicked fall into traps and

pits they have digged for the righteous.”

Proverbs 21:19, Better to live in a desert than with a quarrelsome

and ill-tempered wife. (NIV)

I. Better to live in a desert (wilderness land) than with a quarrelsome and

ill-tempered (easily provoked, fretful) wife (woman).

A. A “desert” is an uninhabited place. (Smith)

1. “A solitary life is to be preferred over a home that has

become a war zone.” (Smith)

a. Proverbs 21:9, Better to live on a corner of the

roof than share a house with a quarrelsome wife.

(NIV)

b. Verses 9 and 19 both refer to the advantages of a

peaceful solitary life in comparison with a contentious

life, one mentioning a desert and the other to the corner

of the housetop.



40

2. It is better to be exposed to the harsh elements of a desert

land than to live in domestic strife in a mansion, whether the

ill-tempered be male or female!

Proverbs 21:20, In the house of the wise are stores of choice food

and oil, but a foolish man devours all he has. (NIV)

I. In the house of the wise are stores (treasures) of choice food and

(olive) oil,…

A. The wise are able to accumulate stores of food and some of

life’s comforts which here are included in the meaning of “oil.”

(See Smith.)

1. Proverbs 21:17, He who loves pleasure will become

poor; whoever loves wine and oil will never be rich. (NIV)

2. Proverbs 24:4, through knowledge its rooms are filled

with rare and beautiful treasures. (NIV)

B. The wise practice conservation, use without waste.

C. Coffman wrote, “This is the common viewpoint of Proverbs that

the wise are wealthy and the fool is in poverty.

1. However, in the spiritual realm, earthly wisdom avails

nothing at all.

a. 1 Corinthians 1:5-16, For in him you have been

enriched in every way—in all your speaking and in

all your knowledge— because our testimony about

Christ was confirmed in you. Therefore you do not

lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our

Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. He will keep you

strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on



41

the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God, who has

called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ

our Lord, is faithful. I appeal to you, brothers, in the

name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree

with one another so that there may be no divisions

among you and that you may be perfectly united in

mind and thought. My brothers, some from Chloe’s

household have informed me that there are quarrels

among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, “I

follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another,

“I follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ.” Is

Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were

you baptized into the name of Paul? I am thankful

that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and

Gaius, so no one can say that you were baptized into

my name. (Yes, I also baptized the household of

Stephanas; beyond that, I don’t remember if I

baptized anyone else.) (NIV)

b. 2 Corinthians 10:4, The weapons we fight with are

not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they

have divine power to demolish strongholds. (NIV)

II. but a foolish man devours all he has.

A. A fool runs through, wastes all he has and is soon again in

poverty. (See Smith.)

1. Proverbs 21:17, He who loves pleasure will become

poor; whoever loves wine and oil will never be rich. (NIV)

2. Bland wrote, “A foolish man is the consummate consumer.

Like a bottomless pit, he is never satisfied.”



42

a. The foolish man is a poor steward of God’s gifts and

blessings, physical, spiritual, and intellectual. (See

Bland.)

Proverbs 21:21, He who pursues righteousness and love finds life,

prosperity and honor. (NIV)

I. He who pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity, and

honor.

A. Righteousness and love (mercy) lead to life, prosperity, and

honor. (See Smith.)

1. “Righteousness” renders to both God and man their due.

(Smith)

2. “Mercy” or brotherly love leads to a long and prosperous

life. (See Smith.)

a. Proverbs 3:3, Let love and faithfulness never leave

you; bind them around your neck, write them on the

tablet of your heart. (NIV)

B. God rewards the righteous.

1. Psalm 24:5, He will receive blessing from the LORD

and vindication from God his Savior. (NIV)

2. Live righteously, lovingly, justly, and fairly and life’s

blessings will be yours! …life, prosperity, and honor!

3. Matthew 6:33, But seek first his kingdom and his

righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as

well. (NIV)



43

4. “If one would enjoy life, righteousness, and honor, let him.

Follow the teachings of the Savior,” Coffman wrote.

5. Proverbs 15:9, The LORD detests the way of the

wicked but he loves those who pursue righteousness.

(NIV)

6. Job 29:14, I put on righteousness as my clothing;

justice was my robe and my turban. (NIV)

7. Job 33:26, He prays to God and finds favor with him,

he sees God’s face and shouts for joy; he is restored by

God to his righteous state. (NIV)

8. Psalm 3:8, From the LORD comes deliverance. May

your blessing be on your people. (NIV)

9. Proverbs 22:4, Humility and the fear of the LORD

bring wealth and honor and life. (NIV)

10. Matthew 6:33, But seek first his kingdom and his

righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as

well. (NIV)

Proverbs 21:22, A wise man attacks the city of the mighty and pulls

down the stronghold in which they trust. (NIV)

I. A wise man attacks the city of the mighty…

A. Smith wrote that this verse teaches that, “Intellectual and moral

power overcomes physical strength.”

1. “…sagacity, or practical wisdom, is superior to physical

strength,” Coffman wrote quoting the International Critical

Commentary.



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B. Bland confirmed that this is a figurative expression the meaning

of which is, “wisdom is greater than physical strength.”

1. Proverbs 16:32, Better a patient man than a warrior, a

man who controls his temper than one who takes a city.

(NIV)

2. Ecclesiastes 9:13-16, I also saw under the sun this

example of wisdom that greatly impressed me: There was

once a small city with only a few people in it. And a

powerful king came against it, surrounded it and built

huge siegeworks against it. Now there lived in that city a

man poor but wise, and he saved the city by his wisdom.

But nobody remembered that poor man. So I said,

“Wisdom is better than strength.” But the poor man’s

wisdom is despised, and his words are no longer heeded.

(NIV)

II. and pulls down the stronghold in which they trust.

A. Smith further wrote, “The courage and strength of valiant men

cannot defend a city against the skillful counsel of a wise

strategist.” (The Pulpit Commentary concurs.)

1. Proverbs 20:18, Make plans by seeking advice; if you

wage war, obtain guidance. (NIV)

2. Ecclesiastes 9:14, 18, There was once a small city with

only a few people in it. And a powerful king came against

it, surrounded it and built huge siegeworks against it.

Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner

destroys much good. (NIV)



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B. McGee cited the fall of Belshazzar’s Babylon as an example of

the truth of this verse.

1. Belshazzar felt safe inside Babylon’s double walls.

2. The astute general of the Medo-Persian army found he

could lead his army into Babylon by way of the river bed

which furnished water to the city.

3. Babylon fell to the Medes and Persians – in one night!

Proverbs 21:23, He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps

himself from calamity. (NIV)

I. He who guards his mouth and his tongue…

A. Unguarded speech leads to damage and destruction.

1. Proverbs 13:3, He who guards his lips guards his life,

but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin. (NIV)

2. Proverbs 18:21, The tongue has the power of life and

death, and those who love it will eat its fruit. (NIV)

II. keeps himself (his life) from calamity (trouble).

A. “The person who knows when to speak and when to keep silent

stays out of trouble,” Smith wrote.

1. Proverbs 13:3, He who guards his lips guards his life,

but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin. (NIV)

B. Coffman suggested, “The troubles referenced here are probably

social and legal difficulties into which impudent talk would bring

one…”



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Proverbs 21:24, The proud and arrogant man—“Mocker” is his

name; he behaves with overweening pride. (NIV)

I. The proud (presumptuous) and arrogant man – “Mocker” is his

name;…

A. The persons referenced in Proverbs as Mocker/Scoffer are the

proud, insolent, presumptuous, and arrogant people. (See Smith.)

1. Proverbs 1:22, “How long will you simple ones love

your simple ways? How long will mockers delight in

mockery and fools hate knowledge? (NIV)

2. Proverbs 26:5, Answer a fool according to his folly, or

he will be wise in his own eyes. (NIV)

3. Proverbs 14:6, The mocker seeks wisdom and finds

none, but knowledge comes easily to the discerning. (NIV)

4. Proverbs 11:23, The desire of the righteous ends only in

good, but the hope of the wicked only in wrath. (NIV)

B. The Revised Standard Version via Coffman reads, “Scoffer is

the name of the proud, haughty man who acts with arrogant pride.”

C. Coffman equates a person of pride, conceit, mockery, and

scoffing arrogance with a person of brazenness, insolence, impiety,

and inconsideration.

II. He behaves with overweening (overbearing) pride (proud wrath).

A. The overbearing mocker refuses instruction and is blind to the

truth. (Smith)



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B. The “Mocker”, Bland wrote, is the one who is always “right in

his own eyes.”

Proverbs 21:25, The sluggard’s craving will be the death of him,

because his hands refuse to work. (NIV)

I. The sluggard’s craving will be the death of him (will kill him), …

A. “First, greed is fatal to the lazy. The craving of a sluggard will

kill him, for his hands refuse to work.” (Smith)

B. Greed and generosity are contrasted in this verse.

C. The Contemporary English Version reads, “If you want too

much and are too lazy to work, it could be fatal.”

D. Related Scriptures:

1. Proverbs 13:4, The sluggard craves and gets nothing,

but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied. (NIV)

2. Proverbs 19:24, The sluggard buries his hand in the

dish; he will not even bring it back to his mouth! (NIV)

II. because his hands refuse to work.

A. “His desire for idleness will be the death of him.” (Smith)

B. Albert Barnes via Coffman wrote, “The Sluggard wastes his

strength and his life in longing for things for which he has not the

energy to work. His grandiose wishes to do great or good things

are of no value at all because of his laziness, which only adds to

his misery and condemnation.”



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C. The Bible encourages the work ethic while condemning

laziness, and slothfulness.

Proverbs 21:26, All day long he craves for more, but the righteous

give without sparing. (NIV)

I. All day long he craves (greedily) for more,…

A. The sluggard is so self-centered, covetous, he always wants

more than he has, but is too lazy to work for it.

1. He has no interest in the needs and welfare of others.

2. Proverbs 13:4, The sluggard craves and gets nothing,

but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied. (NIV)

3. Proverbs 20:4, A sluggard does not plow in season; so

at harvest time he looks but finds nothing. (NIV)

II. but the righteous give without sparing (holding back).

A. “The righteous, however, has been blessed with enough and to

spare,” so he is generous, unselfish to those in need. (Smith)

B. “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

C. Ephesians 4:29, Do not let any unwholesome talk come out

of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up

according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

(NIV)

D. The sinner is set on getting while the righteous is willing to

liberally give. (See McGee.)



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Proverbs 21:27, The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable—how much

more so when brought with evil intent! (NIV)

I. The sacrifice of the wicked (lawless) is detestable (an abomination) –

A. Smith wrote, “The wicked” here are those who think their

sacrifice will avert divine judgment even while they continue in

their sinful conduct.”

1. Proverbs 15:8, The LORD detests the sacrifice of the

wicked, but the prayer of the upright pleases him. (NIV)

2. I Samuel 15:22-23, But Samuel replied: “Does the

LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much

as in obeying the voice of the LORD? To obey is better

than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.

For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance

like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the

word of the LORD, he has rejected you as king.” (NIV)

3. Proverbs 21:3, To do what is right and just is more

acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice. (NIV)

B. The Anchor Bible via Coffman reads, “A sacrifice offered by

wicked men is an abomination, all the more so if one brings it with

a shameful purpose.”

C. Clarke wrote, “If such a person even bring the sacrifices and

offerings which God requires, they are an abomination to him,

because the man is wicked; and if such offerings be imperfect in

themselves, or if goods are ill-gotten or offered by constraint of

custom, they are doubly abominable.”

II. how much more so when brought with evil intent!



50

A. This “evil intent” may include attempts to influence God to

overlook his continuing sin and/or trying to hypocritically

influence people to regard him as righteous. (See Smith.)

B. Evil intents, Coffman wrote, may include:

1. To receive approval and praise of men.

2. To deceive others with hypocrisy.

3. In the vain delusion that “God can be bought off.”

C. Regrettably, these people may be very religious!

1. Matthew 23:29-36, “Woe to you, teachers of the law

and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the

prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. And

you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our forefathers, we

would not have taken part with them in shedding the

blood of the prophets.’ So you testify against yourselves

that you are the descendants of those who murdered the

prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of the sin of your

forefathers! “You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will

you escape being condemned to hell? Therefore I am

sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of

them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your

synagogues and pursue from town to town. And so upon

you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed

on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of

Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between

the temple and the altar. I tell you the truth, all this will

come upon this generation. (NIV)

Proverbs 21:28, A false witness will perish, and whoever listens to

him will be destroyed forever. (NIV)



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I. A false witness will perish,…

A. Perjury was a capital offense,

1. Deuteronomy 19:16-21, If a malicious witness takes the

stand to accuse a man of a crime, the two men involved in

the dispute must stand in the presence of the LORD

before the priests and the judges who are in office at the

time. The judges must make a thorough investigation,

and if the witness proves to be a liar, giving false

testimony against his brother, then do to him as he

intended to do to his brother. You must purge the evil

from among you. The rest of the people will hear of this

and be afraid, and never again will such an evil thing be

done among you. Show no pity: life for life, eye for eye,

tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot. (NIV)

B. Bland wrote, “Oral testimony was the primary means for

determining the truth in a court case. The abuse of legal power

(lying, bribes, false witnessing) is not to be tolerated.”

1. McGee calls our attention to the false witnesses that

facilitated Christ’s crucifixion.

a. Matthew 26:59-61, The chief priests and the whole

Sanhedrin were looking for false evidence against

Jesus so that they could put him to death. But they

did not find any, though many false witnesses came

forward. Finally two came forward and declared,

“This fellow said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of

God and rebuild it in three days.’” (NIV)

b. Come judgment day, how would you like to be one

of these false witnesses?



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C. Moffatt via Coffman wrote, “A dishonest witness will perish,

but a truthful man will never be forgotten.”

1. The true witness is permanent.

2. The false witness is temporary, transient, has only a short

life expectancy.

D. Related scriptures:

1. Proverbs 6:16, 19, There are six things the LORD

hates, seven that are detestable to him: a false witness

who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension

among brothers. (NIV)

2. Proverbs 19:5, 9, A false witness will not go

unpunished, and he who pours out lies will perish. (NIV)

II. and whoever listens to him will be destroyed forever (but the one who

reports accurately speaks forever).

A. These two translations of this verse are very different.

1. One states whoever listens to, believes what the false

witness says will himself be destroyed eternally.

2. The other speaks of the person who is very different from

the false witness, one who is quick to hear, but slow to speak.

a. What he says is “never falsified, silenced, or

refuted,” Smith wrote. “His truthful testimony can not

be challenged.”



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B. Bland wrote, “The thought of the Hebrew may be to contrast the

false witness with the one who really listens to all sides of the

argument.”

C. Bland further wrote, “The NRSV translates the verse, ‘A false

witness will perish, but a good listener will testify successfully.’”

1. Proverbs 18:17, The first to present his case seems

right, till another comes forward and questions him.

(NIV)

Proverbs 21:29, A wicked man puts up a bold front, but an upright

man gives thought to his ways. (NIV)

I. A wicked man puts up a bold front,…

A. The wicked, hypocritical confidence man presents himself

brashly as righteous.

1. Smith calls this type of person an “opportunist” and The

Pulpit Commentary adds, “is shameless.”

a. Proverbs 7:13, She took hold of him and kissed

him and with a brazen face she said: (NIV)

B. Albert Barnes via Coffman gave the meaning of this verse as,

“For the godless man, his demeanor is the arrogant callousness of

guilt; but for the upright it is the manifest integrity of his life.”

1. Coffman pointedly stated, “Sometimes the one can be

mistaken for the other.”

II. but an upright man gives thought to (establishes) his ways.



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A. The honorable man is upright, straightforward, wise, and godly,

a person who sincerely does what is right.

1. Smith calls this type of person “a person of principle.”

2. 2 Chronicles 27:6, Jotham grew powerful because he

walked steadfastly before the LORD his God. (NIV)

B. Bland wrote, “The righteous consider the advice of others and

take great care in discerning the right course of action to take.”

C. The Contemporary English Version reads, “Wicked people bluff

their way, but God’s people think before they take a step.”

Proverbs 21:30, There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can

succeed against the LORD. (NIV)

I. There is no wisdom, no insight (understanding), no plan (counsel)…

A. “Man’s wisdom and planning are of no avail when they are

contrary to God’s eternal purposes,” Smith wrote.

1. Consultation with others in formulating a plan against God

will be of no help whatsoever when a person is in rebellion

against God!

2. 2 Corinthians 13:8, For we cannot do anything against

the truth, but only for the truth. (NIV)

II. that can succeed against the Lord (Jehovah).

A. Nothing man can do against God can succeed!

B. Bland summarized by writing, “Life is more ambiguous than at

first glance. The righteous do not always prosper. This proverb pair



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acknowledges human limitation and calls on the wise to accept

such limitations. Such is the nature of true wisdom. No human

wisdom can ultimately triumph over God’s plans. Wisdom does

not guarantee success. Contrary to popular opinion, the sages of

Proverbs do not believe in a rigid, moralistic world where

everything always works out nicely for the prudent. God often has

other plans that even the wisest cannot immediately discern.”

C. Coffman wrote, “How foolish are men who vainly suppose that

they may set their puny and partial wisdom against the intelligence

of God himself!”

D. Related Scriptures:

1. Job 5:13, He catches the wise in their craftiness, and

the schemes of the wily are swept away. (NIV)

2. Psalm 33:10-11, The LORD foils the plans of the

nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples. But the

plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his

heart through all generations. (NIV)

3. Isaiah 29:14, Therefore once more I will astound these

people with wonder upon wonder; the wisdom of the wise

will perish, the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish.”

(NIV)

4. 1 Corinthians 1:20, Where is the wise man? Where is

the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has

not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? (NIV)

5. 1 Corinthians 3:19, For the wisdom of this world is

foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches

the wise in their craftiness”; (NIV)



56

Proverbs 21:31, The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but

victory rests with the LORD. (NIV)

I. The horse is made (prepared) for the day of battle…

A. The best military plans of the most skilled generals are assured

of no success because there are so many things beyond human

control.

1. Psalm 27:3, Though an army besiege me, my heart will

not fear; though war break out against me, even then will

I be confident. (NIV)

2. 2 Chronicles 14:11, Then Asa called to the LORD his

God and said, “LORD, there is no one like you to help the

powerless against the mighty. Help us, O LORD our God,

for we rely on you, and in your name we have come

against this vast army. O LORD, you are our God; do not

let man prevail against you.” (NIV)

B. The horse is used here as a figurative representation of all that is

involved in preparing for battle. (See Bland.)

1. Clarke wrote that horses were not used among the Jews

before the time of Solomon because of the command of the

Lord regarding horses.

a. Deuteronomy 17:16, The king, moreover, must

not acquire great numbers of horses for himself or

make the people return to Egypt to get more of

them, for the LORD has told you, “You are not to go

back that way again.” (NIV)

i. Solomon violated this and many other divine

commands.



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ii. 1 Kings 10:26, 29, Solomon accumulated

chariots and horses; he had fourteen hundred

chariots and twelve thousand horses, which he

kept in the chariot cities and also with him in

Jerusalem. They imported a chariot from

Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a

horse for a hundred and fifty. They also

exported them to all the kings of the Hittites

and of the Arameans. (NIV)

iii. 1 Kings 4:26, Solomon had four thousand

stalls for chariot horses, and twelve thousand

horses. (NIV)

b. Israel’s enemies used horses and horse drawn

chariots which struck terror in the hearts of Israel.

i. Joshua 17:16, The people of Joseph replied,

“The hill country is not enough for us, and all

the Canaanites who live in the plain have iron

chariots, both those in Beth Shan and its

settlements and those in the Valley of Jezreel.”

(NIV)

ii. Judges 4:3, Because he had nine hundred

iron chariots and had cruelly oppressed the

Israelites for twenty years, they cried to the

LORD for help. (NIV)

II. but victory (safety) rests with the Lord.

A. Only God decides the outcome of anything!

1. Goliath learned this lesson the hard way.



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a. 1 Samuel 17:1-54, Now the Philistines gathered

their forces for war and assembled at Socoh in

Judah. They pitched camp at Ephes Dammim,

between Socoh and Azekah. Saul and the Israelites

assembled and camped in the Valley of Elah and

drew up their battle line to meet the Philistines. The

Philistines occupied one hill and the Israelites

another, with the valley between them. A champion

named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out of the

Philistine camp. He was over nine feet tall. He had a

bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale

armor of bronze weighing five thousand shekels; on

his legs he wore bronze greaves, and a bronze

javelin was slung on his back. His spear shaft was

like a weaver’s rod, and its iron point weighed six

hundred shekels. His shield bearer went ahead of

him. Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of

Israel, “Why do you come out and line up for battle?

Am I not a Philistine, and are you not the servants

of Saul? Choose a man and have him come down to

me. If he is able to fight and kill me, we will become

your subjects; but if I overcome him and kill him,

you will become our subjects and serve us.” Then

the Philistine said, “This day I defy the ranks of

Israel! Give me a man and let us fight each other.”

On hearing the Philistine’s words, Saul and all the

Israelites were dismayed and terrified. Now David

was the son of an Ephrathite named Jesse, who was

from Bethlehem in Judah. Jesse had eight sons, and

in Saul’s time he was old and well advanced in

years. Jesse’s three oldest sons had followed Saul to

the war: The firstborn was Eliab; the second,

Abinadab; and the third, Shammah. David was the

youngest. The three oldest followed Saul, but David



59

went back and forth from Saul to tend his father’s

sheep at Bethlehem. For forty days the Philistine

came forward every morning and evening and took

his stand. Now Jesse said to his son David, “Take

this ephah of roasted grain and these ten loaves of

bread for your brothers and hurry to their camp.

Take along these ten cheeses to the commander of

their unit. See how your brothers are and bring

back some assurance from them. They are with Saul

and all the men of Israel in the Valley of Elah,

fighting against the Philistines.” Early in the

morning David left the flock with a shepherd, loaded

up and set out, as Jesse had directed. He reached the

camp as the army was going out to its battle

positions, shouting the war cry. Israel and the

Philistines were drawing up their lines facing each

other. David left his things with the keeper of

supplies, ran to the battle lines and greeted his

brothers. As he was talking with them, Goliath, the

Philistine champion from Gath, stepped out from

his lines and shouted his usual defiance, and David

heard it. When the Israelites saw the man, they all

ran from him in great fear. Now the Israelites had

been saying, “Do you see how this man keeps

coming out? He comes out to defy Israel. The king

will give great wealth to the man who kills him. He

will also give him his daughter in marriage and will

exempt his father’s family from taxes in Israel.”

David asked the men standing near him, “What will

be done for the man who kills this Philistine and

removes this disgrace from Israel? Who is this

uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the

armies of the living God?” They repeated to him

what they had been saying and told him, “This is

what will be done for the man who kills him.” When



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Eliab, David’s oldest brother, heard him speaking

with the men, he burned with anger at him and

asked, “Why have you come down here? And with

whom did you leave those few sheep in the desert? I

know how conceited you are and how wicked your

heart is; you came down only to watch the battle.”

“Now what have I done?” said David. “Can’t I even

speak?” He then turned away to someone else and

brought up the same matter, and the men answered

him as before. What David said was overheard and

reported to Saul, and Saul sent for him. David said

to Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of this

Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.” Saul

replied, “You are not able to go out against this

Philistine and fight him; you are only a boy, and he

has been a fighting man from his youth.” But David

said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his

father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and

carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it,

struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth.

When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck

it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion

and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be

like one of them, because he has defied the armies of

the living God. The LORD who delivered me from

the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will

deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” Saul

said to David, “Go, and the LORD be with you.”

Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a

coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his

head. David fastened on his sword over the tunic

and tried walking around, because he was not used

to them. “I cannot go in these,” he said to Saul,

“because I am not used to them.” So he took them

off. Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five



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smooth stones from the stream, put them in the

pouch of his shepherd’s bag and, with his sling in his

hand, approached the Philistine. Meanwhile, the

Philistine, with his shield bearer in front of him,

kept coming closer to David. He looked David over

and saw that he was only a boy, ruddy and

handsome, and he despised him. He said to David,

“Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?” And

the Philistine cursed David by his gods. “Come

here,” he said, “and I’ll give your flesh to the birds

of the air and the beasts of the field!” David said to

the Philistine, “You come against me with sword

and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the

name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies

of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the LORD

will hand you over to me, and I’ll strike you down

and cut off your head. Today I will give the

carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the

air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world

will know that there is a God in Israel. All those

gathered here will know that it is not by sword or

spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the

LORD’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.”

As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David

ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him.

Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he

slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead.

The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell

facedown on the ground. So David triumphed over

the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a

sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and

killed him. David ran and stood over him. He took

hold of the Philistine’s sword and drew it from the

scabbard. After he killed him, he cut off his head

with the sword. When the Philistines saw that their



62

hero was dead, they turned and ran. Then the men

of Israel and Judah surged forward with a shout

and pursued the Philistines to the entrance of Gath

and to the gates of Ekron. Their dead were strewn

along the Shaaraim road to Gath and Ekron. When

the Israelites returned from chasing the Philistines,

they plundered their camp. David took the

Philistine’s head and brought it to Jerusalem, and

he put the Philistine’s weapons in his own tent.

(NIV)

B. Coffman observed we are not to fight against God (v. 30) nor

without Him (v. 31).

1. Prepare as best we can and then rely on God for the

victory.

a. It is God who gives the victory!

b. Psalm 20:7, Some trust in chariots and some in

horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our

God. (NIV)

c. Ecclesiastes 9:11, I have seen something else under

the sun: The race is not to the swift or the battle to

the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth

to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and

chance happen to them all. (NIV)

d. Psalm 33:16, No king is saved by the size of his

army; no warrior escapes by his great strength.

(NIV)

C. Solomon in these proverbs preached better than he practiced!



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D. Many generals have been praised for victories which actually

were due to the providential intervention of God. (See Clarke.)

1. However, this does not mean we should not prepare and

prepare well! (See McGee.)

Conclusion:

I. Murphy mentioned the following points as some of the truths taught in

Proverbs 21:…

A. God is the dominant person in all that happens, and specifically

is the one who weighs the hearts of everyone, from the lowliest to

the king.

B. Self-deception is a human danger, but God judges accurately.

C. God is not favorably impressed by the religious service of

sinners.

D. Pride goes before a fall.

E. Those who use deceit to gain wealth will lose their riches while

the righteous by honest means accumulate permanent wealth.

F. Stay far away from trouble and contentiousness.

G. The wicked are totally absorbed by their evildoing.

H. The scoffer is punished: The wise person is rewarded.

I. While bribery can sometimes secure favorable results, the godly

know that bribery is sinful.



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J. Righteousness brings success while wickedness brings about the

ruin of the evildoer.

K. Those who stray from God’s way will die the death of the

wicked!

L. One way to become poverty stricken is to live extravagantly and

indulgently.

M. Righteous people who follow the way of justice and kindness

will be rewarded.

N. Wise strategy is more successful, stronger than brute force.

O. Laziness leads to poverty.

P. Man’s best laid plans are subservient to God’s will.

II. Give yourself a grade. How well do you observe the positive values

and avoid the negative qualities taught in Proverbs 21?

A. 90% - 100% A ____________

B. 80% - 89% B ____________

C. 70% -79% C ____________

D. 60% - 69% D ____________

E. Below 60% F ____________



65

Questions

Proverbs 21:1-31

(Questions based on NIV text.)

1. Chapter 21 ____________ and ____________ with ____________ to

the ____________ of ____________.

2. All vices are related. All virtues are related. How are murder and

hypocrisy related? How are liberal giving and truthfulness related? ____

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

3. ______________ has ______________ not only of “______________

________________,” but of ________________ and _______________

________________ as well, and, yes, even over the ________________

(______________) of all ______________.

4. How can it be said that humans are free moral agents and, at the same

time, that God has control of the world and everyone in it? __________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________



66

5. Define watercourses as used in verse 1. ________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

6. Give examples to show that humans are prone to self-deception and

self-justification. ____________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

7. How does the Bible say God’s view of human behavior differs from

man’s view of his own behavior? _______________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

8. ________________ takes the place of ________________ and

_________________ with _________________! …certainly not

________________ or ________________ ________________ !

9. Give Biblical examples which show people can be very religious and

at the same time terribly corrupt in their hearts. ____________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________



67

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

10. A _______________, _______________, _______________ person

looks _______________ (_______________) upon _______________.

“______________________________ are _______________ and

_______________, but _______________ is the only _______________

they produce.” (CEV)

11. What is “the lamp of the wicked?” ___________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

12. Instead of lamp the original word could be translated plowing, in

verse 4, what is the significance of the plowing metaphor? ___________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

13. Those who _______________ _______________ and

_________________ _________________ (__________________

__________________ _________________) will _________________

_______________ _______________.

14. In verse 5, those who _______________ are contrasted with those

who do not _______________.



68

15. “_______________-_______________-_______________” schemes

and in (_______________)_______________. These people are usually

characterized by _______________.

16. What does verse 6 say about those who make a fortune by fraudulent

means? Give examples to show that this is indeed true. ______________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

17. Define “fleeting vapor” and “deadly snare.” ___________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

18. Is it right to be rich? Explain your answer. ____________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

19. What happens to those who resort to violence, who refuse to do what

is right? ___________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________



69

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

20. Those _________________ from what is _________________,

_________________, _________________, _________________, and

_________________ are contrasted with the _________________,

_________________, _________________, and _________________

_________________ of the _________________.

21. Describe the roofs of mid-eastern houses in biblical times. For what

were they used? ____________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

22. Why is it better to live on the roof than with a quarrelsome,

contentious man or woman? ___________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

23. How important is it to marry the “right” man or woman? How can

you be that “right” man or woman? How can you find such a person to

marry? ____________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________



70

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

24. The _______________ man is totally _______________-

_______________, _______________ to _______________ and does

not let _______________ or _______________ deter him from his

_______________ _______________. People do not always

_______________ because of _______________. Often people

_______________ because they _______________ an

_______________ _______________ of _______________.

25. The ungodly shows his _______________ _______________

_______________. The _______________ person is _______________.

Inversely, “The _______________ of the _______________ shall be

_______________ by anyone.” (LXX)

26. How do the simple gain wisdom? How do the wise gain knowledge?

How do you get wisdom and knowledge? ________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

27. Who is “The Righteous One”/ “the righteous one” in verse 12? Give

reasons for your answer. ______________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________



71

28. “_______________ is always _______________! He

_______________ what the _______________ do and will

_______________ them.” (CEV)

29. What will happen to the person who refuses to help the poor in their

time of need? It is so very easy to be __________________ one

_________________ and penniless the _________________. ________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

30. What does the Bible say about bribery? Are presents given to pacify

an offended person permitted by Scripture? Where do Jacob’s gifts to

Esau (Genesis 32:6-21) fit into these questions? ___________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

31. In what ways does justice bring joy to the righteous? In what ways

does justice bring terror to evildoers? ____________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

32. Those who leave the _______________ _______________ of the

_______________ for the _______________ _______________ of the



72

_______________ are _______________ _______________ for

_______________, _______________ and _______________.

33. Define “Raphaim” and state their connection with “the company of

the dead.” Define “sheol.” ____________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

34. Define “regeneration” and “rehabilitation”. How are these things

alike? How are they different? _________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

35. _______________ and _______________ _______________ leads

_______________ to _______________! Those who engage in

_______________ _______________ when they should be

_______________ will certainly become poor.

36. How do the wicked (unfaithful) become a ransom for the righteous

(upright)? Give examples to support your answer. __________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________



73

37. How difficult is it to live with a quarrelsome and ill-tempered

husband or wife? What effects does contention in a dysfunction family

have on happiness, health, success, and prosperity? _________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

38. The _______________ are able to _______________

_______________ and some of _______________’s _______________.

The _______________ practice _______________, use without

_______________. The _______________ _______________ of

_______________ is that the _______________ are _______________

and the _______________ is in _______________. A

_______________, on the other hand, _______________

_______________, _______________ all he has and is soon again in

_______________. The _______________ man is a _______________

_______________ of _______________’s _______________ and

_______________.

39. _________________ rewards the _________________. He who

_________________ _________________ and _________________

(_______________) finds _______________, _______________, and

_______________.

40. Which is more likely to succeed, sagacity or physical strength? Give

biblical examples to support your answer. ________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________



74

41. How important is it for a person to guard his mouth and tongue?

What happens to the person who is careful regarding the use of his

mouth and tongue? What happens to the person who does not guard his

mouth and tongue? __________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

42. _______________ is the name of the _______________,

_______________ man who _______________ with _______________

_______________.

43. How can the sluggard’s craving lead to his death? _______________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

44. What is the Bible’s position regarding “laziness” and the “work

ethic?” ____________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

45. The _______________ is so _______________-_______________,

_______________, he always wants _______________ than he has, but

is too _______________ to work for it.



75

46. The _______________ is set on _______________ while the

_______________ is willing to _______________ _______________.

“It is more _______________ to _______________ than to

_______________.”

47. In what conditions and circumstances do sacrifices, public religious

services and rituals become abominations to God? _________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

48. Why is perjury, giving false witness, regarded as such a serious

offense? What was the penalty for perjury according to the law of

Moses? ___________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

49. How serious is it to believe false witnesses? …liars? ____________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

50. Another rendering of verse 28b may say, “The thought of the

Hebrew may be to __________________ the __________________

_______________ with one who really _______________ to all sides of



76

the argument.” (Bland) This person gives _______________

_______________ that can not be _______________.

51. The _______________, _______________ _______________ man

presents himself _______________ as _______________ who “puts up

a _______________ _______________.”

52. On the other hand, the _______________ man is _______________,

_______________, _______________, and _______________, a person

who _______________ does what is _______________.

53. _______________’s _______________ and _______________ are

of no _______________ when they are _______________ to

_______________’s _______________ _______________. (Smith)

54. In verse 31, what does “horse” represent? _____________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

55. The _______________ _______________ _______________ of the

_______________ _______________ _______________ are assured of

no _________________ because there are so many things

_______________ _______________ _______________.

56. Give the history of and laws pertaining to horses as stated in the Old

Testament. _________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________



77

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

57. Only _______________ decides the _______________ of

_______________! We are not to _______________ _______________

_______________ nor _______________ _______________.

_______________ as best we can and then _______________ on

_______________ for _______________.

58. _______________ rests with the _______________. Give both

biblical and secular examples to show that this is true. ______________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

59. _______________ in these _______________ _______________

better than he _______________. Give other examples of both biblical

and secular people who did likewise. ____________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

60. Look again at the Conclusion, II, A-E. After careful thought and

answering the related questions, how well do you now feel you are in

compliance with the instructions given in this chapter? ______________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________



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__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

Documents

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