Proverbs 21:11-20

TEXT Proverbs 21:11-20

11.

When the scoffer is punished, the simple is made wise;

And when the wise is instructed, he receiveth knowledge.

12.

The righteous man considereth the house of the wicked,

How the wicked are overthrown to their ruin.

13.

Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor,

He also shall cry, but shall not be heard.

14.

A gift in secret pacifieth anger;

And a present in the bosom, strong wrath.

15.

It is joy to the righteous to do justice;

But it is a destruction to the workers of iniquity.

16.

The man that wandereth out of the way of understanding

Shall rest in the assembly of the dead.

17.

He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man:

He that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich.

18.

The wicked is a ransom for the righteous;

And the treacherous cometh in the stead of the upright.

19.

It is better to dwell in a desert land,

Than with a contentious and fretful woman.

20.

There is precious treasure and oil in the dwelling of the wise;

But a foolish man swalloweth it up.

STUDY QUESTIONS OVER 21:11-20

1.

What three classes of persons are mentioned in Proverbs 21:11?

2.

From what you know of yourself, in which class are you (Proverbs 21:11)?

3.

Does the truth of Proverbs 21:12 help keep a righteous man in the way of the righteousness?

4.

How is Proverbs 21:13 a fulfillment of Galatians 6:7?

5.

Does Proverbs 21:14 present parallels at each point in the two clauses?

6.

What is the antecedent word or thought of the it in the second clause (Proverbs 21:15)?

7.

What picture do you get from the word wandereth in Proverbs 21:16?

8.

Why would pleasure make a man poor in Bible days (Proverbs 21:17)?

9.

How would oil enter into the picture in Proverbs 21:17?

10.

When is the wicked a ransom for the righteous (Proverbs 21:18)?

11.

What is meant by the last clause in Proverbs 21:18?

12.

Where else besides a desert is it better to dwell than with a contentious woman (Proverbs 21:19)?

13.

What does swallow up mean in Proverbs 21:20?

PARAPHRASE OF 21:11-20

11.

The wise man learns by listening; the simpleton can learn only by seeing scorners punished.

12.

The godly learn by watching ruin overtake the wicked.

13.

He who shuts his ears to the cries of the poor will be ignored in his own time of need.

14, 15.

An angry man may be silenced by a bribe, while the good man loves truth and justice. But the evil man fears these beyond all else, for they spell his doom.

16.

The man who strays away from common sense will end up dead!

17.

A man who lives pleasure becomes poor; wine and luxury are not the way to riches.

18.

The wicked will finally lose; the righteous will finally win.

19.

Better to live in the desert than with a quarrelsome, complaining women.

20.

The wise man saves for the future, but the foolish men spends whatever he gets.

COMMENTS ON 21:11-20

Proverbs 21:11. Proverbs 19:25 sets forth similar truths. Even if punishment doesn-'t help the scoffer himself (and sometimes it doesn-'t), it will help the onlooking-simple who might have gotten into the same thing. God even commanded to smite certain sinners with death that others might be helped: Deuteronomy 13:6-11; Deuteronomy 17:8-13; Deuteronomy 19:16-20; Deuteronomy 21:18-21. When God smote Ananias and Sapphira, great fear came upon the whole church, and upon all that heard these things (Acts 5:11), and you can be sure that nobody else was even tempted to do what they had done! When Paul wrote that stern, corrective letter (I Cor.) to the Corinthian church, which resulted in its withdrawing from the incestuous man (1 Corinthians 5; 2 Corinthians 2:4-7), it also did much for the congregation itself (2 Corinthians 7:8-11). The latter part of our verse shows that a wise man is easy to instruct and gains much from it (Proverbs 14:6). Such is a teacher's joy. But it is hard to instruct those who do not want to listen (Hebrews 5:11).

Proverbs 21:12. In keeping with Proverbs 21:11 this verse shows that the righteous person is also a wise person who learns not only from instruction (Proverbs 21:11) but also from observation, not having to go through bitter experiences to learn (like Jonah). He notices what happens to the wicked, and he learns from it because he considers it or thinks upon it, Seeing what happens to the wicked is good reason not to choose their way!

Proverbs 21:13. Pulpit Commentary: A two-fold retribution is threatened on the unmerciful man: he himself shall fall into distress, and shall appeal to his neighbors for help in vain. Oh, how quickly the tables of life can be turned! Those who refuse to help others today may stand in need of help tomorrow, but no help will be forthcoming. People who know how such a one has acted will not be touched to help him, and God will not move others to help him either. And oh, how bitter the cries when they are ours and when no one will listen!

Proverbs 21:14. A triple parallel: gift and present, in secret and in the bosom, and anger and strong wrath. Pulpit Commentary: A gift offered secretly to one incensed, whether personal enemy, judge, or prince, averts the consequences of the offence. Concerning in the bosom Pulpit Commentary remarks, A present kept handy in the bosom of the petitioner's garment, ready to be transferred at a fitting moment. Though this is the way it often works, it is not right (1 Samuel 12:3-5) Proverbs 8:3; Amos 5:12).

Proverbs 21:15. Proverbs 10:29 sets forth similar truth. The righteous rejoice over justice (as does God), but not the workers of iniquity, for justice is their destruction. Jesus loved righteousness and hated iniquity (Hebrews 1:9), and the Bible commands us to abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good (Romans 12:9). When we do this, we are for truth (facts) and honesty in dealing with cases brought before the court.

Proverbs 21:16. Wandereth out of the way of understanding characterizes one who leaves, departs, goes astray from the established path. Shall rest in the assembly of the dead is used ironically: such probably thought or boasted that he would find the good way, but it didn-'t end as he had invisioned, for the rest to which such departures lead is the rest of death. King Ahab knew better when he allowed Jezebel to acquire Naboth's vineyard for him as she did (1 Kings 21:1-16), but it did him no good, leading to his death (1 Kings 21:17-22). We should know the right way (Ephesians 5:17), walk the right way (Jeremiah 6:16), and not forsake it (2 Peter 2:20-21). This verse reminds one of Jude's statement of wandering stars, for whom the blackness of darkness hath been reserved for ever (Jude 1:13). Men, like meteors that break off and go flying through space, soon come to their everlasting end!

Proverbs 21:17. Another parallelism: loveth pleasure and loveth wine and oil mean the same as do shall be a poor man and shall not be rich. To have a good time the world's way has always involved a constant expenditure of money (one cause of becoming poor), and such life also diverts one from his work and business interests (another cause). Oh, the multitude of pleasures for people today to get involved in and sidetracked by!

Proverbs 21:18. Ransom in the first clause and in the stead of in the second show that something happens to the wicked that might have happened to the righteous or that results in a better state for the righteous. Clarke: God often in his judgments cuts off the wicked in order to prevent them from destroying the righteous. And in general we find that the wicked fall into the traps and pits they have digged for the righteous. Proverbs 11:8 says, The righteous is delivered out of trouble; And the wicked cometh in his stead. As wicked Babylon fell, God's people were blessed with liberation. By punishing the scorner, others are spared from falling into the same sin and suffering the same fate (Proverbs 21:11-12).

Proverbs 21:19. This is very similar to Proverbs 21:9 and Proverbs 25:24. There are some kinds of women who will ruin a man's life: a contentious woman (this verse); a fretful woman (this verse); and an odious woman (Proverbs 30:23). Since it is better to dwell in a desert than with such a woman, is not this proverb saying that it is better not to be married than to be married to such a person? Since there is a noticeable percentage of people so married, should it not be some comfort to the unmarried that at least they are in the class that Proverbs says is better than that?

Proverbs 21:20. Wisdom knows the earthly value of precious treasure and oil (olive oil, which was so useful in Bible days). Men of God like Job, Abraham, David, and others were blessed with an abundance of these, yet they were apparently not selfish with them (did Abraham appear selfish in offering nephew Lot the choice of the land in Genesis 13:2-12?) but were willing to give to others from their store (Job 31:16-23). The contrast within our verse shows that the foolish devours everything he gets his hands on. Is this not the way with many today? They draw big money per hour, blow it all in, and the slightest emergency proves to be a major calamity financially. The Bible says that we are (1) to labor (2) at honest occupations (3) so that we will have something left over above our own needs to give to those who are in need (Ephesians 4:28).

TEST QUESTIONS OVER 21:11-20

1.

Who always profits when a scoffer is punished (Proverbs 21:11)?

2.

What is the wise person's response to instruction (Proverbs 21:12)?

3.

According to Proverbs 21:12 a wise person not only learns from instruction but also from ...................

4.

Why do the righteous learn from the calamities that come upon the wicked (Proverbs 21:12)?

5.

What double calamity does Proverbs 21:13 say will come upon the man who is unmerciful to the needy?

6.

Comment upon in the bosom (Proverbs 21:14).

7.

Is Proverbs 21:14 justifying bribes or observing why men often resort to them?

8.

How do the righteous feel about justice (Proverbs 21:15)?

9.

Why do the workers of iniquity not rejoice over justice (Proverbs 21:15)?

10.

Cite Bible examples of men who wandered out of the way that they knew to be right and suffered the end mentioned in Proverbs 21:16.

11.

Cite the parallels in Proverbs 21:17.

12.

In what two ways can pleasure-lovers be made poor (Proverbs 21:17)?

13.

What did you understand from Proverbs 21:18?

14.

What is the single life of an unmarried person better than (Proverbs 21:19)?

15.

What is the difference between the wise and the foolish with reference to material things (Proverbs 21:20)?