Proverbs 29, verses 12 to 14, of rulers and poor people

 

Proverbs 29:12 ¶ If a ruler hearken to lies, all his servants are wicked.

Chief executives who surround themselves with fawning sycophants will listen to lies and follow through on what they are told. Their advisors are wicked and their only value is to pump up the chief’s ego. This verse has shown itself throughout the history of kings, prime ministers, and presidents. A leader who has a vision no matter how poorly it lines up with the facts or with responsible government will surround himself with people who will reinforce that vision. He will receive false intelligence because he wants to receive false intelligence. He has no regard for the truth, only his own glory or the justification of his own worldview. The counselors and advisors he puts in positions of influence around him are only there to validate his personal convictions, not to tell him the truth.

The wicked servant will see which way the wind is blowing, what the desires of his boss are, and then provide himself as a cheerleader for those desires in order to gain advantage with his leader. Nations with a large, bloated bureaucracy are particular susceptible to opportunists who know just how to spoon feed their masters’ egos in order to rise above the pack. A leader over wicked servants like this can become more and more distant from reality and truth as he never hears it. He only hears what he wants to hear and anyone offering a position counter to his own will be excluded from his inner circle of advisors.

I suspect a few of our own presidents have been like that just by how they violated their own promises to the people in sayings like, “he kept us out of the war,” and “your sons will not fight in another war in Europe,”, and “the US can’t be the world’s policeman anymore” that were ignored when push came to shove. It is true that some events are thrust on a chief executive but also true that some events become excuses to justify actions that were planned far ahead in spite of promises, not in good faith, and “out of trust.”

It is important to remember that this Proverb would have been addressed to kings and rulers under God’s authority in the Kingdom of Israel. This is a comment on the rule of the so called faithful although this Proverb can be applied to any level of government or business.

 

Proverbs 29:13 ¶ The poor and the deceitful man meet together: the LORD lighteneth both their eyes.

The contrast here is between the poor and the deceitful rich man, the usurer who charges interest to the poor (Exodus 22:25; Leviticus 25:36; Ezekiel 8, 13, 17: 22:12), the oppressor (Proverbs 22:22; Amos 4:1; Zechariah 7:10; James 2:6.) Notice the use of deceit by parallel phrasing in the following verses.

Micah 6:10 Are there yet the treasures of wickedness in the house of the wicked, and the scant measure that is abominable? 11 Shall I count them pure with the wicked balances, and with the bag of deceitful weights? 12 For the rich men thereof are full of violence, and the inhabitants thereof have spoken lies, and their tongue is deceitful in their mouth.

The implication here is regarding the man who gains his wealth by trickery, particularly taking advantage of and preying on the poor.

God is the only one who can enlighten the minds of both the victim and the victimizer. Salvation for the just and the unjust, the evil and the good, the poor and his oppressor can only come through Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit of God opens up the eyes of the poor man and the rich to their need for salvation, to the wickedness of their hearts, and whether or not in this wicked world system you are the bug or you are the windshield you desperately need Christ before you die and “split Hell wide open” entering therein.

We can understand the deceitful and crooked going to Hell but the point is that being the poor victim doesn’t mean you get a pass in eternity. Both types of people must be saved or spend eternity in agony indescribable and regret unending.

Proverbs 22:2 The rich and poor meet together: the LORD is the maker of them all.

 

Proverbs 29:14 ¶ The king that faithfully judgeth the poor, his throne shall be established for ever.

Matthew Henry said that the rich can afford to defend themselves but the ruler of any nation must defend the poor. The chief executive, the government, however a nation’s leadership is arranged, has an obligation to see to the needs of the weakest of their subjects. Rulers are called upon to be impartial in judgment.

Leviticus 19:15 Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honour the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour.

Several times in Job, he trumpets his own mercy and care for the poor. Psalms, chapter 10 talks specifically about the wicked’s behavior toward the poor.

Psalm 41:1 «To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.» Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the LORD will deliver him in time of trouble.

Those people who are poor and disenfranchised God spends a great deal of time talking about in the Old Testament. In the previous chapter of Proverb, Solomon said,

Proverbs 28:15 As a roaring lion, and a ranging bear; so is a wicked ruler over the poor people.

God here literally promises a Hebrew king that his throne will be established for ever if he faithfully judges the poor. In the following verse Daniel, speaking to Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, offers a similar sentiment.

Daniel 4:27 Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by shewing mercy to the poor; if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity.

In a literal sense this verse is applicable to the Lord Jesus Christ who will return and rule for a thousand years physically on earth before history itself ends. That was the belief of the early Christians and that is what the Bible clearly states in Revelation, chapter 20 after Christ assumes control of all earthly nations as per Revelation 11:15.

 

“The apostles were apparently unanimous in believing that Christ would soon return to establish the Kingdom of Heaven on earth.” (Will Durant, Caesar and Christ, The Story of Civilization, Volume 3 (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1944), 575.

In the first three centuries of the Christian era Chiliasm, or Millennialism, was the predominant view stating the belief that the Lord Jesus Christ would return to rule from earth for 1,000 years between human history’s end and eternity’s beginning.

Christians believed it was “at hand” (Philippians 4:5; 2 Thessalonians 2:2; Revelation 22:10), a phrase that means “will happen quickly” (Deuteronomy 32:35) and is near (Jeremiah 23:23), yet, just as they missed the need for Christ to suffer, die, and be risen (Isaiah 53; Psalm 22; Hosea 6:2; Matthew 16:21-23; Mark 9:9-10) they missed the fact that 1,000 years is but a day to the Lord or a watch in the night (Psalm 90:4; 2 Peter 3:8), and if 2,000 years pass before He returns what is that to God (Ecclesiastes6:6)?

Christ’s reign will be with an iron rod (Psalm 2:9; Revelation 2:27) but just and fair. All through the Old Testament the command to treat the poor humanely, with mercy, and with generosity is laid out which one reading of the Psalms will show you in too many verses to present here. The righteous king, of whom Christ is the most righteous of all, will be and is merciful to the poor. His reign begins with a thousand years but His reign will be for ever.

Revelation 11:15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.