Proverbs 19:10 Commentary and Bible Study

Two things are not fitting, not appropriate, but the second is worse. It is not fitting that a fool should be rewarded with pleasant things, with luxuries and items of delight, for foolishness ought to be repaid with what it deserves: loss, and the removal of what is good. Why should the foolish be rewarded with what they do not deserve? Won’t those who look on say that justice has been turned on its head? But it is worse still when those who should be servants, who lack wisdom and experience and skill to rule, find themselves in a position where they rule over those who are far more capable than them, and make decisions which determine the prospects of those who are far greater than them, when those who are under their rule would be able to do a far better job of governing. Why do they accept a position of leadership when they are not fit to do it? They should assess themselves realistically and immediately give way to those who are more able than they are, but instead they delude themselves that they are able to hold the office and power, yet their inadequate preparation for the task brings a sequence of disasters on the land. Both the fool and the servant are not used to what is given them and cannot cope with it. This is an observation of Solomon on the disjointed nature of things in a fallen world.