The Man Of Understanding Overcomes Adverse Circumstances And Enjoys A Life Of Pleasantness Whilst The Fool Continually Experiences Trouble (Proverbs 15:14-21).
This subsection is in an inclusio concerning understanding and folly (Proverbs 15:14; Proverbs 15:21). The understanding seeks knowledge (Proverbs 15:14) and makes straight his going (Proverbs 15:21), the fool feeds on folly (Proverbs 15:14), and enjoys it because he lacks wisdom (Proverbs 15:21). Indeed his folly is the only enjoyment the fool gets for he is afflicted and experiences evil days (Proverbs 15:15); he experiences trouble (Proverbs 15:16); he experiences hatred (Proverbs 15:17); he experiences contention (Proverbs 15:18); his way is strewn with thorn bushes (Proverbs 15:19); and he has family problems (Proverbs 15:20).
In contrast the understanding have a cheerful heart (Proverbs 15:15); fear YHWH (Proverbs 15:16); experience love (Proverbs 15:17); avoid strife (Proverbs 15:18); walk a smooth path (Proverbs 15:19); and enjoy a happy family life (Proverbs 15:20).
Note how the first four verses in the subsection all have to do with eating, either directly or indirectly. Thus the mouth of the fool feeds on folly (Proverbs 15:14); the cheerful heart has a continual feast (Proverbs 15:15); it is better to have a little with the fear of YHWH (Proverbs 15:16); and a dinner of vegetables with love is better than a fatted calf with hatred (Proverbs 15:16), with three of them indicating that the understanding can triumph over their physical circumstances (Proverbs 15:15-17). The next three verses then indicate that the righteous can, as a consequence of righteousness, have a life of pleasantness, one that is void of strife (Proverbs 15:18); is like walking on a highway (Proverbs 15:19); and enjoys glad parenthood (Proverbs 15:20). All this is the difference that having understanding makes.
The subsection can be presented chiastically:
A The heart of him who has UNDERSTANDING seeks knowledge, but the mouth of fools feeds on FOLLY (Proverbs 15:14).
B All the days of the afflicted are evil, but he who is of a CHEERFUL heart has a continual feast (Proverbs 15:15).
C Better is little, with the fear of YHWH, than great treasure and trouble with it (Proverbs 15:16).
D Better is a dinner of herbs, where love is, than a fatted ox and hatred with it (Proverbs 15:17).
D A wrathful man stirs up contention, but he who is slow to anger appeases strife (Proverbs 15:18).
C The way of the sluggard is as a hedge of thorns, but the path of the upright is made a highway (Proverbs 15:19).
B A wise son makes a GLAD father, but a foolish man despises his mother (Proverbs 15:20).
A FOLLY is joy to him who is void of wisdom, but a man of UNDERSTANDING makes straight his going (Proverbs 15:21).
Note that in A the heart of the one who has understanding seeks knowledge, and the fool feeds on folly, and in the parallel the man of understanding makes straight his going (as one who seeks knowledge), whilst the unwise love folly. In B the ‘man of cheerful heart' is parallel with ‘the glad father'. In C the unrighteous experience trouble, and in the parallel the sluggard meets up with thorns. Centrally in D love and hatred in the first proverb are paralleled by being slow to anger and being contentious in the second proverb.
‘The heart of him who has understanding seeks knowledge,
But the mouth of fools grazes (feeds) on folly.'
In Proverbs 15:11 the ‘hearts' of men were known to YHWH, and in Proverbs 15:13-14 something about those ‘hearts' is revealed (note the repetition of ‘heart'). Here now we have a further revelation concerning the heart of man thus connecting this subsection with the last. Here it is the heart of one who has understanding, one who is wise (wisdom and understanding were regularly paralleled in the Prologue). And such a heart seeks the true knowledge of God. The truly wise man will want to know God and His ways, for nothing is more important to a person than this. ‘A man of understanding makes straight his going' (Proverbs 15:21), that is, walks uprightly in God's ways, because he has come to a knowledge of God.
In contrast is the fool. The mouth of fools grazes on folly. (The verb is the usual one for grazing sheep). For folly is all that the fool has to talk about. He excludes God from his so-called ‘wisdom'. It may be deep wisdom in the eyes of the world, but it is folly in God's eyes and with regard to God's ways. As the parallel passage tells us, the thing that is a joy to those who lack wisdom is folly (Proverbs 15:21). Note the contrast between ‘seeking', a verb which indicates effort and determination, and ‘grazing', a verb which indicates a passive response to a situation. The fool grazes on folly because he cannot raise the effort to seek something outside of it.
‘All the days of the afflicted are evil,
But he who is of a cheerful heart has a continual feast.'
It should be noted that the contrast here is not between the afflicted and the unafflicted, but between those who are permanently (all the days) afflicted in spirit and those who are continually cheerful of heart. This must be so because someone who is temporarily afflicted can also be cheerful of heart. The point is that how we view life can make a great difference to our enjoyment of it. Temporary afflictions may weigh us down, but those whose hearts are set on God eventually rise above them. Their trust is in Him.
Take, for example, Paul's words in Philippians 4:11, ‘I have learned, in whatever state I am, to be content'. He was saying that even when he was physically afflicted, his heart was content. Thus the afflicted here are not the physically afflicted but the emotionally afflicted. They are those who are not cheerful of heart. They are those who are not rejoicing in YHWH. We can contrast them with Habakkuk in Habakkuk 3:17-18, where after indicating a total lack in this world's goods he declared, ‘yet will I rejoice in YHWH, I will joy in the God of my salvation. YHWH the Lord is my strength, and He makes my feet like hind's feet, and will make me walk on my high places.' Even though he was physically afflicted he had a cheerful heart. So this proverb parallels that in Proverbs 15:13, ‘A glad heart makes a cheerful countenance, but by sorrow of heart the spirit is broken,' which indicates that in the long term the set of our heart determines our enjoyment of life (we all experience sorrows in the short term).
The proverb is thus saying that those who allow themselves to be continually weighed down by the cares of this world will find that they continually have bad days, whilst those who are of a cheerful heart, because they trust in God and in Christ, will find that life is a continual celebratory feast. (Compare 2 Corinthians 4:8; 2 Corinthians 6:9-10). A similar thought is contained in the next two proverbs, which are linked with this one by the use of ‘tob' (‘good', therefore, in context ‘cheerful/better').
‘Better is little, with the fear of YHWH,
Than great treasure and trouble with it.'
The emphasis here is on the fact that our enjoyment of life is not dependent on our circumstances. It is better to have little along with reverently fearing YHWH (and thus on the whole avoiding worry and trouble), than to have great treasure which brings worry and trouble with it. The point is that riches are not everything, but that fearing YHWH is. Compare Hebrews 10:34. Indeed people who get rich quickly have often discovered that it brings trouble with it.
‘Better is a dinner of herbs, where love is,
Than a fatted bullock and hatred with it.'
The thought of Proverbs 15:16 is continued using another example. It is better to have a poor man's dinner, and be in a house where love is prevalent, than to enjoy a rich man's dinner, and be subjected to hatred. The ‘dinner of herbs' would for many families be the norm. It is not indicating poverty. Relatively few could afford a fatted bullock. Their few animals were work animals. The emphasis is rather on how much better it is to live in a loving environment, than in one where hatred is prevalent. Solomon's point is that being wealthy and enjoying luxuries does not make up for that.
‘A wrathful man stirs up contention,
But he who is slow to anger appeases strife.'
In this proverb the love and hatred of the previous proverb is illustrated. The household where contention is prevalent is compared with the peaceful household. The bad-tempered or quick-tempered man stirs up contention, ‘sowing discord among brothers' (Proverbs 6:19). He is thus like the worthless man. In contrast the one who can control his temper (the man of understanding) sows peace. He calms down stressful situations. He prevents strife from getting out of hand. He is a wise man.
This is not, of course, limited to households. It is true in life. The bad-tempered man (and therefore foolish man) arouses bad feelings wherever he goes, the self-controlled man (and therefore wise man) constantly calms down bad feelings. It thus applies in every walk of life.
‘The way of the sluggard is as a hedge of thorns,
But the path of the upright is made a highway.'
This proverb may well have in mind the work environment of the two contrasting people. In those days land was divided into strips of arable land, each often having differing ownership, with pathways in between on which to walk so as not to tread down the grain. The thorns which grew on the sluggard's land unchecked would soon spread to his pathways. The pathway of the upright man, the hard worker, would be constantly trodden and would therefore be like a highway.
Solomon then sees this as depicting the general direction of their lives. The sluggard will constantly come up against thorn bushes, whether literal or metaphorical, because he makes no effort to ensure a smooth life, and no one else will bother to help him. It is one of the consequences of being a sluggard. The upright man, who does all that he can to ensure that life runs smoothly, and has many friends who will help him, will find his way ahead like a prepared highway. Where necessary he or his helpful and loving friends will arrange for the lowering of the mountains and the raising of the valleys well in time so as to ensure a level path (compare Isaiah 40:4; Isaiah 57:14).
That the contrast is between the sluggard and the upright (rather than the hard worker) brings out that there is some dishonesty in being a sluggard. He robs society of the contribution that he should make towards it, and sponges on those who work hard.
‘A wise son makes a glad father,
But a foolish man despises his mother.'
The cheerful heart which has a continual feast (Proverbs 15:15), has prepared the way for this proverb. Here the thought is of a wise son and a glad father. And the father is glad because his son has not turned out to be a fool. His son has heeded reproof and has sought wisdom, and this has maintained harmony in the household (contrast Proverbs 15:16-18) and contributes to the family wellbeing.
In contrast is the foolish man who despises his mother. Note the description ‘man' instead of ‘son'. He has no filial loyalty and is therefore excluded from the family. He refuses to listen to her instruction in the Torah (Proverbs 1:8 b). He rejects her call to wisdom. It goes without saying that he is a grief to his mother (Proverbs 10:1 b) and that he causes trouble, and stirs up contention in the household (Proverbs 15:16; Proverbs 15:18). He walks the way of all those in the Prologue who reject wisdom (Proverbs 1:11-19; Proverbs 1:24-31; Proverbs 2:12-22; etc.).
‘Folly is joy to him who is void of wisdom,
But a man of understanding makes straight his going.'
This verse forms an inclusio with Proverbs 15:14. There the man who had understanding sought the knowledge of God, here as a consequence he makes straight his going. He takes the straight path and walks in it. But in contrast is the one who is void of wisdom. Folly is his joy. Even what he says leads on to folly (Proverbs 15:14).
Note the contrast between the fools joy in folly and the cheerful heart (Proverbs 15:15) of the righteous. Together with the glad father (Proverbs 15:20) the latter found joy in wisdom and understanding. But the fool's joy is to be void of wisdom, something which will result in evil days (Proverbs 15:15); trouble (Proverbs 15:16); experience of hatred (Proverbs 15:17); contention (Proverbs 15:18); a way through thorn bushes (Proverbs 15:19); and broken family relationships (Proverbs 15:20).
Proverbs 15:20-21 may be seen as closing the first part of Solomon's proverbs in an apt way, the first part (Proverbs 15:20) forming an inclusio with Proverbs 10:1.
‘A wise son makes a glad father,
But a foolish man despises his mother,
Folly is joy to him who is void of wisdom,
But a man of understanding makes straight his going.'
Note the chiastic ‘wise son -- foolish man -- folly -- man of understanding.' A wise son makes a glad father because as a man of understanding his direction of life is straight, whilst a foolish man despises his mother by enjoying folly, and being void of the wisdom which she has striven to teach him. This sums up much of the previous teaching, and brings out the importance of heeding the wise instruction of father and mother.