Let’s take our Bibles together and turn to the Book of Proverbs. We come today to a new section of this book—Collection III. This is a smaller Collection (Prov 22:17–24:22) than the previous two (Collection I—Prov 1–9; Collection II—Prov 10:1–22:16). We’re only going to spend the next three weeks looking at Collection III. And as we’ll find out in just a moment, this Collection is made up of thirty sayings. 

Some of you may be familiar with the famous pastor, Jonathan Edwards, who started a revival in New England in the eighteenth century with his famous sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” What you might not know is that Jonathan Edwards wasn’t just a pastor, he was also one of the greatest theologians that America ever produced. And Edwards started early in life. When he was just 19 years old, he wrote out 70 resolutions for his life that he held to all the way till his death. You can read those resolutions online. 

Let me just give you a taste. Edward wrote the following—this is Resolution 5: “Resolved, never to lose one moment of time; but improve it the most profitable way I possibly can.” Here’s Resolution 14: “Resolved, never to do anything out of revenge.” Here’s Resolution 36: “Resolved, never to speak evil of any, except I have some particular good call for it.” Here’s Resolution 10: “Resolved, when I feel pain, to think of the pains of martyrdom, and of hell.” Can you imagine being 19 years old and making 70 life-long resolutions like that? That’s impressive!

Well something like that is taking place in Collection III of Proverbs. As we’ve seen already, Proverbs is a book written for the instruction (primarily) of young men. And Proverbs 22:20, at the beginning of this Collection, says that there are thirty sayings in this section of Scripture. You might as well call these thirty resolutions for young people to commit themselves to. 

In the next three weeks, I’m going to walk you through all thirty. And today I’m going to walk you through the first eleven. 

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Here we go. Write them down! The first resolution is this. 

1) Always be attentive to wisdom (22:17–21)

Solomon says in verse 17.

17 Incline your ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply your heart to my knowledge, 

18 for it will be pleasant if you keep them within you, if all of them are ready on your lips. 

This is not unlike what we’ve seen already in Proverbs. Solomon is telling his audience to listen up. Incline your ear. Apply your heart. Put these words on your lips. The word for “within you” can actually be translated “belly.” So these wise words go into your ear, into your heart, into your belly, and then back out again through your lips. When wisdom gets ahold of you, it gets your whole body.  

You might say, “Why wisdom? Why do we need this? Why should we care? Why should we be attentive to wisdom?” Well, look at verse 18, “it will be pleasant if you keep them within you.” 

But also, look at how Solomon gets vertical in verse 19 like he often does. This is not just about improving your horizontal relationships with other people. This isn’t only about the pleasantness of wisdom. This is about knowing and fearing the Lord.

19 That your trust may be in the Lord, I have made them known to you today, even to you. 

20 Have I not written for you thirty sayings of counsel and knowledge, 

There’s that reference to “thirty sayings” in verse 20. If you look through Collection III (Proverbs 22:17–24:22), you will find thirty sayings of proverbial wisdom. Like I said, we’ll go through all thirty of them in the next three weeks.

And why did Solomon write these? Why should we embrace them? Look at verse 21.

21 to make you know what is right and true, that you may give a true answer to those who sent you? 

Interestingly, if you do any research on these thirty sayings, you’re going to find parallels in other ANE literature. For years, scholars have commented on the link between Collection III of Proverbs and the writings of Amenemope, an Egyptian sage. That shouldn’t surprise us. Solomon was familiar with the Egyptian world. He even married an Egyptian princess (see 1 Kgs 3:1)! And he even says in verse 18, “Incline your ear, and hear the words of the wise.” 

Verse 18’s “the wise” includes other ancient sages like Amenemope. Solomon is, in a sense, collating the common grace wisdom of the ancient world. And he’s bringing them under the broader rubric of the “fear of the Lord” as the key to wisdom. 

But Solomon also says in verse 18, “and apply your heart to my knowledge.” And he says in verse 20, “Have I not written for you thirty sayings.” In other words, there might be parallels with other ANE writers with what we find here. But these words are the words of Solomon. And as we know theologically, these words are the words written by the Holy Spirit through his human instrument, Solomon (2 Tim 3:16–17; 2 Pet 1:21), for God’s people… “to make [us] know what is right and true…”

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Write this down as a second resolution to live by. The first is “Always be attentive to wisdom.” The second resolution is…

2) Don’t rob from the poor (22:22–23)

How basic is this? Solomon says in verse 22. 

22 Do not rob the poor, because he is poor, or crush the afflicted at the gate, 

23 for the Lord will plead their cause and rob of life those who rob them. 

There’s the Lord again in verse 23. But this is not trusting the Lord or fearing the Lord for our own advantage. This is putting yourself on the opposite side of the Lord. This is making yourself an enemy of the Lord. You don’t want to do that. How do you do that here? You oppress the poor.

The Hebrew word for “rob” here is the verb גָּזַל (gā·zǎl). It could be translated “seize.” This is not the word for “steal” that is used in the Ten Commandments. “Thou shalt not steal” (Exod 20:15, KJV). That word is גָּנַב (gā·nǎḇ). That Hebrew word גָּנַב has to do with stealth and with thievery unbeknownst to the victim. The Hebrew גָּזַל is more right out in the open. You blatantly and brazenly take something from someone else in broad daylight. Or you openly cheat someone out of their income. This is a reference to overt injustice. 

“Who would do that, Pastor Tony?” Well, lots of people. I’ve spoken already about employees who steal time from employers. But sometimes employers deceive and cheat their employees out of what’s rightfully theirs. And sometimes the rich get richer on the backs of the poor. Solomon says here, “Be careful that you are never that person, because the Lord will plead their cause. And you will get your comeuppance.”   

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Here’s a third resolution. “Don’t rob from the poor.” Also…

3) Don’t entrust yourself to hotheads (22:24–25)

Look at verse 24. 

24 Make no friendship with a man given to anger, 

Literally this says, “Don’t make friends with ‘an owner of nostrils.’” You want friends who have long nostrils. You want friends who are slow to anger.  

24 Make no friendship with a man given to anger, nor go with a wrathful man, 

Literally a “man of heat.” In other words, a “hothead.” Don’t become friends with a hothead. Why not? Why shouldn’t we befriend someone like that or entrust ourselves to someone like that? Here’s why. Look at verse 25.

25 lest you learn his ways and entangle yourself in a snare. 

Some of you grew up in environments where anger was normative. Some of you had an angry dad or an angry mom that you couldn’t wait to get away from. That’s beyond your control. But friendship is something that you can control. Beware of the company you keep.  

You might say, “But shouldn’t we evangelize the lost, Pastor Tony? Shouldn’t we dine with sinners and tax collectors like Jesus did (e.g. Matt 9:10–17; Mark 2:15–22; Luke 5:29–39)?” Yes, I think we should. But let me just give you two cautions in regard to that. First of all, “You ain’t Jesus.” Jesus was sinless and impervious to the sin of others. We aren’t. We’re impressionable. 

And secondly, to the extent that you can influence others without being influenced, go for it. Eat with sinners. Hang out with unbelievers, even angry unbelievers. Do your darndest to evangelize them. But make sure that “influence” is going the right direction. 

I’ve seen a handful of Christians who overestimate the influence they are having on others. And they say that they are spending time with sinners in order to evangelize them, only to find out later that the unbelievers had more influence on them then they had on the unbelievers.  

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Write this down as #4. 

4) Don’t obligate yourself for another’s debt (22:26–27)

Solomon says in verse 26, 

26 Be not one of those who give pledges, who put up security for debts. 

27 If you have nothing with which to pay, why should your bed be taken from under you? 

I mentioned earlier how Solomon may have drawn from other ANE wisdom for this section of Scripture. Well, this statement about giving pledges is uniquely Solomonic. It’s a uniquely Hebrew ethical principle. And the principle is pretty basic—don’t obligate yourself for another person’s debts. 

And verse 27 qualifies the principle. If someone comes to you with a need, just give generously what you can afford. Generosity is an outworking of wisdom. 

But don’t obligate yourself with money you don’t have. That’s unwise. Let me say it this way, don’t cosign another person’s debts as an act of charity or generosity. That might give you a warm feeling in your heart, but you might end up having your possessions taking from you. That won’t give you a warm feeling in your heart!

I had a conversation with an older woman once who was asked by her grandson to pay her bail bond. This was after she had bailed him out a couple times before. And this time, she flatly told him, “No! You got yourself into this mess. You get yourself out of it.” She didn’t have money to bail this person out of jail anyways. Yes, love is compassionate. And yes, love is generous. But sometimes love must be tough. 

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Write this down as #5. 

5) Don’t remove boundaries cavalierly (22:28)

Solomon says in verse 28, 

28 Do not move the ancient landmark that your fathers have set. 

Now this one requires a little historical context. When the Israelites entered the Promised Land, Joshua apportioned the land to all the tribes and families (Josh 14–19). This was not an arbitrary process. This was done with the full backing of the Lord. It was as if the Lord had given out the land to all the people by divine fiat. So you don’t mess with those boundaries! I imagine that if God had given you and your neighbor’s property by divine fiat, you would probably be more hesitant to move your fence line over a few inches.

And this isn’t entirely clear in the OT, but there must have been boundaries established by landmarks. Statements concerning that show up repeatedly in the OT. And to move those landmarks was an act of defiance to the God of the Universe. Even the king couldn’t do that! 

In fact, one of the most reprehensible moments in Israel’s history is when King Ahab confiscated the land of a man named Naboth, and took his vineyard (1 Kgs 21:1–29). This was viewed as a wicked act of treachery, instigated by the infamous Queen Jezebel, who maneuvered to have Naboth killed. Even the king and queen were supposed to respect ancient boundaries! 

So, that was then. Let’s talk about now. How does this apply in today’s world? Well, as a matter of principle, we need to respect the traditions passed down to us by our fathers. And to the extent that those traditions square with Scripture, we should uphold them. I think it’s a mistake to just cavalierly disregard the things that we have received from those who have gone before us. 

And I say that as a Protestant. I say that as a person who wholeheartedly agrees with what the Reformers did in breaking with the Catholic church. They didn’t do that without a whole lot of thinking and a whole lot of trepidation. They certainly weren’t cavalier with their actions. 

It’s discouraging in our day how people seem to be racing as fast as they can to jettison everything that our country and our churches have stood for in the past. That is a mistake. Do we need to reassess some things? Yes. Do we need to hold onto traditions that are wrongheaded? No. But why are we in a hurry to burn down everything to the ground that was passed down to us? 

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Write this down as #6. 

6) Always be diligent in your work (22:29)

Here’s a positive resolution in place of a prohibition. I know that most of these are written as prohibitions. Don’t do this. Don’t do that. I’m not trying to be negative with this. I’m just following the contours of the text. I’m saying “don’t” because Solomon says repeatedly, “don’t.” And prohibitions are important. It’s not an accident that most of the Ten Commandments are written as prohibitions. 

But here’s something a little different. Look at verse 29.

29 Do you see a man skillful in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men. 

We’ve spent some time in Proverbs laughing and commenting on the sluggard. And rightfully so, because the sluggard is hilarious. But the book of Proverbs doesn’t just condemn laziness; it also commends the diligent. And here’s an example of that. Solomon commends hard work and skillful craftsmanship.

And here’s the implication of this proverb for us. Everyone in this room should find work, and give themselves to that work. Find a skill! Find a craft that God has given you, and give yourself to that work. And work hard at it, whether that’s as a homeschool mom or an emergency room doctor. Work hard whether you are a teacher, a programmer, a police officer, a plumber, a carpenter, an engineer, an entrepreneur, a butcher, a baker, or a candlestick maker.

You might say, “But Tony, I’ll never stand before kings with my ‘skill.’” Actually, you will. Actually, you do! Colossians 3:23–24 says, “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.”

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Write this down as #7. 

7) Don’t let envy consume you (23:1–3)

This is a fun one. Look at chapter 23, verse 1, 

1 When you sit down to eat with a ruler, observe carefully what is before you, 

2 and put a knife to your throat if you are given to appetite. 

3 Do not desire his delicacies, for they are deceptive food. 

Why are they deceptive? Because you’re not a ruler. And you don’t need them. Can you enjoy them? Yes. But this isn’t a proverb condemning the joy of eating delicacies. There are other Proverbs where joy is encouraged. This proverb is about “envy.” 

And here’s why I say this. The word for “desire” in verse 3 is the word אָוָה (ʾā·wā(h)). It’s the same word used in Deuteronomy 5 for the reiteration of the Ten Commandments: “And you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. And you shall not desire [אָוָה] your neighbor’s house, his field, or his male servant, or his female servant, his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s” (5:21). 

It’s also the word used in Numbers when the Israelites were craving meat (Num 11:4, 34). If you remember, the Israelites were given “manna” (“what is it?”) in the wilderness. But they were tired of “manna.” And they craved (אָוָה) “meat.”

Similarly, you have here a person who sits down to eat with a ruler. And Solomon is saying here, “Don’t covet his morsels. Don’t desire his delicacies.” “Take a knife to your throat if you do!” That’s hyperbole.

Can you enjoy the food? Yes. Can you admire the wealth and the goodies of someone else? Yes. But don’t envy them. 

And there’s probably a secondary reason for why he shouldn’t desire these delicacies. But we’ll get to that in a moment with Resolution #9.

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Write this down as #8. 

8) Don’t destroy yourself trying to get rich (23:4–5)

One of the reasons that you shouldn’t envy another person’s delicacies, is because envy will consume you and you will wear yourself out to get rich. Look at verse 4.

4 Do not toil to acquire wealth; be discerning enough to desist. 

5 When your eyes light on it, it is gone, for suddenly it sprouts wings, flying like an eagle toward heaven. 

There are two implicit reasons why you should moderate yourself in the pursuit of wealth. The first admonition has to do with your physical and spiritual health. You might kill yourself trying to acquire stuff.

And the second reason has to do with the fleeting nature of riches. They are here today and gone tomorrow. The stock market is up one day, and it’s down the next. That six-figure job that you were going to retire with disappears when the company orders mandatory layoffs. 

Does that ever happen in our world? Yes. I’ve got family that worked for Enron back in the day. My grandad was a West Texas oilman. You better believe that can happen. One minute you’re living high on the hog, and the next day you’re eating the pods of the pigs. 

“Should we build wealth, Pastor Tony? Should we work hard and climb the corporate ladder? Should we start businesses and excel in this world?” Sure! Go for it. But keep the caution of this passage in the back of your mind. 

And remember, nobody ever says on their death bed, “I wish I’d spent more time at the office.” What do they say? They say, “I wish I’d had more balance in my life.” They say, “I wish I’d spent more time with family.” They say, “I wish I’d spent more time investing in people.”

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Write this down as #9. 

9) Don’t dine with a stingy schemer (23:6–8)

This is nuanced from Resolution #7. The situation is very similar. But the principle is slightly different. Look at verse 6. 

6 Do not eat the bread of a man who is stingy; do not desire his delicacies, 

That statement “do not desire his delicacies” is the same as verse 3. But this is not a nondescript ruler. This is explicitly a “man who is stingy.” Literally, in Hebrew, this reads, “Do not eat the bread of an evil eye (רַע עָיִן).” That’s a metaphor for an ungenerous person. If you’ve got a “good eye” (טֹוב־עַיִן [22:8]) in Hebrew thought, that means you’re generous. 

But if you’ve got an “evil eye” (רַע עָיִן), that means that you are a miserly, tightfisted Ebenezer Scrooge. So when Ebenezer Scrooge invites you to dinner, don’t accept. Don’t desire his delicacies. Why not? 

Look at verse 7. 

7 for he is like one who is inwardly calculating. “Eat and drink!” he says to you, but his heart is not with you. 

8 You will vomit up the morsels that you have eaten, and waste your pleasant words. 

By the way, the Hebrew word for “vomit” here is the same word that is used of the fish that vomited up Jonah onto dry land (Jonah 2:10). Also the land of Canaan vomited its sinful inhabitants out, and the Lord threatened to do the same to the Israelites if they disobeyed his statutes (Lev 18:25–28; 20:22).

Here’s the principle that Solomon is laying down for us in this passage. Solomon is saying that when Ebenezer Scrooge invites you to dinner, he isn’t wining and dining you out of the generosity of his heart. He’s buying something. He’s calculating. He’s seducing you with his fine food and fine wine and conversation. And you are nothing but a mark. So don’t go. Don’t be his patsy. 

I heard Chuck Colson tell a story once about how he would seduce evangelicals at the White House. If you don’t know who Chuck Colson is, he was part of Richard Nixon’s cabinet. And he was a trusted adviser to the president. And he got sent to prison for his part in the Watergate scandal. And while he was in prison, he got saved. And he became an outspoken Christian. He even started a ministry to prisoners called “Prison Fellowship.”  

But I heard Colson talk about his “B.C. days” (the days before he came to Christ), and when he was in the White House, he was the person that Nixon chose to influence the evangelical vote. So Colson would bring these evangelical leaders into the White House. And he would show off the furniture. And he would walk them through the hallowed halls of that great American monument. And he’d take them to the Oval Office when the President wasn’t there. 

And he would schmooze them. And by the time he was done with them, they were like putty in his hands. He could make them say or do anything. He would send them back to their churches, and they would do whatever he wanted them to do. And he said (to my everlasting chagrin) that Christian leaders were the easiest types of people to manipulate. That infuriated me.  

Colson told that story later in life as a warning to evangelical leaders—don’t be duped by fancy dinners and manipulative schemers. Don’t let them compromise your convictions. I’ll never forget that. 

There’s a famous expression that goes like this, “Know which side your bread is buttered on.” Have you ever heard that before? People use that expression to say, “You better bow the knee to those who pay the bills.” And I remember early on in my ministry I told the Lord, “I never, ever want to give up my convictions. I never want people to say of me, ‘Well I guess he knows what side his bread is buttered on!” I never wanted to be that kind of ministry leader. And God has honored that commitment and that conviction in my heart.

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Write this down as #10. 

10) Don’t waste your words on a fool (23:9)

I’ll be quick with this one. Solomon says in verse 9, 

9 Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, for he will despise the good sense of your words.

That is the OT equivalent to “Do not cast your pearls before swine.” You might say, “Swine! What an awful thing to say. That triggers me. Who would say such a thing?” Well, Jesus said that (see Matt 7:6). So you can take that up with him. 

Listen, there is stewardship with your time and with your money. That’s clear in Scripture. But you know what else? There is also stewardship with your words. Don’t waste time on unteachable people. Don’t waste your words discipling those who don’t want to be discipled. And don’t waste your words evangelizing those who scorn the gospel. Pray for them instead. Pray that God would change their hearts. 

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Finally #11.  

11) Don’t take benevolence from the needy (23:10–11)

Verse 10 says this: 

10 Do not move an ancient landmark or enter the fields of the fatherless, 

11 for their Redeemer is strong; he will plead their cause against you. 

This is an interesting combination of Resolution #2 (“Don’t rob from the poor”) and Resolution #5 (“Don’t remove boundaries cavalierly”). Again context is helpful here. In ancient Israel, you would have intentional set-asides for the poor, the widow, and the fatherless. We see that in the way that Ruth was allowed to glean the fields in places where she didn’t plant (see Ruth 2:1–23). 

Unfortunately in our society, wherever there is benevolence, there’s also almost assuredly fraud. We send aid to foreign nations to feed the poor, and it gets hijacked by dictatorial overlords. We send money to non-profit organizations, and the leaders of those organizations embezzle funds or use them inappropriately to buy a private jet. 

That doesn’t always happen. Don’t hear me as a cynic. But it does happen. And I wish I could tell you that every time there’s corruption in our world it gets addressed by the powers-that-be. You know and I know that’s not always the case. 

For the record, let me say I’m glad we have law enforcement in our world. I’m glad we have the FBI. I’m glad we have the DEA. I’m glad we have Homeland Security. But sometimes justice isn’t appropriated properly in our world. 

And that’s why we need reminders like verse 11. Even when justice is overlooked in our world, it is not overlooked by the God of the Universe. And Solomon uses a fascinating word here for the Lord. He uses the ancient word גֹּאֵל (“Redeemer”). This is the word that is used of Boaz in the book of Ruth. He’s the גֹּאֵל, the kinsman-redeemer. 

To redeem in Hebrew thought means to buy back or more crassly to make that which is wrong, right. And the warning here for those who take advantage of the weak, or harass the destitute, is that you will answer to God for that. And the redeemer will make that which is wrong, right! If that sounds like a threat, it is! 

So don’t get between God and the vulnerable. Why bring God’s wrath upon your life? There’s plenty of ways to make money and build wealth apart from preying on the poor. And even if you have to stay poor, that’s better than stealing benevolence from the needy.

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You might say, “What about the other thirty sayings, Pastor Tony?” Well, come back next week and we’ll tackle another batch of them. 

You might say, “What about the gospel, Pastor Tony? Resolutions are not the gospel. And we are not saved by ‘resolutions!’” Touche. 

No, we are not saved by resolutions. We’re saved by grace. And if you’ve looked through these eleven things and said to yourself, “Failed with that! Messed up that! Haven’t done great with that!” Look, I’m not here to cast stones at you. I’m here to say, as a fellow sinner, we are saved by grace not by works. So embrace the grace of God and his salvation made possible through Jesus Christ. 

But ipso facto, ex post facto… in other words after the fact of your salvation… then you can embrace these resolutions as a way to maximize your life as a follower of Christ. Don’t do these things to earn Christ’s favor; you already have that! Do it as an act of worship. Live a life that is surrendered and pleasing to the Lord, because Christ has saved you from your sin.