Articles
Proverbs and the “King”
“A divine decision is in the lips of the king;
His mouth should not err in judgment.
A just balance and scales belong to the LORD;
All the weights of the bag are his concern.
It is an abomination for kings to commit wicked acts,
For a throne is established on righteousness.
Righteous lips are the delight of kings,
And he who speaks right is loved.
The fury of a king is like messengers of death,
But a wise man will appease it.
In the light of a king’s face is life,
And his favor is like a cloud with the spring rain.
(Prov 16:10-15)
The statements in the book of Proverbs often appear to be arranged in the most random possible order. However, one occasionally finds a group of proverbs clustered together that all deal with the same topic. This section in Proverbs 16 is one such grouping, giving a series of proverbs about the “king.” In the first part of this grouping, God gives his expectations for the king himself (16:10-12). The king needs to have a mouth that does not err in judgment. He must also not commit wicked acts. While it is really forbidden for anyone to act wickedly, the ruler of the people gets singled out particularly for his need to have superior character. After all, “a throne is established on righteousness.” There is no question that God cares how leaders speak and act, even in the secular realm, and that wicked speech and actions are viewed as “an abomination.”
In passing, it is interesting to note that a proverb about “just balances” is in the middle of these two statements (16:11). At first glance, this appears to be off-topic. However, careful contemplation will help us realize that the proverb is still relevant to the overall subject of rulers. Of course, it is axiomatic in the ancient world that the “king’s weight” was usually the basic standard that was set for buying, selling, and trading goods (cf. 2 Sam 14:26). The king was the one who determined what a “shekel” was. But in addition to that, there is something about being the merchant with the weights that gives one a degree of power over those he did business with. Just as the kings are forbidden from using their “divine” position to abuse others by words or actions, so also the merchant even is forbidden from using his power to cheat customers for an advantage. Just as the Lord is concerned about the administrative matters of the kingdom being done according to justice, he is also concerned about the “weights of the bag,” which must likewise be just and fair.
In the second part of this grouping, God begins speaking more about the relationships that citizens ought to have with their king (16:13-15). Just as the king is required to have an unerring mouth in judgment (16:10), so also the citizen ought to have “righteous lips” (16:13). In fact, this passage strongly encourages people to maintain good relationships with their king, and cautions against the folly of upsetting him too much. The wise man is not the one who makes the king angry and incites him to wrath, but rather the one who works to appease the king (16:14). Furthermore, if the king is pleased with you, his favor is described as the “spring rain.”
Other proverbs address this subject as well. The king, as a rule is seen as favorable towards the wise servant, while wrathful towards his shameful servant (Prov 14:35). His wrath is compared to a roaring lion, while his favor is compared to dwe on the grass (Prov 19:12). Anyone who dares provoke the wrath of the king is said to “forfeit his own life” (Prov 20:2). The king is a friend to the one whose speech is gracious (Prov 22:11).
Perhaps it is the culture we live in. But I observe that Americans (even Christians!) will often see their constitutional “freedom of speech” as a license to speak wickedly of others, and especially of their rulers. It’s easy to be cynical towards a government that appears inept at addressing our personal concerns or making things the way we think they should be. It is also easy to join in the criticisms and the mockery that others make of the government—criticisms that may not always be as justified as we might initially think. Some may think the advice of Proverbs outdated. After all, we don’t have “kings” today. Furthermore, the rulers we do have are legally prohibited from prosecuting us for insulting them. So how relevant is such wisdom today really?
Of course, if we think long enough, we might remember that we as Christians are bound by a higher law than the constitution—one that says we ought to love our neighbor as ourselves. We might also remember that Paul implied in Romans 13 that this love extended even to the governing authorities. And while we may be compelled to point out the sins they commit in their unjust rulings, we must always take care that our criticism never passes into the realm of unrighteous judgment. As was the case in Proverbs, so it is now. If we want our rulers to be honest, just, and fair, we ought to start by being honest, just, and fair towards them ourselves.
