Text: 10 Whoever winks the eye causes trouble,
but a babbling fool will come to ruin.
11 The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life,
but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.
12 Hatred stirs up strife,
but love covers all offenses.
13 On the lips of him who has understanding, wisdom is found,
but a rod is for the back of him who lacks sense.
14 The wise lay up knowledge,
but the mouth of a fool brings ruin near.
Our brief text provides a biography of evil and good. The righteous grow up in wisdom, while the fool grows to master evil schemes. The fool becomes artists of evil. They design everything without thought to the consequences of their actions. Their words start fires around them. Even their very bodily gestures and movements communicate evil. We see this in verses 10: “Whoever winks the eye causes trouble, but a babbling fool will come to ruin.” He is a troublemaker, and everyone around him knows it. Fathers and mothers keep their kids away from him.
What does he do? He winks his eye. He is not being cute or playful. Literally, he is “compressing the eye.” That is, he is meditating on what evil to do next. He is a restless schemer.[1] He stays up late at night strategizing. He doesn’t greet his wife or children; he rushes to his room to plot the next thing. He gives his approval to every societal and cultural evil. But there is a corresponding backlash.[2] It boomerangs back to him. Every evil word or idea comes back to haunt him.
In verse 11, we are back to the antithetical lines: “The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.”
Solomon says four things are a fountain of life: “…the teaching of the wise (13:14); honoring Yahweh (14:27); wisdom (16:22); and the mouth of a righteous person.” St John says: “Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” “The heart is the core of what you are and who you are. Our words will reveal what is really there in our hearts in the long-run.”[3] If you want to live life manufacturing an impression of who you are, eventually, you will be found out. St. James says: “The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell.” Is it that bad? Are the consequences of our words that earth-shattering? They absolutely are. Our speech needs to be brought under the Lordship of Christ. Our speech needs to be like fresh clean water bringing life wherever it travels. That’s why societies must return to good etiquette and norms, especially between guys and girls.
Verse 13 says: “On the lips of him who has understanding, wisdom is found, but a rod is for the back of him who lacks sense.” Here’s a literal translation to clarify the pairing: “On the lips of the discerning is found wisdom, on the back of a fool, the rod.” The two results: wisdom and a rod.
In our denomination, I think of men like Pastor Mickey Schnider, Randy Booth, Douglas Wilson; men who love and speak wisdom. Wisdom flows from their tongues like a flowing stream of pure water. But have you ever looked at someone’s back and expected it to talk to you? Of course not. That is absurd. Solomon says that when the fool speaks, it is as if his back were speaking. Nothing comes out of it that is beneficial, discerning, or good. What happens to this person? He accumulates so much foolishness that foolishness begets a beating. Foolishness becomes an addictive sport. As Matthew Henry puts it, “(The fools) are preparing rods for themselves, the marks of which will be their perpetual disgrace.”[4]
On the other hand, verse 14: “The wise lay up knowledge, but the mouth of a fool brings ruin near.” We saw this in verse 10, which says that the babbling fool will come to ruin. He can only talk his way into things for so long, but then it all comes back to bite with a vengeance.
I think if there is something the book of Proverbs makes abundantly clear is the idea of building up and accumulating. We see this pattern in Genesis when God says to the first human beings created: “Have dominion over all things.”[5] This is a pattern throughout the Scriptures. We see this in verse 14. It says: “…the wise lay up knowledge.” Literally, “the wise store up or build up knowledge.” This is what it means to have dominion: it means to build up and store up. Dominion is a long-term project. But what’s the purpose of this storing and building? Everything we gain and everything we have is for others. The wealthy Christian does not grow in possession simply for his own satisfaction and pleasure; no, God gives to him so he may bless and bring peace to others. In the same manner, we see this pattern with wisdom. We are called to have dominion over wisdom. The unbeliever uses his intellect and knowledge for selfish gain, but the believer stores up knowledge so that he not only has sufficient provisions for himself but a supply for others as well.”[6] He is always seeking wisdom. He is asking questions of grown-ups. Succession is the heart of his pursuit. We store wisdom by listening and learning, reading and writing, communing and caring, forgiving one another, and forsaking the company of the fool.
We accumulate wisdom so that others may benefit. The pursuit of wisdom is a succession plan. It is built up to be given to.
[1] Richard Clifford, Proverbs’ commentary.
[2] Bruce Waltke, Commentary on Proverbs.
[3] Professor David McKay.
[4] Commentary on Proverbs found in Bible Works 10.
[5] Genesis 1.
[6] Steve Wilkins.
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