Verses 1-5
v1 A wicked person runs away, even if nobody is chasing him.
But good people are as bold as lions.
v2 A country of evil people has many rulers.
But with one wise ruler, a country has security.
v3 A strong, poor man might cheat weak, poor people.
He is like a storm that destroys their crops.
v4 People that do not obey the law praise wicked people.
But people that obey the law oppose wicked people.
v5 Evil people cannot understand the word ‘fair’.
But people that respect God are always fair.
Commentary
A wicked man has a bad conscience. And he does not trust God. So a wicked man has no hope for the future. And he is afraid of many things.
But the good man has a good conscience. He trusts God. The good man is not afraid that he might lose his money. He knows that God will provide. The good man is not even afraid of death. God will take the good man to heaven when the good man dies. So the good man has courage. See Daniel 3 and Matthew 6:25-34.
An evil country has many rulers. This is because evil people hate each other. So they oppose each other and they fight for power. Such a country is never at peace.
But a good country has one ruler. The people respect their ruler. And the ruler is fair. So that country is a good place to live.
Sometimes a poor man becomes powerful. But he might not use his power fairly. He might be very cruel. He does not remember that he is like the other poor people. He thinks that he is better than them. So he cheats them. He acts as if they are his slaves.
If you respect the law, then you do not want evil people to succeed. You want to stop their evil plans. If their evil plans succeed, then everybody will suffer. And other people will not respect the law.
Especially, the police should oppose the plans of wicked people.
Evil people do not know how to be fair. They do not even see why someone should want to be fair. But if you respect God, you will be fair with everybody.
Verses 6-12
v6 It is better to be honest and poor than to be rich and evil.
v7 If you obey the law, then you are a wise son.
But if you are greedy, you cause shame to your father.
v8 One man charges excess interest (money for a loan). He becomes wealthy.
But his money will pass to someone else. And that person will be generous to poor people.
v9 God hates even the prayers of a man who will not obey God’s law.
v10 If a man plots against good people, he will suffer from his own evil scheme.
But a good person will receive good things.
v11 A rich man might think that he is wise.
But a poor man who is wise knows the truth about that rich man.
v12 When good people succeed, everybody is glad.
When wicked men become powerful, men will hide themselves.
Commentary
Perhaps you can become rich by an evil method. Perhaps you can get more money if you lie to people. Or perhaps you have another evil scheme to increase your wealth.
But your evil deeds will ruin your relationship with God. See Isaiah 59:1-2. People can do many terrible things for money (1 Timothy 6:10).
So do not allow money to tempt you. A poor, honest man is better than a rich, evil man.
Money does not tempt everybody. Food and drink can tempt some people. In the second line, the son upsets his father. This is because the son only wants to eat. This son is greedy. And he does not care about other things. He does not even care about God’s law.
This wealthy man is an evil man. He lends money. But he does not charge fairly. So he obtains a big income. And the people who are in debt will suffer. (See Exodus 22:25.)
But, in the end, the wealthy man will die. Perhaps his son will be generous. And perhaps his son will care about poor people.
As we earn our money, we should be fair. We should not cause other people to suffer. And we ourselves should be generous to poor people.
An evil man refuses to obey God’s law. And even his prayers are evil. Perhaps he prays that his evil plans will succeed. Or perhaps he prays to an evil god. The true God hates these prayers. So God will not answer this man’s prayers.
A man may have evil plans against good people. But God cares about good people. God will not allow evil plans to succeed. Instead, the evil man will suffer from his own evil schemes.
This rich man thinks that he is wise. He thinks this because he is wealthy. So he supposes that he is wiser than other people.
But the poor man who is wise knows the truth about the rich man. This poor man knows why the rich man is wealthy. This rich man is wealthy because he cheats poor people. If the rich man were wise, he would respect God. And he would respect God’s law. So this rich man cannot be wise.
Some wise people are rich. But many wise people are poor. And a poor person who is wise is better than a rich fool.
We want good people to succeed. We want good people to be in the government. And we want our rulers to serve God. Then our country will be a good country.
But if wicked people are the rulers, then the country is a bad place. The law is not fair. Everybody suffers.
So we should pray for our rulers.
Verses 13-17
v13 Do not pretend that you are innocent.
You cannot succeed if you pretend this.
Instead, confess your evil actions.
God will forgive you if you stop your evil behavior.
v14 God is kind to people who respect him.
But a man who refuses to change will suffer many troubles.
v15 A wicked man may rule over weak people.
He is like a cruel lion or an angry bear.
v16 A cruel ruler lacks wisdom.
But a ruler who refuses bribes (secret gifts) or unfair profits will have a long life.
v17 A murderer must always run away from people.
Nobody should assist him.
Commentary
This is a very important lesson. You must confess your evil deeds to God. You must invite God into your life. God will forgive you, because of Jesus. You cannot stop your evil behavior by your own efforts. But God will help you. Trust God now! Do not delay!
If you respect God, then God will help you. And you will become wise (Proverbs 1:7).
But some people refuse to obey God’s message. They do not invite God into their lives. They continue their evil deeds. They do not want God to help them. The Book of Proverbs calls these people ‘fools’. God will be their judge. And he will punish them for their evil deeds.
Lions and bears are strong animals. They attack. And they kill.
A wicked ruler is like these animals. He does not care about his people. He only cares about himself. He will attack his own people. He will even kill his own people. And the people are weak, so they cannot defend themselves.
A ruler should not be cruel. He should not attack his own people. If he does, he is not wise. A ruler needs his people to protect him from his enemy.
The ruler’s own people hate a cruel ruler. So this cruel ruler is stupid.
A wise person is honest. He does not cheat. He does not steal money. He is fair with everybody. And God will help that honest person. The honest person will have a good life.
A murderer has a bad conscience. So he is afraid of people. At any time, they could guess what he has done. A murderer knows that he deserves punishment. His actions are very evil.
God’s law says, ‘Do not murder!’. So do not help a murderer to escape.
But God can forgive even a murderer. But the murderer must confess his evil deed. And he must humbly ask God to forgive him.
Verses 18-22
v18 An honest man will be safe.
An evil man will suddenly suffer.
v19 A farmer who works hard will have plenty of food.
A lazy man’s imagination will only make him poor.
v20 If you can trust a man, that man deserves a rich reward.
But a man who only wants money deserves a punishment.
v21 Always be fair!
But some people will obey an evil request, even if their reward is a mere sandwich.
v22 A greedy man is eager to become rich.
He does not realize that his attitude will make him poor.
Commentary
The honest man is safe because God protects him. God sees the man’s honest behavior. And God loves that man.
But sometimes, honest people suffer. See the Book of Job in the Bible. God allowed the devil to test Job. Job’s friends thought that Job suffered because of his evil deeds. But Job was an honest man.
God is a fair judge. He cared about Job. God did not rescue Job immediately. Job was patient. But in time, God helped Job. And in time, God will rescue everyone who loves God.
But an evil man will suffer. This man might not suffer immediately. But God is a fair judge. And in time, God will punish that man. And the punishment will be sudden. So the evil man must not delay. He must invite God into his life now. God will forgive the evil man if the evil man humbly confesses his evil deeds to God.
Do not be lazy! Do not continue to sleep when you should work! You might prefer to imagine good things. You might not want to work. But your imagination cannot provide your food. So you need to work.
Some church leaders imagine that their churches will achieve many things. They speak about their ideas. But they do not want to work. They do not want to teach God’s message. They do not care about people who are not Christians. Perhaps these church leaders do not even invite people to come to their churches. They only want to enjoy themselves. And they only want to imagine good things. Such attitudes are not good.
Church leaders need to work. They must not be lazy. Then their ideas might become reality. And many people will hear God’s message. See John 4:34-38 and Matthew 28:18-20.
You can trust the first man. So pay him well! Christians should behave like this man. Other people should be able to trust a Christian.
But the second man only wants your money. He wants the money, but he does not care about the work. So he is not careful. He does not do the job well. And he does not deserve the money. Instead, he deserves a punishment.
As Christians, we should not love money (1 Timothy 6:10). And we should not love our possessions. We should love God. And we should love to do the right things.
A good person is always fair. But some people do not care whether their actions are good or evil. They only want money. Or they only want a reward. And if someone rewards them, they will do anything. They would even do evil things.
A sandwich is not a big reward. But even such a small gift is enough to persuade some people to do an evil deed.
This man is greedy. He does not want to share anything with other people. He supposes that this attitude will make him rich. But his scheme is stupid. He needs friends, but he will lose his friends. They will hate his attitudes. And the greedy man will waste his own possessions. And God will punish this man because the man is not generous. So the greedy man’s scheme will fail. And he will become poor.
Verses 23-28
v23 It is better to correct a man than to pretend that he is right.
v24 A man steals from his parents.
He says, ‘I deserve this money!’
He is as bad as the worst thief.
v25 The greedy man causes arguments.
But the man that trusts in God will succeed.
v26 If you trust yourself, then you are a proud fool.
If you are wise in God’s ways, then you will be safe.
v27 If you are generous to poor people, then you will always have enough for yourself.
But if you avoid poor people, then you will suffer many insults.
v28 When wicked men become powerful, people must hide.
When wicked people fail, good people succeed.
Commentary
We all need to know the truth. We need to know when we are wrong. We need to accept words of correction. These words may not seem pleasant. We might feel terrible when we hear these words. We might prefer to hear that we are right. But a lie does not help us.
This man ought to provide for his parents. He should look after them. See Mark 7:9-13. Instead, the man steals his parents’ money. And he imagines that he deserves the money. This is terrible. This man is a very evil son.
Jesus told a story about a similar subject in Luke 15:11-24. A young man took his father’s money. This son wasted all the money. But he returned to his father. And he confessed his evil deed to his father. The father forgave him.
The father in the story is like God. And the son is like us. We all do evil things. But if we humbly confess our evil deeds, God will forgive us.
If you love your own possessions, you cause trouble. So trust God! He will protect you. And he will provide for you.
Do not trust yourself! Trust God! You will become wise if you trust God. And you will be safe because God will protect you.
God wants us to be generous. If we are generous, then God will help us.
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