Proverbs 16:30 Commentary and Bible Study

The KJV makes this proverb a continuation of the previous and so tells us more about the behaviour of the violent man. Both expressions in the proverb describe the careful planning and forethought that he puts into his schemes. First he is pictured as shutting his eyes in an effort to block out all distractions so that he can focus exclusively on his own thoughts, but his thoughts are taken up with the harm that he wants to do to others. This is not going to be achieved without much concentration because it is not easy to achieve what he wants. How can he get close friends to hate each other? How can he get someone who has kept themselves back from a particular evil and fears to go that far, to cast away their fears and proceed down this destructive track? How can he get one who knows instinctively that this world is created by God to believe it came about by chance? The second half of the verse describes something very similar. The Hebrew says he pinches or nips his lips. This is what we would describe as pursing the lips, and is again an expression of determination and concentration. He has a plan now, and he is resolved to carry it through, so he braces himself for the difficulty of the task. Those who are in danger of being enticed are warned by the proverb what they are up against so that he will be on his guard and not be naïve. He doesn’t just face spontaneous disconnected promptings to sin, but he has an enemy who studies him and knows his weakness, and tailors temptation to suit his case. He faces a prolonged and carefully thought out program of evil which will try to get him off balance and wear him down by persistence. Ultimately his battle is ‘not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places’ (Eph. 6:12 KJV). Only through prayer and constant attention to the commandments of God can he have the stamina and skill to avoid the snares set for him.