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Scoffers set a city aflame,

    but the wise turn away wrath.

Proverbs 29:8 ESV

This verse reminds me of the experience of Paul in Thessalonica and Berea in Acts 17. Paul and Silas entered the synagogue in Thessalonica and reasoned with them for 3 sabbaths (17:2). Their teaching resulted in a number of people (Jews and Greeks) believing. “But the Jews were jealous, and taking some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd” (17:5). In other words, the city was aflame because of the scoffers.

Paul and Barnabas slipped out of Thessalonica by night (17:10) and headed to Berea. Eventually, word got back to the Jews in Thessalonica that Paul and Silas were teaching in Berea, “they came there too, agitating and stirring up the crowds” (17:13).

On a smaller or more localized scale, scoffing can set a home or family aflame. Thus, the warning is equally valid. Derision, mocking, and sarcasm are typical signs of scoffing. So it makes sense that a home or city could be set aflame when scoffers have a sense of freedom to scoff. If this is you, beware.

“take away the wicked from the presence of the king,

    and his throne will be established in righteousness.”

Proverbs 25:5 ESV

This verse seems to be aimed at those who advise and inform the king. In other words, the king should surround himself with godly people, people who seek righteousness. Imagine a world in which the world leaders were advised toward godliness rather than the typical global power plays so common today.

Then, imagine a world in which we surround ourselves with those who would advise us toward godliness. It’s easy to say the king should surround himself with such advisors. It’s another thing to think we need the same. But we do.

Who surrounds you by your invitation?

If you say, “Behold, we did not know this,”

    does not he who weighs the heart perceive it?

Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it,

    and will he not repay man according to his work?

Proverbs 24:12 ESV

This is an admonition to tell the truth and a warning for not doing so. While we may be able to deceive other people, this proverb warns us by way of two questions, that the Lord knows. When we practice deception, we are saying one of two things: God doesn’t see us OR God doesn’t care. Neither is true.

Apply your heart to instruction

    and your ear to words of knowledge.

Proverbs 23:12 ESV

In this verse, the writer implores us to give our heart to instruction, to set our affections upon godly instruction or wisdom. How should we get that instruction? The writer answers that in saying, “[apply] your ear to words of knowledge.” We need to actively listen to godly instruction. We could summarize this verse as follows: “Set your affections on the godly instruction you hear.” Or we could simply borrow the wording of Proverbs 7:1, “My son, keep my words and treasure up my commandments with you.”

While the scriptures do not implore us to be ignorant about the world and the things in it, the priority is to be wise, to first and foremost know and treasure God. Jeremiah 9:24 says it this way, “but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.”

The rich and the poor meet together;

    the Lord is the Maker of them all.

Proverbs 22:2 ESV

How often do we size up those people around us, say for example at an amusement park as we wait in line for the ride. In such a setting, have you ever looked at an obviously poor family and wondered, “My heavens, how did they even afford the tickets much less the $6 bag of cotton candy?” Our culture evaluates the relative value of people on a variety of criteria, but wealth is one of the significant considerations.

Here, the writer makes the point that before the Lord, rich and poor have the same intrinsic value since God made them both. I’m not greater than that guy because I have more money than he does. And I’m not lesser than that guy because he has more money than I. However, that is not to say that God doesn’t distinguish between us. God focuses on non-physical considerations. In other words, God looks on the heart. For example,

Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity

    than a rich man who is crooked in his ways.

Proverbs 28:6 ESV

This is a reminder to me to examine myself more closely in terms of my heart than my bank account.