Proverbs 20:21-30

TEXT Proverbs 20:21-30

21.

An inheritance may be gotten hastily at the beginning;

But the end thereof shall not be blessed.

22.

Say not thou, I will recompense evil:

Wait for Jehovah, and he will save thee.

23.

Diverse weights are an abomination to Jehovah;

And a false balance is not good.

24.

A man's goings are of Jehovah;

How then can man understand his way?

25.

It is a snare to a man rashly to say, It is holy,

And after vows to make inquiry.

26.

A wise king winnoweth the wicked,

And bringeth the threshingwheel over them.

27.

The spirit of man is the lamp of Jehovah,

Searching all his innermost parts.

28.

Kindness and truth preserve the king;

And his throne is upholden by kindness.

29.

The glory of young men is their strength;

And the beauty of old men is the hoary head.

30.

Stripes that wound cleanse away evil;

And strokes reach the innermost parts.

STUDY QUESTIONS OVER 20:21-30

1.

Give a Bible example of one who misspent his inheritance money (Proverbs 20:21).

2.

Compare Proverbs 20:22 with Abigail's advice to David in 1 Samuel 25:9-31.

3.

What previous verse in this chapter teaches the same as Proverbs 20:23?

4.

What man in the last part of Genesis could look back and see the truth stated in Proverbs 20:24?

5.

What does Ecclesiastes 5:4-5 say about making vows Proverbs 20:25)?

6.

What should be any ruler's attitude and action toward wickedness (Proverbs 20:26)?

7.

Is Proverbs 20:27 referring to the conscience?

8.

Are kings usually thought of as kind (Proverbs 20:28)?

9.

Illustrate the statement about young men in Proverbs 20:29.

10.

Illustrate the statement about old men in Proverbs 20:29.

11.

Is the statement in Proverbs 20:30 still true?

PARAPHRASE OF 20:21-30

21.

A fortune can be made from cheating, but there is a curse that goes with it.

22.

Don-'t repay evil for evil. Wait for the Lord to handle the matter.

23.

The Lord loathes all cheating and dishonesty.

24.

Since the Lord is directing our steps, why try to understand everything that happens along the way?

25.

It is foolish and rash to make a promise to the Lord before counting the cost.

26.

A wise king stamps out crime by severe punishment.

27.

A man's conscience is the Lord's searchlight exposing his hidden motives.

28.

If a king is kind, honest and fair, his kingdom stands secure.

29.

The glory of young men is their strength; of old men, their experience.

30.

Punishment that hurts chases evil from the heart.

COMMENTS ON 20:21-30

Proverbs 20:21. Sometimes an inheritance immediately places into a person's hands more money than he has ever had in his possession at any one time. He didn-'t work for it; he didn-'t save it; but now all at once it is his. If the person is wise, it can be a great blessing as he thankfully receives it, as he carefully invests or uses it, and as he realizes the value of it. But come easy, go easy is so often the rule, and a short time of luxurious living (while it lasts; can make it a curse to him as he gets himself into a standard of living that he cannot maintain by his own earnings after the inheritance money is blown. A common laborer went through an inheritance of $200,000 in six months. He didn-'t want to go back to working, so he and a woman teamed up and kidnapped a rich man's son, killed him, and collected the ransom money. They were executed by the state of Missouri. Others, like the Prodigal Son, get involved in sinful, indulgent living that they had never known before.

Proverbs 20:22. Proverbs 24:29 also forbids one saying he will take vengeance. 1 Thessalonians 5:15 and 1 Peter 3:9 also forbid our vengeance-taking and teaches us to render good for their evil. Deuteronomy 32:35-36 promises that God will take care of executing vengeance on the wrongdoer, saving us the trouble, keeping us from making some mistakes, and being sure the wrongdoer will get just what he should receive. Paul reminds us of this in Romans 12:19-20, promising that by our doing good to them, some of them will be turned from enmity to friendship (Proverbs 20:21). Abigail believed this and persuaded David (1 Samuel 25:9-34), and thereafter David appeared to be completely convinced of the rightness of this procedure (1 Samuel 26:7-10; 2 Samuel 16:5-12).

Proverbs 20:23. Similar to Proverbs 20:10. God's great displeasure with crooked dishonest dealings with one's fellowmen is again expressed.

Proverbs 20:24. That Jehovah leads in our lives, see Proverbs 16:9 and Psalms 37:23. Since we cannot successfully direct our own ways (Jeremiah 10:23), we should ask God to do it for us (Proverbs 3:6; Psalms 37:4-5). At the time we may not see the hand of the Lord at work as we will see it later (consider Genesis 50:20). Paul and Silas must have had this faith, for in answering the Macedonian call of Acts 16:9, they were soon in jail in Macedonia, but we see no complaining in them but praying and singing praises to God (Acts 16:25), and great good came out of their actual imprisonment (Acts 16:26-34).

Proverbs 20:25. We should always think before acting, and when vowing before God this verse shows that one should be sure he is going to carry through before promising. And so agrees Ecclesiastes 5:4-5. We should work to get people to make sacred decisions, but we do not want to pressure them into saying something that they will not have the faith, reverence, and determination to carry out. Many a persuasive, out-going, personality-man has gotten people baptized who were not really ready on their own to live the Christ-directed life.

Proverbs 20:26. Winnoweth and threshingwheel refer to their threshing the grain and by rough-handling their separating the grain from the rest. Whippings (punishments) have often been referred to by the word threshing. Solomon (and God who inspired his including this statement in the Proverbs) knew that the wicked should be dealt with as such, and so should every ruler of any level (parent, judge, school principal, church leader, etc.). Put ruler for king, and this statement makes sense in an extended way to every realm of leadership.

Proverbs 20:27. 1 Corinthians 2:11 speaks of this spirit of man: Who among men knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of the man, which is in him? That which man has from Jehovah that animals are not credited with having and that searches out one's innermost thoughts is the conscience. Man has this important facility within him because God wanted him to have it. When one's conscience operates, his thoughts either accuse or excuse him for his actions (Romans 2:15), depending upon whether he has violated or carried out what he understands to be right. The conscience is a Siamese twin of one's intellect: whatever one's intellect tells him is right or wrong, his conscience accepts the same position and works accordingly (Acts 26:9-11; Acts 23:1).

Proverbs 20:28. There have been many unkind kings; in fact, it has been common for man to abuse his place of power. Except for David's unkindness to Uriah, he was a living model of a king who wanted to be kind and good to his subjects, to his men, and to his repentant enemies, and who sought to rule with the absolute truth in mind. Note the similar promise in Proverbs 29:14. Such a king, though, is not looked upon as kind by those who do wrong (Proverbs 20:26).

Proverbs 20:29. It is natural for young men to glory in their strength. Their bodies are young, healthy, working, nimble, capable, etc., and because of this, competitive athletics are common for that age. They wrestle, lift weights, run, play football and other types of ball, etc. And because of this strength sometimes they forget that life can be taken from them without a warning, and sometimes they abuse their bodies to the undoing of their comfort in older years. But in time that strength will naturally be replaced with the gray and then the white hair of old age, which is said by this verse to be beautiful. It symbolizes length of days, rich experiences, knowledge and wisdom, and many years of usefulness, all of which add up to a respect that is normally forthcoming (Proverbs 16:31).

Proverbs 20:30. Stripes and strokes have to do with correcting and punishing those who have done evil. This verse presents the following parallels: stripes and strokes go together as do cleanse away evil and reach the innermost parts. When such are applied severely enough (wound), they do reach the seat of evil (The innermost parts). Words of instruction should always precede the wounds of discipline, but words are too weak to reach some people; the only language that some people can get anything out of at all is that of severe discipline. When a congregation no longer deals with the evil committed within it; when a home does not discipline its disobedient children; and when a government does not punish the wrongdoer, it is bad for everybody; the individual himself, the church, the home, and society.

TEST QUESTIONS OVER 20:21-30

1.

Tell how the truth of Proverbs 20:21 was observed in a man in Missouri?

2.

From whom did David learn the truth contained in Proverbs 20:22?

3.

How many times in this chapter has God dealt with crookedness in business (Proverbs 20:23)?

4.

What wonderful assurance does Proverbs 20:24 bring to us?

5.

The comments connected Proverbs 20:25 with what teaching in Eccl.?

6.

According to Proverbs 20:26 what does a wise king do about wickedness?

7.

What is conscience a Siamese twin to (Proverbs 20:27)?

8.

King David seems to have been a very kind ruler except when (Proverbs 20:28)?

9.

Give examples of young men glorying in their strength (Proverbs 20:29)?

10.

How many times is punishing the wicked brought up in this chapter (Proverbs 20:30)?