Pro 19:3 | KingComments | STEP | The contrast in is that between “a poor man … in his integrity” and “he who is perverse in speech and is a fool”. Because of the contrast with the poor man, we can think of the fool as someone who is rich. The poor is not under the punishment of God because he is poor and the rich is not under the blessing of God because he is rich. Here the appearance is misleading. Wealth itself is not condemned. What matters is where we got it and what we do with it. The contrast is about inner worth and outer appearance. He who seems to have everything is the fool, while he who seems to have everything against him walks in his integrity and is therefore better off than the rich fool. Personal integrity, even with poverty, is far better than foolish wrongness. It all depends on one’s relationship with God. The poor person who goes his way in integrity can go that way because he goes his way with God. Therefore, in reality, he is rich. He who is perverse in speech speaks things that show that he has no relationship with God. Added to this is the fact that he is a fool, which means that he also does not want a relationship with God at all. The path he takes without God ends in death. The word “also” with which begins indicates that is connected to . A person who is diligent “without knowledge” is the fool of . Unwise and thoughtless action leads to failure. It manifests itself in one “who hurries his footsteps”, one who hastily sets out on a path to fulfill a desire. It characterizes the man who wants quick results and as much profit as possible. People who spontaneously go off on something take the wrong path and miss the mark (the word “sin” literally means “to miss the goal”). Saul was such a person ( ). There can even be diligence for God, yet without understanding ( ). This proverb reminds us that we must know the time and direction for action, otherwise diligent effort will be a futile and even wrong activity. Someone “without knowledge” places his feet on a way of sin. Diligence is good if it is for the good ( ), but it requires the knowledge of God and His will. Therefore, our diligence will have to come from fellowship with God through which we know His will. Then we will go our way in peace and at the same time with diligence. As a result, the goal will not be missed, but achieved and God will be glorified. Being without knowledge or understanding is something that characterizes especially young people who do not engage with God’s Word. They therefore lack the necessary discernment to know the value of that to which they indulge. It is only through the study of God’s Word that they – and, of course, older people as well – gain that discernment. There is no excuse for being without knowledge. We have the entire Word of God at our disposal. It is the only reliable, unchanging source of knowledge and accessible to all who want to learn. A fool, who is without knowledge ( ), twists his own way making his life a ruin ( ). And then he blames God for that too. Through his own foolishness he has twisted his way, he has given it a twist that has caused him to walk in the wrong direction. It is a path away from God. For the misery he encounters on that way, he holds God responsible. He is even furious with Him for allowing that to happen to him. This attitude has characterized man since the Fall. When Adam twisted his way and sinned, he blamed God. It was because of the wife God had given him that things had gone wrong ( ). We hear and see this today in all kinds of variations in all those situations where people do not want to be held accountable. Always it is someone else’s fault. Man does not want to give God control over his life. When he makes good decisions that turn out well, he praises himself. If he makes bad decisions with a bad outcome, God is blamed (cf. ). There is no putting his own house in order. God is not thanked that in His goodness He gives sunshine and rain and fruitful times ( ; ). But when He brings terrible plagues upon the world that man has brought upon himself, men blaspheme the God of heaven without repenting of their evil works ( ).

‏ Proverbs 19:3

The Poor and the Fool

The contrast in Pro 19:1 is that between “a poor man … in his integrity” and “he who is perverse in speech and is a fool”. Because of the contrast with the poor man, we can think of the fool as someone who is rich. The poor is not under the punishment of God because he is poor and the rich is not under the blessing of God because he is rich. Here the appearance is misleading. Wealth itself is not condemned. What matters is where we got it and what we do with it.

The contrast is about inner worth and outer appearance. He who seems to have everything is the fool, while he who seems to have everything against him walks in his integrity and is therefore better off than the rich fool. Personal integrity, even with poverty, is far better than foolish wrongness.

It all depends on one’s relationship with God. The poor person who goes his way in integrity can go that way because he goes his way with God. Therefore, in reality, he is rich. He who is perverse in speech speaks things that show that he has no relationship with God. Added to this is the fact that he is a fool, which means that he also does not want a relationship with God at all. The path he takes without God ends in death.

The word “also” with which Pro 19:2 begins indicates that Pro 19:2 is connected to Pro 19:1. A person who is diligent “without knowledge” is the fool of Pro 19:1. Unwise and thoughtless action leads to failure. It manifests itself in one “who hurries his footsteps”, one who hastily sets out on a path to fulfill a desire. It characterizes the man who wants quick results and as much profit as possible. People who spontaneously go off on something take the wrong path and miss the mark (the word “sin” literally means “to miss the goal”). Saul was such a person (1Sam 13:11-14). There can even be diligence for God, yet without understanding (Rom 10:1-4).

This proverb reminds us that we must know the time and direction for action, otherwise diligent effort will be a futile and even wrong activity. Someone “without knowledge” places his feet on a way of sin. Diligence is good if it is for the good (Gal 4:18), but it requires the knowledge of God and His will. Therefore, our diligence will have to come from fellowship with God through which we know His will. Then we will go our way in peace and at the same time with diligence. As a result, the goal will not be missed, but achieved and God will be glorified.

Being without knowledge or understanding is something that characterizes especially young people who do not engage with God’s Word. They therefore lack the necessary discernment to know the value of that to which they indulge. It is only through the study of God’s Word that they – and, of course, older people as well – gain that discernment. There is no excuse for being without knowledge. We have the entire Word of God at our disposal. It is the only reliable, unchanging source of knowledge and accessible to all who want to learn.

A fool, who is without knowledge (Pro 19:2), twists his own way making his life a ruin (Pro 19:3). And then he blames God for that too. Through his own foolishness he has twisted his way, he has given it a twist that has caused him to walk in the wrong direction. It is a path away from God. For the misery he encounters on that way, he holds God responsible. He is even furious with Him for allowing that to happen to him.

This attitude has characterized man since the Fall. When Adam twisted his way and sinned, he blamed God. It was because of the wife God had given him that things had gone wrong (Gen 3:12). We hear and see this today in all kinds of variations in all those situations where people do not want to be held accountable. Always it is someone else’s fault.

Man does not want to give God control over his life. When he makes good decisions that turn out well, he praises himself. If he makes bad decisions with a bad outcome, God is blamed (cf. Eze 18:25). There is no putting his own house in order. God is not thanked that in His goodness He gives sunshine and rain and fruitful times (Mt 5:45; Acts 14:17). But when He brings terrible plagues upon the world that man has brought upon himself, men blaspheme the God of heaven without repenting of their evil works (Rev 16:9-11 ; 21).