Reflections on Proverbs 28

 

Proverbs 28 (Contemporary English Version)


1. Wicked people run away when no one chases them, but those who live right are as brave as lions.
   
2. In time of civil war there are many leaders, but a sensible leader restores law and order.
   
3. When someone poor takes over and mistreats the poor, it's like a heavy rain destroying the crops.
   
4. Lawbreakers praise criminals, but law-abiding citizens always oppose them.
   
5. Criminals don't know what justice means, but all who respect the LORD understand it completely.
   
6. It's better to be poor and live right, than to be rich and dishonest.
   
7. It makes good sense to obey the Law of God, but you disgrace your parents if you make friends with worthless nobodies.
   
8. If you make money by charging high interest rates, you will lose it all to someone who cares for the poor.
   
9. God cannot stand the prayers of anyone who disobeys his Law.
   
10. By leading good people to sin, you dig a pit for yourself, but all who live right will have a bright future.
    
11. The rich think highly of themselves, but anyone poor and sensible sees right through them.
    
12. When an honest person wins, it's time to celebrate; when crooks are in control, it's best to hide.
    
13. If you don't confess your sins, you will be a failure. But God will be merciful if you confess your sins and give them up.
    
14. The LORD blesses everyone who is afraid to do evil, but if you are cruel, you will end up in trouble.
    
15. A ruler who mistreats the poor is like a roaring lion or a bear hunting for food.
    
16. A heartless leader is a fool, but anyone who refuses to get rich by cheating others will live a long time.
    
17. Don't give help to murderers! Make them stay on the run for as long as they live.
    
18. Honesty will keep you safe, but everyone who is crooked will suddenly fall.
    
19. Work hard, and you will have a lot of food; waste time, and you will have a lot of trouble.
    
20. God blesses his loyal people, but punishes all who want to get rich quick.
    
21. It isn't right to be unfair, but some people can be bribed with only a piece of bread.
    
22. Don't be selfish and eager to get rich-- you will end up worse off than you can imagine.
    
23. Honest correction is appreciated more than flattery.
    
24. If you cheat your parents and don't think it's wrong, you are a common thief.
    
25. Selfish people cause trouble, but you will live a full life if you trust the LORD.
    
26. Only fools would trust what they alone think, but if you live by wisdom, you will do all right.
    
27. Giving to the poor will keep you from poverty, but if you close your eyes to their needs, everyone will curse you.
    
28. When crooks are in control, everyone tries to hide, but when they lose power, good people are everywhere.
    

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This chapter might be said to be a study in contrasts, contrasting the good and the bad and the rich and the poor. Thus, two subjects dominate this chapter: Obeying the law and being rich. The law referred to in most instances is civil law, but the teaching could apply equally to the laws of Moses. We are told that those who disobey the law, and likewise the Lord, have a perverted sense of morality and that justice makes no sense to them. It is my opinion that such people loose a sense of reason or logic. Two and two no longer adds up to four for them. It becomes whatever they want it to become with no logic or reason involved. It is also my opinion that as our society increasingly becomes morally depraved it is increasingly loosing its ability to reason. In contrast, we are told in this chapter that those who seek the Lord, and also obey the law, have discernment and understanding. It makes sense that as one increasingly is disobedient of the law he would increasingly loose his ability to reason. After all, he is turning reasoning on its head by justifying in his mind that wrong is somehow right.

Whatever reasoning, or lack thereof, that justifies our disobedience of the law will not do away with the outcome of our actions. One of those outcomes is a sense of guilt. Though we may be able to convince our mind of the rightness of our actions, our conscience, which may have remained silent during the debate, is not convinced. Nor does it go away. It keeps nagging us from within and keeps us constantly running from imagined pursuers. We are constantly having to cover our tracks, so to speak, so our actions will not catch up to us. Solomon says that those who distort right and wrong will have a sudden fall. It may not happen right away, but it will come. It is the natural outcome of the choices toward lawlessness. In contrast, the righteous have no such fears. They don't have actions that might cause them embarrassment, shame, or worse. They have nothing to hide and nothing from which to run.

Regarding the contrast between the rich and poor, there is the hint here of integrity being one of the contrasting characteristics between the two groups. We definitely wouldn't want to make the generalization that all rich lack integrity and all poor have it. Certainly not! After all, the proverbs have repeatedly spoken of foolishness and laziness leading to poverty. It would seem that the main point here is how the rich become rich. That it is not always with integrity - by good fortune or wise business practices. There is the suggestion, at least in my mind, that sufficient cases exist of the rich becoming so by distorting right and wrong or by taking advantage of others, and raising questions of integrity, that it warrants attention in the proverbs. It is not being rich that is the issue. It is the means by which those riches are gained. Solomon says it is better to be poor and have integrity than be rich and distort right and wrong. He says a rich man is wise in his own eyes, presumably because he credits his wisdom for his riches. But the poor man who has discernment - and not all do - is not fooled by the rich man's assumed wisdom. He sees through it.

If riches are gained by improper means, Solomon tells us they will go away - they will vanish. For instance, he says that those who increase their wealth through excessive interest will actually be collecting their wealth for the poor. It will somehow be taken from them and go to someone who will use it to benefit the poor. Those who are greedy to become rich quickly, he says, will end up in poverty. If, on the other hand, one is generous with their wealth, using it to benefit those less fortunate, they will lack nothing.