Context No. 3550 of 4322 · Proverbs

Proverbs 20:17-30: in context

17Fraudulent food is sweet to a man, but afterwards his mouth is filled with gravel. 18Plans are established by advice; by wise guidance you wage war! 19He who goes about as a tale-bearer reveals secrets; therefore don’t keep company with him who opens wide his lips. 20Whoever curses his father or his mother, his lamp shall be put out in blackness of darkness. 21An inheritance quickly gained at the beginning won’t be blessed in the end. 22Don’t say, “I will pay back evil.” Wait for the LORD, and he will save you. 23The LORD detests differing weights, and dishonest scales are not pleasing. 24A man’s steps are from the LORD; how then can man understand his way? 25It is a snare to a man to make a rash dedication, then later to consider his vows. 26A wise king winnows out the wicked, and drives the threshing wheel over them. 27The spirit of man is the LORD’s lamp, searching all his innermost parts. 28Love and faithfulness keep the king safe. His throne is sustained by love. 29The glory of young men is their strength. The splendor of old men is their gray hair. 30Wounding blows cleanse away evil, and beatings purge the innermost parts.

This cluster of proverbs holds several threads, and one shines clear: do not say, I will pay back evil; wait for the LORD, and he will save you. When we are wronged, the instinct is to repay it, but wisdom says leave the vengeance to God and wait for him to set things right in his own way and time.

Alongside it is a searching image: the spirit of man is the lamp of the LORD, searching all his innermost parts. God's light reaches into the hidden depths of a person, into thoughts and motives no one else can see; nothing in us is dark to him. And there is comfort as well as challenge in this. The God who searches our inmost being is the same God who directs our steps, for a man's steps are from the LORD. So we can leave vengeance in his hands, live honestly under his all-seeing gaze, and trust him both to direct our path and to deliver us in his own good time rather than snatching at justice ourselves.

When I am wronged, do I wait for the LORD rather than repaying evil myself, living honestly before the God whose lamp searches my inmost being and who directs my steps?

Sources

Proverbs 20:22: "Don't say, I will pay back evil. Wait for the LORD, and he will save you."
Proverbs 20:27: "The spirit of man is the LORD's lamp, searching all his innermost parts."
Proverbs 20:24: "A man's steps are from the LORD; how then can man understand his way?"