Pro 21:23 | KingComments | STEP | “The city of the mighty” thinks she is invincible ( ). She relies on the strength of her mighty. But “wisdom is better than strength” ( ). It is more effective to use wisdom than to rely on strength ( ). A wise man, because of his wisdom, is able to scale that city in spite of the mighty in it and bring down the stronghold that it was believed could not be brought down ( ). The stronghold is brought down because people trust in it. That makes the difference with wisdom. Wisdom is stronger than self-confidence and reliance on human resources because wisdom relies on God. Indeed, fearing God is the beginning of wisdom. Only through the power of God that accompanies wisdom is the wise able to scale a city of the mighty. Prudent tactics and wise application of courage win out over mere muscular strength and skillful use of weapons. Thus Joshua took Ai ( ) and Gideon defeated the great army of the Midianites with a small army ( ). The power of the enemy is broken by those who trust in God. The same is true in the spiritual struggle. Every stronghold of human, God-hostile thinking is overthrown and cast down by those who are guided by the Spirit of God and the Word of God ( ). Another victory is that over the mouth and the tongue ( ). He who guards his mouth and his tongue, has control over them, avoids getting into trouble. The wise one knows the time to be silent ( ). The loose tongued one quickly gets into troubles. He has run his mouth and said something no one should know or he has been too quick in passing judgment on someone. This causes him opposition and sometimes even enmity. He is blamed for saying it. People who have control over their mouth and tongue think before they say anything. They are not likely to get into social or legal trouble because of a wrong remark (cf. ). Therefore, it is good to think of things that are true, honorable, right, pure, lovely and of good repute ( ) and say those things, while avoiding anything false, hurtful and harmful to others.

‏ Proverbs 21:23

The Wise Conquers and Guards Himself

“The city of the mighty” thinks she is invincible (Pro 21:22). She relies on the strength of her mighty. But “wisdom is better than strength” (Ecc 9:16). It is more effective to use wisdom than to rely on strength (Ecc 7:19). A wise man, because of his wisdom, is able to scale that city in spite of the mighty in it and bring down the stronghold that it was believed could not be brought down (Ecc 9:14-15).

The stronghold is brought down because people trust in it. That makes the difference with wisdom. Wisdom is stronger than self-confidence and reliance on human resources because wisdom relies on God. Indeed, fearing God is the beginning of wisdom. Only through the power of God that accompanies wisdom is the wise able to scale a city of the mighty.

Prudent tactics and wise application of courage win out over mere muscular strength and skillful use of weapons. Thus Joshua took Ai (Jos 8:3-22) and Gideon defeated the great army of the Midianites with a small army (Jdg 7:7). The power of the enemy is broken by those who trust in God. The same is true in the spiritual struggle. Every stronghold of human, God-hostile thinking is overthrown and cast down by those who are guided by the Spirit of God and the Word of God (2Cor 10:3-5).

Another victory is that over the mouth and the tongue (Pro 21:23). He who guards his mouth and his tongue, has control over them, avoids getting into trouble. The wise one knows the time to be silent (Ecc 3:7). The loose tongued one quickly gets into troubles. He has run his mouth and said something no one should know or he has been too quick in passing judgment on someone. This causes him opposition and sometimes even enmity. He is blamed for saying it.

People who have control over their mouth and tongue think before they say anything. They are not likely to get into social or legal trouble because of a wrong remark (cf. Pro 13:3). Therefore, it is good to think of things that are true, honorable, right, pure, lovely and of good repute (Phil 4:8) and say those things, while avoiding anything false, hurtful and harmful to others.