Proverbs 21:20

“There is treasure to be desired and oil in the dwelling of the wise.” The word for treasure, ʼôwtsâr, comes from a root, ʼâtsar, that means to store up, and it names either a treasure or the place where one is kept, such as a storehouse, a granary or a cellar. Oil, shemen, comes from shâman, “to be fat or rich”, and means oil, above all olive oil, and by extension richness. In Israel olive oil was food, fuel for lamps, medicine, the oil of anointing and a thing to trade, so a store of it in the house stood for comfort and plenty. A family that had provisions laid by had worked hard and managed well, and it could come through a lean season or a drought. The words “to be desired” tell us that these stores are good things, worth having.

The second half turns to the fool: “but a foolish man spendeth it up.” The verb, bâlaʻ, means to swallow, to swallow up or to destroy. The fool gulps down whatever comes into his hands, and his house is left empty.

Proverbs draws the line between these two men by character. The wise man, châkâm, fears the LORD, has discernment and self-control, and acts with foresight. The fool, kᵉçîyl, has a trouble that is moral and spiritual. He is stubborn, he resists instruction, and he lives for what he wants at this moment, which in a farming society led quickly to want and hardship. The same contrast runs through the book, which says that the hand of the diligent makes rich (Proverbs 10:4–5) and warns against drunkenness and gluttony (Proverbs 23:20–21).

Behind the proverb stands the Bible’s teaching on stewardship. All that we have, our goods, abilities and opportunities, is a gift from God, entrusted to us to manage for his glory and for the good of our household and neighbours. Jesus teaches the same in the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14–30) and when he speaks of the builder who counts the cost before he begins (Luke 14:28–30).

“He that followeth after righteousness and mercy findeth life, righteousness, and honour.” The verb râdaph means to run after, to pursue or to chase. It is often used of chasing an enemy, and here it is used of following after a goal, so the proverb describes a person who goes after these two things on purpose and with effort.

The first, tsᵉdâqâh, is righteousness: rightness of life, justice, and conformity to God’s will in how we deal with everyone. The second, cheçed, is kindness, favour and good deeds, a word often translated “lovingkindness”. It describes God’s own faithful love, and he expected his people to show the same to one another, especially to the vulnerable. Both stood at the centre of Israel’s covenant life with the LORD, and both grow from the fear of the LORD, which is the beginning of knowledge (Proverbs 1:7).

Three things are found by the one who pursues them. The verb “findeth”, mâtsâʼ, speaks of coming upon something or gaining it. “Life”, chayyim, is a full life marked by well-being and God’s favour. “Righteousness” is the same word, tsᵉdâqâh, that named the pursuit, so the one who seeks righteousness grows in the very thing he seeks, and the word can also carry the sense of being vindicated before God and other people. “Honour”, kâbôwd, is weight, dignity, glory and a good reputation, which was highly prized in Israel and was received as God’s blessing on an upright life.

The rest of Scripture says the same. The way of the LORD is strength to the upright (Proverbs 10:29), and righteousness has its reward (Proverbs 11:18). The blessings promised to Israel in Deuteronomy 28 show the same wholeness of life, the well-being Scripture calls shalom, which comes from being right with God and neighbour. Those who seek the LORD are promised every good thing (Psalm 34:10), Jesus blesses those who hunger and thirst after righteousness (Matthew 5:6), and Paul tells Timothy to pursue righteousness, godliness, faith and love (1 Timothy 6:11).

“A wise man scaleth the city of the mighty, and casteth down the strength of the confidence thereof.” In the ancient world a city was the centre of power, trade and defence, and its strength was measured by its walls and its warriors. Taking a well-fortified city usually called for overwhelming force, a long siege that starved it out, or a very clever plan. Against that background the proverb makes a bold claim, in a culture that prized military strength: one wise man goes up against such a city and brings it down.

The wise man, châkâm, is skilful and intelligent, someone who knows how to apply truth in a real situation. “Scaleth” is ʻâlâh, the plain verb for going up or ascending. “The mighty” is gibbôwr, a powerful man, a warrior or champion, so this is a city held by fighting men. “Confidence”, mibṭâch, means a refuge or security, the thing a person trusts in. The wise man therefore does two things. He gets up into the city, and he throws down the stronghold its people were relying on, the source of their belief that they were safe.

Proverbs says elsewhere that a wise man is strong and a man of knowledge increases strength (Proverbs 24:5), and it ranks self-control above conquest (Proverbs 16:32). Ecclesiastes agrees that wisdom is better than strength (Ecclesiastes 9:16). Human power is a poor thing to rest on. Great armies and strong horses fail those who hope in them (Psalm 33:16–17), and Isaiah pronounces woe on those who go down to Egypt for help and rely on its chariots (Isaiah 31:1). God’s people trust in the name of the LORD (Psalm 20:7), and his work is done as he himself says: “Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts” (Zechariah 4:6).

“Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles.” The verb shâmar comes from a root meaning to hedge about, as with thorns, and it means to guard, protect and attend to, as a sentry guards a city or a shepherd his flock. “Keepeth” stands twice in this verse, and the repetition carries the lesson: the one who guards his speech is guarding himself. The mouth, peh, from a root meaning to blow, is the physical mouth and very often stands for speech itself. Naming mouth and tongue together covers the whole of what we say, from the first impulse to the spoken word.

What is kept safe is the “soul”, nephesh, which means the whole person and his life. What it is kept from is “troubles”, tsârâh, a word that literally means tightness or narrowness and so comes to mean distress and anguish. In Israel, where so much of life was carried on by word of mouth and a person’s standing rested on what he said, careless or malicious words could wreck a friendship, ruin a reputation or bring someone into a dispute at law.

Proverbs returns to this often. It warns of the talkative fool (Proverbs 10:8), says that death and life are in the power of the tongue (Proverbs 18:21), and promises that the one who guards his mouth preserves his life (Proverbs 13:3). James makes the bridled tongue a test of true religion (James 1:26), and Jesus says that we will give account for every idle word (Matthew 12:36–37).

“Proud and haughty scorner is his name, who dealeth in proud wrath.” In Scripture a person’s name, shêm, stands for his character and reputation, so to say that Scorner is his name is to say that this is who he is and how everyone knows him. Proverbs sets the value of a good name above great riches (Proverbs 22:1), and this man has earned the opposite.

Three words describe him. “Proud” is zêd, from a root that means to boil up or act insolently, and it describes someone arrogant and presumptuous. “Haughty” is yâhîyr, lifted up, conceited and disdainful of others. “Scorner” comes from lûwts, to scoff or deride. The scorner is a familiar figure in Proverbs. He mocks wisdom and turns on the one who corrects him (Proverbs 9:7–8), which makes him harder to help than the simple or the fool, and he stands at the far end from the fear of the LORD.

The second line tells how he behaves. “Dealeth” is ʻâsâh, the broad verb for doing or making, and what he does is “proud wrath”. “Wrath” is ʻebrâh, and “proud” here is zâdôwn, arrogance, a noun from the same root as zêd. His anger is the anger of arrogance, flaring when his ego is challenged, his authority questioned or his wishes crossed. Scripture is plain about where this leads. The quick-tempered man acts foolishly (Proverbs 14:17), a wrathful man stirs up strife (Proverbs 15:18), pride goes before destruction (Proverbs 16:18), and God resists the proud while he gives grace to the humble (James 4:6).

“The desire of the slothful killeth him; for his hands refuse to labour.” “Desire” is taʼăvâh, a longing, which can be a delight or, in a bad sense, a lust. “Slothful” is ʻâtsêl, sluggish and lazy, a settled disinclination to exert oneself. “Killeth” is from mûwth, to die, and in its causative use to kill. The second line gives the reason. His hands, which stand for his ability to work and provide, “refuse to labour”. “Refuse” is mâʼên, to refuse, and “labour” is ʻâsâh, to do or make, the same verb that stood behind “dealeth” in the verse before. The slothful man is able to work and is unwilling.

So he goes on wanting. He longs for comfort, provision and success, and his wanting, with no work to satisfy it, torments him and brings him to ruin. In Israel, where life depended on ploughing, harvest and craft, idleness threatened a whole household with poverty and hunger. Proverbs sends the sluggard to learn from the ant (Proverbs 6:6–11), shows his field overgrown and its wall broken down (Proverbs 24:30–34), and says that the sluggard who leaves his field unploughed will beg at harvest (Proverbs 20:4). The New Testament keeps the same standard. Paul ties eating to a willingness to work (2 Thessalonians 3:10), tells believers to work with their own hands (Ephesians 4:28), and asks that every task be done heartily, as to the Lord (Colossians 3:23). God made us for purposeful work, and our right desires are meant to be met through it.

“He coveteth greedily all the day long: but the righteous giveth and spareth not.” In the KJV the “He” carries on from the slothful man of the verse before, and the Hebrew ties the two verses together through the word for desire. “Coveteth” is the verb ʼâvâh, to wish for or long for, and “greedily” renders the noun taʼăvâh, the same noun as “the desire of the slothful”. Setting the verb beside its own noun strengthens the sense of craving, and “all the day long” says that it fills his waking hours. His wanting is never satisfied, and it leaves him without contentment or peace.

The righteous person is described by what leaves his hands. “Giveth” is nâthan, the ordinary word for giving. “Spareth” is châsak, to withhold, hold back or keep in reserve, and under the negative it pictures an open hand, giving that is free of fear and selfishness. One man spends the day wanting, and the other spends it giving.

The law of Moses stands behind both halves. Coveting is forbidden in the tenth commandment (Exodus 20:17), which shows that God judges the desires of the heart. Generosity to the poor is commanded just as clearly, and Israel was told to open the hand wide to a brother in need (Deuteronomy 15:7–11). Earlier in this chapter Proverbs warns the one who ignores the cry of the poor (Proverbs 21:13). It also warns against toiling to be rich (Proverbs 23:4–5) and teaches that generosity leads to prosperity (Proverbs 11:24–25). Jesus tells us to beware of covetousness (Luke 12:15), and Paul says that God loves a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:7).

How a person holds his possessions shows the state of his heart before God. Covetousness is discontent and a failure to trust God’s provision, and it becomes a form of idolatry when created things are wanted above the Creator. Open-handed giving comes from a heart that trusts God to provide and knows that everything it has is his gift.

Jesus Christ is the wisdom of God and the power of God (1 Corinthians 1:24), and each of these proverbs is fulfilled in him.

Where the fool swallows up his goods on himself, Christ spent himself for others. He laid down his life for his friends (John 15:13), he came to minister and to give his life a ransom for many (Mark 10:45), and he came so that we might have life in abundance (John 10:10).

The life, righteousness and honour of verse 21 are found in him. He is made unto us righteousness (1 Corinthians 1:30), and God’s rich mercy has made us alive together with him (Ephesians 2:4–5). In him we find everlasting life (John 3:16) and the righteousness that comes through faith (Philippians 3:9). The Spirit then enables us to walk in the righteousness we are called to pursue (Romans 8:4). The honour is to be called the sons of God (1 John 3:1) and to share Christ’s glory as joint-heirs with him (Romans 8:17).

The strongest city of all was the power of sin and death. Christ entered death itself and through death destroyed him that had the power of death, that is, the devil (Hebrews 2:14). At the cross he spoiled principalities and powers and triumphed over them openly (Colossians 2:15). His victory came by wisdom, obedience and sacrificial love.

He also kept his mouth perfectly. He was full of grace and truth (John 1:14), and when he was reviled he answered with silence and entrusted himself to the Father who judges righteously (1 Peter 2:23). James holds up the bridled tongue as the mark of a mature believer (James 3:2), and the Spirit Christ gives is the one who makes it possible.

In place of the scorner’s pride, the Son of God humbled himself. He “made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men” (Philippians 2:5–8), and he calls himself meek and lowly in heart (Matthew 11:29). He is the Word through whom all things were made (John 1:1–3), the very wisdom the scorner mocks. To those bound by pride he gives a new name in himself, and the fruit of the Spirit, which includes gentleness and self-control, takes the place of proud wrath (Galatians 5:22–23).

Where the slothful man desires and refuses to work, Jesus’ desire and his work were one. His food was to do the will of the Father and to finish his work (John 4:34), and at the end he could say that he had finished it (John 17:4). Because God works in us to will and to do, we work out our salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12–13), as a grateful answer to his grace.

And he is the righteous one who gives and spares not. Though he was rich, for our sakes he became poor (2 Corinthians 8:9). He gave his life a ransom for many (Matthew 20:28), and the Father spared not his own Son but delivered him up for us all (Romans 8:32).

These seven sayings show a God who cares about ordinary things: what is in the storeroom, what comes out of the mouth, how a temper is handled and whether hands are at work. He has ordered his world so that foresight, righteousness, mercy, restraint and generosity lead toward life, and pride and idleness lead toward ruin. That order is a kindness, because it tells us plainly where each road goes.

The passage also gives us a clear picture of two ways to live with our desires. The slothful man and the coveter are full of wanting and are never filled. The righteous person has something to give, and gives it freely, because he trusts the God who provides. Where you have treasure and oil in the house, the proverbs teach you to receive them as a trust from him.

Most of all, the passage points us to Christ, who is everything the wise man is and who gave everything the righteous man gives. The life, righteousness and honour that verse 21 promises to the one who pursues them are his gift to all who come to him, and by his Spirit the pursuit itself becomes possible.