Meditationen am Gnadenstuhl—Proverbs 20:7-12 Life & Conduct Ia

Thursday, February 9, 2023

Proverbs 20:7–12

[7] The righteous who walks in his integrity—

blessed are his children after him!

[8] A king who sits on the throne of judgment

winnows all evil with his eyes.

[9] Who can say, “I have made my heart pure;

I am clean from my sin”?

[10] Unequal weights and unequal measures

are both alike an abomination to the Lord.

[11] Even a child makes himself known by his acts,

by whether his conduct is pure and upright.

[12] The hearing ear and the seeing eye,

the Lord has made them both. (ESV)

Life & Conduct Ia

v.7 The person who believes and confesses his sins has been forgiven by God and therefore declared righteous for the sake of Christ’s death on the cross. This person then strives, through the power of the Holy Spirit, to live according to God’s ways. This is what “who walks in his integrity” means. The blessings he receives also benefit his children, who learn God’s ways from him (Exodus 20:4-6). See Proverbs 13:22, which tells us that grandchildren benefit from the wisdom of their grandparents as well.

v.8 A king is described in this verse as sitting in the position of the judge over his subjects. His vocation in this position is to distinguish the criminal from the innocent and to administer punishment to the wicked. The word "winnowing" refers to the harvester's fork used to separate the grain from the chaff (see Psalm 1). This is a description of an ideal judge and a warning to those who would consider giving fraudulent testimony in court.

v.9 This proverb poses a rhetorical question. It reminds us that all people are sinful. Only God’s grace declares us righteous (justification) and makes us holy (sanctification). See the words of Jesus in Matthew 7:1-5, particularly verse two: “For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.”

v.10 This verse warns us to "not put our thumb on the scale." Using inaccurate weights and measures (or, in modern terms, a deceitfully calibrated scale for the purpose of selling less than what your customer pays for) is a business practice condemned by God from ancient times (see Proverbs 20:23 and Amos 8:5). While cheating people by deceit in order to make more profit may not be easily detectable by the customer or even human authorities, God sees it and will judge it accordingly. The application of this proverb can run deeper than simply fraudulent commerce practices. Since it comes immediately after the question posed in verse nine, it may also speak to God's knowing when we hypocritically use a different measure of sin for ourselves than we do for others. God’s stand is perfection (Matthew 5:48), which he gives to His people by grace alone (Romans 12:2; Ephesians 4:13; Colossians 1:28; James 1:4).

v.11 This is a proverb directed at parents, though it applies to everyone. Parents are to observe their children's behavior and thus see where and how they need to cultivate God-pleasing conduct. Similarly, while humans cannot see into the hearts of others, good conduct is often a reliable indicator of what is in a person's heart.

v.12 God designed the human senses to allow us to interact with His created world and each other. They should be used for His service and for His glory. Only the gracious action of the Holy Spirit can enable sinful humans to hear and believe God's Word and to see the redemptive work God has accomplished for the salvation of all (see Isaiah 6:9–10; Matthew 13:9–17).