Proverbs 14

Peter J. Leithart, April 14, 2006

INTRODUCTION
As Waltke points out, the opening verses of chapter 14 are chiastically arranged:

A. Wise, Fool, walk, vv. 1-2
B. Speech, v. 3
C. Industry, v. 4
B'. Speech, v. 5
A'. Wise, fool, go/walk, vv. 6-7.

Waltke notes that the first part of the arrangement highlights connections between wise speech and productivity, two of the key elements of wisdom throughout the Proverbs.

WISE AND FOOLISH WOMAN
The first verse describes a woman building a house, alluding to the wise woman who builds and arranges her house in 9:1. In 9:1, the woman who builds the house is Wisdom herself, and the linkage with 14:1 suggests that the wise wife is an embodiment of feminine Wisdom. The choice presented to the son in the first 9 chapters of the book is a choice between Wisdom and Folly, but 14:1 shows that this choice is not a disembodied spiritual decision. The choice between Lady Wisdom and Lady Folly presents itself in real life as a choice of companions, a choice of career paths, a choice of counselors and teachers. Above all, though, the choice between Wisdom and Folly presents itself as a choice of women, the need to choose a prudent, wise wife.

The son of the Proverbs is being trained to make that choice, and parents, especially fathers, need to train their sons as Solomon did his son. Fathers must teach their sons wisdom, so they can recognize a wise woman when they see one, and desire the wise woman who is, like Wisdom herself, more precious than rubies.

14:1 emphasizes how important this choice is. The state of the house – not, obviously, just the architectural house, but the whole household – depends on the wisdom and folly of the wife. A wise woman will build up, improve, adorn her house in every way; a wise woman will raise children diligently, maintain good order in the home, assist her husband in his calling, give her husband sound advice, manage the wealth of the house carefully, and so on. In all these ways, she is building her house. A foolish woman does the opposite: She is negligent or overly harsh in discipline, too lazy to do keep the house running, demands her own way instead of seeking the good of her home, spends the money of the house badly. A man who chooses a foolish woman is doing damage to his whole life, and a man who chooses a wise woman will be blessed.

Proverbs 14:1 also has redemptive-historical significance. Yahweh chose Israel to be the keeper of His house, but Israel proved a foolish woman and tore down her house rather than building it up. On the other hand, Jesus is the wise Son whose bride has been given His Spirit to build a house rather than destroying it.

UPRIGHT AND CROOKED
14:2 is a straightforward contrast of the upright and the crooked, but the point of the Proverb is to trace this contrast in the way of life to a basic orientation of the heart. Ethics cannot be separated from our relationship with God, and the upright are upright because at their root they are God-fearers; the crooked by their crookedness display their contempt for God. Profession is not what displays what is in the heart; professions may and often are disingenuous. What shows the tree is the fruit. What shows the heart is the path taken in life – the straight path of the righteous, or the labyrinthine ways (note the plural in v. 2b) of the wicked.

The direction of the observation in 14:2 is striking: Solomon does not reason from the heart to the path; he does not say, "A man who fears Yahweh will walk straight." Rather, he reasons from the path to the heart: "A man who is upright fears Yahweh."

It should be noted too that Solomon is not engaging in some kind of naturalistic ethic here. The root of the upright walk is fear of Yahweh, the covenant God of Israel. And the root of the crooked is hatred for the same God, Yahweh, the covenant God of Israel. By using the covenant proper name of God, Solomon emphasizes the personal character of our walk. Our walk is not determined by our attitude toward laws or rules or even "divine transcendence" in general. Our walk is determined by our attitude toward the living God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Jesus. Whether the wicked believe it or not, their way in life is shaped by hatred for their Creator.

TONGUES AND RODS
The orientation of the heart is displayed in our walk (v. 2), but also in the tongue (v. 3). The tongue can dissemble, but that dissembling is itself a sign of a crooked heart that despises the Lord.

In 14:3, Solomon reflects on the self-destructive speech of the fool, vividly describing the fool's tongue as a rod that will beat him. (Picture that.) The fool is his own worst enemy, provoking hatred and anger by his words; stirring up strife by his tongue; alienating and separating himself from people, and turning others away, by his lips. His lips produce no fruit, but only a barren rod, good for nothing but discipline. On the other hand, wise speech offers protection: Their soft answers turn away anger; the sweet fruit of their lips nourishes others and wins them over; they are peacemakers with their tongues.

The last phrase of v. 3a is translated as "for his back" in the NASB but the Hebrew means "of pride." The fool's tongue is a rod of pride. This means, first, that the fool uses his tongue proudly, talking arrogantly and self-confidently about things he is wholly ignorant about, and, second, that his tongue brings beatings on him for his pride. The more he talks out of pride, the more his pride gets beat, but the folly of the fool is such that he keeps on trying to talk his way out of beatings and wins only more beatings.

PRODUCTIVITY AND WASTE
Verse 4 is a witty proverb about labor and productivity. Waltke points out the chiastic structure of the verse: The ox is mentioned at the beginning and end, and the consonants of the two words "clean" and "increase" are in reverse order in Hebrew (BAR and ROB). Solomon’s point is that it's possible to avoid clutter, dirt, waste, and mess if you don't use an ox. It's possible to keep your barn in a condition of museum-like order and cleanliness. But preserving that state of cleanliness does not lead to much productivity. Oxen make a mess (like children), and have to be constantly cleaned-up-after. But the benefits of having the ox far outrun the costs in messiness disorder.

This proverb has dozens of specific applications, beyond the economic realm that is overt. A church can maintain good order and peacefulness, but as soon as the church begins to move and act and do something, there is waste and dirt to clean up. A house can be kept in pristine condition, but not if you want to live in it. In every case, you can avoid clutter only if you are willing to forgo a harvest.

WITNESSES
Verse 3 concentrated on the consequences of wise and foolish speech, but verse 5 concentrates on the character of the speaker. As noted above, the tongue manifests what is on the heart. A faithful man can be depended upon to give true witness, but a false man, an unfaithful man, will spread lies. This seems sheer tautology – of course, a liar lies – but Solomon’s point is that the liar's lies manifest something basic about the person, that his heart is disordered.

FOOLS LEARNING AND TEACHING
Verses 6-7 deal with the fool's relation to wisdom from two angles. Verse 6 teaches that a scoffer – the proud man who thinks himself superior to everyone and everything, who mocks and belittles everyone else – cannot learn. He may give some show of seeking wisdom, but he will be unable to find it. Only a man of humility and understanding will find wisdom. This is the aporia of wisdom: You must pursue wisdom wisely to find it.

Verse 7 points to the other side of the fool's lack of wisdom: Not only is he incapable of being taught; he is incapable of teaching. If you want to hear words of wisdom you need to go out from a fool and seek someone else as your teacher.