Proverbs 18:9 Commentary and Bible Study

Another cause of shame is slothfulness, slackness, idleness. The last phrase of the verse is translated by the KJV, ‘that is a great waster’, indicating a spendthrift, a prodigal man, one who does not know how to handle the wealth in his possession. Those who read the verse this way find it quite simple to compare the slothful man and the man who having obtained an incoming is wasteful in the way he handles it. However, the Hebrew word translated waster is Ba-al Mash-heet, a man of destruction. The Ba-al can refer to the pagan deity of the Moabites, or it can mean simple ‘lord’, or else it can refer to a man of a certain character: a man of some sort, in this case, a man of destruction, for the final word, Mash-heet means to destroy, to corrupt, to ruin, to decay. This could mean a waster, but more straightforwardly means a destructive man, which is how the KJV more normally translates it.Taking an example from everyday work, we could think of two brothers, the sons of a father who owns a small piece of land sufficient to live off if managed prudently. His aim is that one of his sons should learn to farm his smallholding and continue the family business. Unfortunately the chosen son is not given to hard work; he cannot see the point, and has not caught the vision of what needs to be done to achieve his father’s plan. He sleeps in late and is preoccupied with having a good time with his friends, and he shows little interest in the farm. He allows fences to come down and leaves them unrepaired. Harvest is a time of communal effort, but he will not help others and so receives no help in return. The place is not kept tidy and the buildings are not maintained. The surprise element of the proverb is that he is as bad as his brother, who some would think is worse, for this brother is a man of destruction, a corrupter. He is someone who has no concern for the evil influence he spreads, and thinks nothing of dragging others into the same wicked practices that he is involved in. His wickedness is plain to see, but how is the lazy man as bad as he? Slothfulness may be thought of as the absence of something, but it is a positive evil in its own right. It is destructive of all the good that might have been done, and ought to have been done. Spiritual laziness forfeits even more good, and fails to do what God has commanded in this life. It is the product of much ungratefulness because when God gives spiritual life to unworthy sinners, and furthermore gives them an opportunity to serve him in this life, there is much evil in doing nothing. Before he called us we had nothing, and all our prospects were dismal. We had no capacity to do anything that was of any lasting benefit. But as Christians we have a great master to serve, who gives an incorruptible reward, and we are put in the position where a very small effort brings a disproportionally great benefit in the world to come. We are not in this position for long, and we must take advantage of this special opportunity. Slothfulness is therefore particularly inappropriate for the believer, and Scripture tells us to not be slothful in business, which includes secular things, but especially the Lord’s work.