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The fool: the fool makes several appearances in this book. He is a liar, deceitful, hateful, a slanderer (Proverbs 10:18), mischievous (Prov. 10:23), a servant to the wise (Prov. 11:29) and deluded (Prov. 12:15). Worst of all because he is not even aware that he has a problem, he shows his folly openly (Prov. 13:16). Unfortunately, for the same reason, it is fruitless to try to correct him (Prov. 23:9). The foolish man is constantly contrasted with the wise man (Prov. 10:8). The foolish man is the man David wrote about in Psalm 1 — he walks in ungodly counsel, stands in the way of the sinner, and seats in the seat of the scornful. Being foolish or being called a fool was such a strong term that Jesus warned us that the punishment for calling our brother a fool is condemnation to hell fire (Matt 5:22). Finally, we find that the root of the fool’s problem is a heart condition in the book of Psalms, chapter 14:1. Therefore, there is hope for the fool: come to Jesus and find wisdom.
The poor man: The poor man is identified as someone who is at a disadvantage. He is not in a desirable or enviable position (Proverbs 10:15). He is unpopular (Proverbs 14:20). He may be responsible for his own state of affairs (Proverbs 10:4). The Word of God tells us to treat him with mercy (Prov. 14:21), to give to him (Prov. 19:17, 22:9). God hears the cry of the poor (Prov. 21:13). The poor man is better than the foolish man (Prov. 19:1). However, poverty is not a condition to be satisfied with, because it can cause us to sin (Prov. 30:9). We can escape the plight of the poor by being diligent (Prov. 10:15), by not indulging in pleasure (Prov. 21:17), by being generous (Prov. 11:24) and by being hardworking (Prov. 20:13). However, Proverbs 13:23 shows us that though a poor man works hard, the enemy is constantly battling against him to take what he has away from him. However, Jesus has a great promise for the poor in Luke 6:20. He promises them the Kingdom! This brings us to the final character in our study. The good king: This character appears several times in this book, he is an influential man. He is powerful, wise, wealthy, a judge (Prov. 16:10), merciful and truthful (Prov. 20:28). He does not surround himself with wicked men (Prov. 25:5) and is a defender of the poor (Prov. 29:14). Under the rule of this king, the poor man can thrive, because the king does not tolerate wickedness (Prov. 20:26). Jesus is the King of kings. He has made us kings and priests unto our God (Rev. 1:6). You want to know what your responsibility is as a king? Read the book of Proverbs, and you will know what is expected of you. We are called to reward the diligent (Prov. 22:29), love righteousness (Prov. 16:13) and favor the wise (Prov. 14:35). We have profiled three characters from the book of Proverbs. We all at one time were poor and foolish because we did not know God and were under the oppression of the devil. Thank God for Jesus, who came and made us rich by becoming poor (2nd Corinthians 8:9) and established us as kings (Rev. 1:6). Take up your mantle as a king today and go out and administer justice and righteousness for others in Jesus’ name (Luke 4:18)! |
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