Proverbs 29:8 commentary; when the scornful rule

8 ¶ Scornful men bring a city into a snare: but wise men turn away wrath.

The scorner is linked to the wicked man in Proverbs 9:7. He is the opposite of the wise man by contrast in the following verse. He doesn’t listen to rebuke in Proverbs 13:1. Even when he looks for wisdom he can’t find it in Proverbs 14:6. He won’t go to the wise for advice and he doesn’t like people who correct him as per Proverbs 15:12. He is proud and haughty; arrogant, and his wrath, his constant anger, is a reflection of his immense pride as well. See 21:24. In Proverbs 22:10 we see that he’s the cause of contention and strife and reproach and when he’s kicked out all of that goes with him. In 24:9 he thinks sinful, foolish thoughts and he’s an abomination to men.

When scorners rule, a city or a nation are in deep trouble. Democracies tend to be ruled by the men who can afford to run for office, by the elite, highly educated, proud, and arrogant. They have no problem sending someone else’s children to die for their failed diplomacies. They have no problem causing someone else’s children to be killed for their own personal plans or prejudices. Their main concern is not how they spend the money the state extorts from its citizens in the way of taxes on virtually everything but air but how they can dupe the public enough to get them reelected. The system is set up that way and attracts those kinds of people.

The Scriptures say;

Daniel 4:17 This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.

Satan himself said to Jesus;

Luke 4:5 And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6 And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.

The 19th century viewpoint among Christians was predominantly postmillennial. They were going to bring in the kingdom of heaven on earth without Christ physically present but with them ruling in his place much like the Catholic Church believed it had been doing for 1500 years. That view began to die out when the horrors of World War One and Two’s total war showed them that mankind was perhaps not capable of building a better world. 150 million dead and displaced in the 20th century knocked a hole in the “Glory, glory, hallelujah, His truth is marching on” crowd’s belief in a perfect world run on Christian principles.

The fact is that Satan is the god of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4) and rules over the kingdoms of this earth, including the USA, until Christ returns to take control (Revelation 11:15). The best we can pray for now, besides Christ return, is that we can push and pull the government into occasionally doing right and holding it accountable for its actions. But, it is important to not fall into the postmillennialist trap of believing that mankind himself will do what God has said he will not and like Lorenzo Dow, famed 19th century evangelist, believe that the very creation of America was the fulfillment of prophecy as the stone in Daniel that smote the feet of the world’s great powers and then grew to be a great mountain that covered the whole earth. This blasphemy was common place until the 20th century’s wakeup call.

Scornful, wicked rulers ensnare a nation. We need a wise man and wise men to run the country. God’s wrath is on the nations of men.

Jeremiah 10:10 But the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation.

Some people try to pretend that the world is a wonderful place full of beauty, knowledge, wonderful architecture, arts, learning, and goodwill. But, you can dress a pig up in an evening gown and makeup and it’s still a pig. In reality, the only thing that separates us from savages in New Guinea is some nifty looking buildings.

Of course, our culture can hardly help the decay it is experiencing because of who we hold aloft as admirable and worthy of respect.

Psalm 12:8 The wicked walk on every side, when the vilest men are exalted.

With scorners in power in either party, perhaps God’s wrath has not come down full on America because there are still a few wise men and women who know what a Bible actually is and believe it and keep praying for mercy for the America that is today’s Babylon.