Chapter 24

Verses 1-22, we have multi-line proverbs. That is, anything over two lines. In verses 1-6, mental attitude tetrastiches.

Verses 1 & 2, negative mental attitudes.

Verse 1 – Line one: “Be thou not envious against evil men.”

Line two: “neither desire to be with them.”

Verse 2 – Line three: “For their heart studieth destruction.”

Line four: “and their lips talk of mischief.”

These are all negative mental attitudes. First of all, in line one: “Be not thou envious” – piel stem, an intense stem in the Hebrew. Sometimes intensity is anguish, and when we have a negative mental attitude sin and it is found in the piel stem it means that not only is there a mental attitude sin but there is, along with, it intensity of suffering. So the piel stem present the principle of self-induced misery. All mental attitude sins produce self-induced misery. While the word here is envy [literally jealousy—the Hebrew word qana], and jealousy is the illustration for mental attitude sin. So this verse says, Do not be jealous. The next word is of the evil. The word evil is an adjective and it refers to one who lives habitually under the old sin nature and appears to profit by being in that particular status. It usually refers to an unbeliever; it can refer to a believer perpetually out of fellowship, perpetually living under the power of his old sin nature.

Line two: “neither desire to be with them.” The word desire is awah in the Hebrew, and it means to be extremely desirous. It is an intense desire, a desire of any kind which does not have any point of satiation. In other words, an insatiable desire which is based upon jealousy primarily although it can involve other things. The insatiable desire to be with unbelievers, living it up, or unbelievers in some apparent success pattern connotes a lack of understanding and application of Bible doctrine. It indicates a lack of orientation to the grace of God, a failure to appreciate who and what Christ is and a failure to realise the tremendous assets provided for us through grace. Such a believer basis his happiness on the details of life.

Line three: “For their heart studieth destruction.” The word studieth means to devise. This is the person who constantly lives under his old sin nature.

Line four: “their lips speak [express] mischief [misery].” The believer without doctrine is always anxious to become involved with something that is going to make him miserable, simply because he doesn’t have a doctrinal perspective. They seek to make others as miserable as themselves. As at the end of the first verse, believers desire to be with these people, they desire to be with miserable people so that they in turn can be miserable. Most of the desire comes from the glamour and the façade. There is always a beautiful front, we’re having a great time, we’re living it up. People desire this. But behind all of this glamour is a tremendous desire for happiness unfulfilled.

So we have a principle: Either you learn doctrine, and as a result your influence on people will bring them up to your level—that can be anything from witnessing to communicating doctrine—or you can take that piel stem and have an intense desire to be with them on their level where these people are miserable and you are miserable.

Verse 3 – the solution to the negative mental attitude. “Through wisdom is an house builded.” Wisdom is the application of doctrine. This is an illustration and a principle all in one. In building a house one knows something about construction and he applies it to building a house. In building a life one has Bible doctrine and he applies it to life. The house represents the life of the believer in phase two. The house of the believer’s life must be built on doctrine and its application to experience, and this results in enjoying the details of life.

“and by understanding it is established” – understanding is the Hebrew word for insight, something that is in your mind categorically, something that you can define with vocabulary. You cannot think without words, and this is an illustration of the fact that you cannot live without doctrine. The words it is established is an erroneous translation. It is literally, he prepares himself. It is in the hithpael stem which is reflexive, the subject acts on itself. You prepare yourself by Bible doctrine, and if you do not learn Bible doctrine as a believer you are not prepared for phase two. By insight into doctrine one prepares himself.

Verse 4 – “And by knowledge [of doctrine] shall the chambers be filled”—the chamber is a room in a house—“be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.” It is one thing to have a house with no furniture; it is another thing to have a house which is completely furnished. This is an analogy to what goes on in your mind. Bible doctrine furnishes your soul with all pleasant and precious things. People can go by your house and they see a house, they don’t see what is inside. On the inside there could be absolutely nothing. So many believers have a nice exterior. They are nicely painted and very attractive, beautiful on the outside but nothing in the soul. Precious means something of value. Bible doctrine gives something on the inside—a perspective, a true scale of values. Pleasant is something that provides stimulation. When the believer has Bible doctrine on the inside he has something that is very stimulating.

Verses 5 & 6, the benefits of positive mental attitude.

Verse 5 – “A wise man” is a believer who knows and applies doctrine to experience; “is strong” – this word strong isn’t strong from the standpoint of muscles. The Hebrew words is ohz. Originally it was a word that indicated tremendous admiration. The word here means to reach the peak in some profession, to develop some ability to the maximum. A believer with Bible doctrine reaches the top as far as God is concerned. By God’s standard the more knowledge the greater the person. In other words, knowledge and application of doctrine is the highest virtue the believer can possess.

“yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength” – this is a different word for strength, it simply means talent or ability.

The individual believer knowing Bible doctrine is not only going to be tops with God but in whatever he does he will do it with proficiency. He may not have the greatest natural talent in the world but he has the greatest motivation which is honouring the Lord to do the best in business, in a profession, in academics, in anything that he does. He has the mental attitude to succeed.

Verse 6 – the illustration from military life. This is not correctly translated in the KJV. “For by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war.” Wise counsel is a believer with doctrine in the soul whose profession is military. Because he has doctrine, doctrine gives him the strength, the ability to go to the top in his profession. He has the character to make decisions and to stand by them.

“and in multitude of counsellors there is safety” – incorrect translation. The Hebrew says, for victory is in the greatness of the one counselling. The greatness here is the believer here in high command with Bible doctrine in his soul. He is the one counselling, formulating plans, giving detailed instructions, etc.

Now we have a break. In contrast to the believer with doctrine who goes to the top of his profession we now go to four useless believers, believers who do not learn doctrine and are a total flop.

Verse 7 – the foolish believer. “Wisdom is too high for a fool: he openeth not his mouth in the gate.” Wisdom, again, is Bible doctrine in the soul. Too high means too difficult, too costly to learn; it is too much of a sacrifice. Because this believer did not learn doctrine he is called a fool, and therefore he did not open his mouth in the gate. The gate was the place for the assembly of the court—either politics or law. It was where they held their court of law but it was also the place where they held their city council. To open the mouth in the gate means to assume responsibility in politics or in the profession of law. Therefore this believer minus doctrine is a fool, he cannot assume responsibility and so he does not rise in the two professions mentioned, or in any profession.

Verse 8 – “He that deviseth to do evil shall be called a mischievous person.” To devise evil means to machinate, to meditate, to plot. To devise evil you first of all have to have a mental attitude to do it. So we have mental attitude sins, and from mental attitude sins comes thought—revenge, retaliation, hurt, etc. To do evil is a hiphil stem in which it means to hurt, to break down, to destroy. It refers to a believer.

Verse 9 – the mocker of doctrine. “The thought of foolishness is sin” is literally, the schemes [devisings] of the fool are sins [pl.]. These schemes include: mental attitude sins plus revenge tactics—plotting against someone, intrigue. Where Bible doctrine does not exist there is no hindrance to the mental attitude sins.

“and the scorner is an abomination to the Lord” – the scorner is one who derides, ridicules, mocks, or belittles Bible doctrine. He is an abomination, an abhorrence, a thing of loathing to the Lord.

The believer minus doctrine is like a fish out of water—he stinks. Other people cannot stand him, he is an abomination to the Lord, and he is a trouble-maker among people.

Verse 10 – the fainting or collapsing believer. “If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small.” The word for fainting here is mental fainting. Mental fainting is coming under a pressure and becoming hysterical, moving into panic palace, having tantrums—some way in which believers faint. Cf. Hebrews 12:3. The word strength is a reference to Bible doctrine again. In other words, knowledge of Bible doctrine is small or little—little or no understanding of God’s Word. If you understand God’s Word you will not faint.

Now we come to a hexastich, a six-line proverb. This is a hexastich on witnessing for Christ, verses 11 & 12.

Verse 11 – First line: “If thou forbear to deliver them that are drawn unto death.”

Second line: “and those that are ready to be slain.” This whole verse is erroneously translated. The first line says, Deliver those being taken by death. The word to deliver is a hiphil stem, causative. It is in the imperative mood. Cause to deliver. This is a reference to witnessing for Christ, communication of the gospel to the unbeliever. Those being taken by death refers to anyone who is under spiritual death, the lost.

The second line is, and those tottering to destruction, stop them. Tottering is the word describing the person in verse 1.

Verse 12 – Third line: “If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not.” It presents an excuse for not witnessing.

Line four: literally, it is not so, the weigher of hearts sees through it. He sees through the excuse.

Line five: “and he that keepeth thy soul [the Lord], knows”—keeping the soul is a reference to the doctrine of eternal security. You cannot deceive the Lord.

Line six: “he shall render to every man according to his works.” The principle of reward or loss of reward; divine versus human good.

Next we have a pentastich, a five-line proverb, verses 13 & 14. It amplifies Matthew 4:4—“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”

Verse 13 – “My son, eat thou honey, because it is good [beneficial]; and the honeycomb, which is sweet to thy taste.” Eat thou is a qal imperative, this is a command to eat some honey because it is beneficial. The second line indicates that honey is sweet, and sweet means that is appeals to the taste buds or it stimulates the taste. Honey is an illustration of Bible doctrine. First of all, Bible doctrine is beneficial—line one; doctrine provides energy—divine energy, divine good. Sweet to the taste means it is stimulating—inner happiness.

Verse 14 – “So the knowledge of wisdom unto thy soul.” The word knowledge is not knowledge at all. It is translated like a noun but is actually a verb in the qal imperative and should be translated, So know wisdom [doctrine and its application].

Results from taking in doctrine and/or taking in honey:

34 Doctrine gives a love, appreciation and admiration for the members of the Godhead.

35 Taking in doctrine produces stability in facing the circumstances of life.

36 Doctrine provides a relaxed mental attitude and therefore freedom from self-induced misery.

37 Inner happiness and inner beauty.

38 Doctrine is the basis for maximum helpfulness and encouragement of others.

39 From our context, effective witnessing for Christ.

40 Success in fulltime Christian service, remembering that every believer is in fulltime Christian service. Colossians 3:17.

41 Doctrine makes the believer self-sustaining, i.e. being oriented to the grace and plan of God, and being able to generally handle one’s own problems.

“when thou hast found it [doctrine], then there shall be a reward” – one word is incorrect, the word reward. It should be future. It is simply, when you have

found doctrine you have a future. In other words, doctrine tells you about phase three. Orientation to phase three gives stability in phase two.

“and thy expectation shall not be cut off” – the Hebrew says, and your hope is never destroyed. Hope is the reality of phase three.

A series of warning tetrastiches, verses 15-22. A tetrastich [four-line proverb] is generally found in two verses.

Verses 15 & 16, the warning against harassment: harassing other people, violating the privacy of other people.

Verse 15 – the thrust of mental attitude sins. “Lay not wait” means do not ambush. This can be a verbal ambush as well as an ambush of violence. So do not persecute, harass, meddle. Do not in any way intrude upon the privacy of others, do not try to hurt others. “O wicked” – anyone here who is implacable, vindictive, revengeful.

This harassment is declared to be “against the dwelling of the righteous.” This can mean the household or the area in which the righteous is. He is a believer. The dwelling of the righteous is simply the place where he is.

“spoil not his resting place” – the resting place is different from the word household or dwelling which indicates a place where he has to go, like a house or a church. But here we have something entirely different. His resting place is the place where he can relax.

Verse 16 – the warning continues. “For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again.” The just is the same Hebrew word as translated righteous in the previous verse. It should be again translated the righteous. This is the believer and he is said to fail—no believer is perfect. The falling seven times is a believer getting into a pressure situation, a believer getting into some realm of carnality.

Seven ways the believer can fail or get into pressure:

34 Carnality or sinfulness—Psalm 37:24.

35 Personal loss—details.

36 Disaster or calamity—weather, a nation, a lot of other details beside one’s self.

37 Pain—accident, physical calamity, disfigurement.

38 Self-induced misery from mental attitude sins.

39 Failure to separate from apostasy, legalism, false doctrine.

40 Ostracism, harassment, persecution.

A believer can fall in all of these ways but as this passage very clearly declares he rises up again—recovery.

“but the wicked [the unbeliever] shall fall into mischief.” Literally it says, the wicked shall stagger under adversity. The wicked refers primarily to the

unbeliever, but a wicked person can also be a believer perpetually out of fellowship.

Verse 17 – the warning against vindictiveness. “Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth.” The word to rejoice really means, do not gloat or take a malignant satisfaction at the misfortune of others, especially one’s enemies. Falleth is a qal infinitive and it means to have any kind of a disaster or pressure overtake.

“and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth” – this is gloating again with a little more emphasis on overt gloating. The word be glad in the Hebrew means to dance. Here is gloating on the surface. Principle: You never build your happiness on someone else’s unhappiness.

Verse 18 – such gloating results in judging and judging results in triple-compound discipline. In judging the sins of someone else are mentioned, and whatever those sins are they are passed over to the person judging. He gets the discipline for the sins which he mentions in conversation. Matthew 7:1,2—Greek, and also from the Hebrew of this verse 18. “Lest the Lord see it, and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him [from the enemy].”

Verse 19 – a warning against jealousy. “Fret not” means to burn, to be kindled with anger or jealousy; “evil men” refers to either unbelievers or believers out of fellowship who appear to be having a good time or being successful and happy. Do not be jealous.

Verse 20 – “For there shall be no reward to the evil man.” The believer loses reward—1 Corinthians 3:11-16, the judgment of human good.

“the candle of the wicked shall be put out.” The unbeliever is judged.

A warning against rebellion, verses 21 & 22.

Verse 21 – “My son, fear thou the Lord and the king.” David is teaching Solomon as the crown prince that before Solomon can exercise the authority of the king he must first of all recognise and appreciate authority in itself as a principle. How can Solomon ever rule of he has no respect for authority himself? So he is told to be occupied with Christ—“Fear thou the Lord.” This comes from maximum understanding and application of doctrine.

“and the king” – the authority that runs divine institution #4.

“and meddle not with them that are given to change” – incorrect. The Hebrew says, do not become involved with those who are otherwise disposed. In other words, do not become involved with rebels against authority. Revolt destroys the stability of a national entity, thereby eliminating and limiting evangelism, Bible teaching and hinders the operation of the angelic conflict.

Verse 22 – “For their calamity shall rise suddenly.” That is, rebels who try to destroy the divine institution of nationalism; “and who knoweth the ruin of them both?”—the rebel and his plan.

Verse 23 begins a new section. It has a title. “These things belong to the wise” is a title. It says literally, These things [Prov. 24:23-34] also belong to the wise men [believers who know and apply Bible doctrine].

Verse 23b-25, the pentastich of partiality. “It is not good to have respect of persons in judgment”—the principle of the administration of justice in a national entity. Not good means not beneficial. Partiality in the administration of justice in law courts is detrimental to divine institution #4. The judge must be guided by respect for law rather than respect for persons or their money or their influence.

Verse 24 – the illustration of a bad judge. “He that saith unto the wicked [guilty], Thou art righteous [acquitted]; him shall the people curse”—they will curse this judge because he is destroying their nation; “nations shall abhor him”—this means that a crooked or a partial judge in the enemy of nationalism and the nation will abhor him because he is destroying them.

Verse 25 – the good judge. “But to them that rebuke [judge correctly].” When a judge fulfils his responsibility as unto the Lord, he shall be “a delight and a good blessing shall come upon them.” The Hebrew says, But to them who judge correctly it is grace—God’s grace can operate in a national entity where there is the correct administration of justice—and upon them [judges of the land] come good blessing.

Verses 26 & 27, the impact of Bible doctrine.

Verse 26 – “Every man shall kiss his lips that giveth a right answer.” In correct translation the first line is an illustration which says, He kisses the lips. The second line: the one who returns right words. In a kiss the man makes the contact, the woman responds. The man illustrates a believer minus doctrine with problems, and he wants answers to his problems. He finally makes contact with someone who is plus doctrine. This person gives doctrine and he responds to doctrine. Then he meets the problem and he needs more doctrine, so he goes back for more. Right words is Bible doctrine which fits the needs of the seeking individual.

“the one who returns [the communicator of doctrine]” is a hiphil participle. The hiphil stem is causative—he causes to return. He causes Bible doctrine from himself to the one who needs it.

34 The man who wants to kiss the girl is the believer hungry for Bible doctrine—⁺V.

35 The girl who responds to the kiss is the communicator of Bible doctrine—any believer who knows doctrine. The unresponsive girl is the one who has only human viewpoint to offer.

36 You can kiss a lot of girls without getting the right response.

37 This is analogous to people getting a lot of human viewpoint answers to problems—and it is like kissing an ice cube.

38 To get a passionate response which stimulates is like seeking and learning doctrine.

39 Once this response of passion is given in the woman’s surrender then the man is so stimulated that a circuit is established—a rapport between the one seeking doctrine and the one giving doctrine.

40 Remember that in this analogy, in the second line, the one who returns [shub], the woman, responds to the kiss. She responds to the need, the desire of the man. The man is a believer desiring doctrine; the woman is a responder or a believer communicating doctrine.

Verse 27 – “Prepare thy work without [outside].” Behind this is the agricultural economy. Which is most important? To start out developing the farm by

Cultivation or to start out building a house? Cultivating the field is learning doctrine; building the house is a detail. The farm is your life in terms of production. Which is most important at the start? Should the believer start out learning doctrine, or should he start out with the details of life and forget doctrine?

The key to the fist line is the word without. It means outside. This is a command to cultivate the fields of the farm before you build the farm house. It is the fields and their produce which will sustain the family and sustain life, not the house. So this is an analogy to learning doctrine before you become involved in the details of life. The believer minus doctrine gets bogged down in the details of life and therefore he misses the plan of God.

“and make it fit for thyself in the field” or make ready beforehand the fields.

“afterwards build thine house” – after you get doctrine then you can handle the details of life. But the details of life will handle you if you do not get doctrine quickly.

Verse 28 – the sin of slander.

Verse 29 – the sin of retaliation.

In verses 30-34, the ode to the slothful man—the believer minus doctrine.

30 “I went by the field of the slothful [believer minus doctrine], and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding [he doesn’t know doctrine];

31 “And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns [mental attitude sins producing self-induced misery], and nettles [the details of life are more important than doctrine] had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down [the misery that comes to the believer minus doctrine].

32 “Then I saw, and considered it well: I looked upon it, and received instruction. [The believer learning doctrine observing others who do not learn doctrine]

33 “Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep [the believers indifference to doctrine]:

34 “So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth; and thy want [lack] as an armed

man.” The word travelleth in verse 34 is in the hithpael stem where it doesn’t mean to travel, it means to wander about. It means to wander and miss the point of doctrine. The person wandering is the person who is minus doctrine. He is indifferent to doctrine. The armed man uses violence and force to get his way; the believer minus doctrine uses gossip, slander and revenge tactics in order to establish himself, he has a very unstable life. The bandit does not have any permanent abode, therefore his life is one of instability. And so it is with the believer minus doctrine, he has a very unstable life. The bandit is usually bitter toward society and people in general, and this compares to the mental attitude sins producing self-induced misery. The bandit is outside of the law and is subject to punishment; the believer outside of Bible doctrine is constantly under discipline. The bandit has a desire for things which he cannot keep, and when he does possess them (by stealing and violence) he does not enjoy them. A bandit is a most miserable person and this is comparable to a believer whose happiness depends on the details of life rather than on Bible doctrine. So the bandit is a tremendous illustration of the believer who doesn’t care for doctrine.