Proverbs 20:10 Commentary - Dr Peter Masters

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Proverbs 20:10

Comments

At face value this proverb makes little sense, but of course we are expected to rule out the trivial and the puerile as possible meanings, and interpret in a way that is consistent with all we know about the Lord and his ways. How do we arrive at a right interpretation? We look for a moral lesson, a lesson about the nature of man’s heart, a lesson about the Lord’s work in the heart of the believer, and we realise that Solomon often uses a concrete example to stand for a much wider range of cases. We cannot stick only with the example he uses because it is intended to be illustrative, and what really matters is the principle found in it which must be extracted and applied more widely. We look for a lesson about faith and one that does not make God concerned about the trivial. The Lord does not consider things he has made in the physical world to be an abomination, for the flesh counts for nothing. As so often, there is ellipsis in this proverb, and a right understanding requires that the phrases ‘diverse weights’ and ‘diverse measures’ be enlarged. It is short for ‘a man who uses diverse weights’ and describes one who trades deceitfully, using a heavier weight to buy and a lighter weight to sell, so that he obtains more goods for his money when he buys and parts with less goods for his money when he sells, the same being true of his measures. The weights and the measures are diverse because they are not equal and he does not treat others fairly and honestly in his dealings with them.

Application

This in turn is a picture of someone who applies different standards to himself and to others in a range of situations. He may judge quite differently the same sin in himself and in others. In his own case he shows undue leniency, but in the case of others he is far more critical and inclined to condemn. This is of course the basis of all hypocrisy. In his heart there are diverse or unequal weights and he carefully brings one and not another depending on what operation he is involved in. He measures others by a different measure to the one he applies to himself, so that he makes much of a speck in the eye of another, when all the time there is a beam in his own eye. Similarly he praises himself more than others for accomplishments; he rewards himself disproportionately for his achievements; he gives himself opportunities which he does not give to others who are as well if not better qualified. Again, he may use diverse weights, when he compares the Lord’s ways and man’s ways, as if the two were equal.

Questions

How can we be expected to interpret Solomon, when he uses such condensed expressions and so little information? Because we bring what we already know of ourselves and of the character of God and of what he has revealed elsewhere in his word, and as a result the Lord’s shorthand makes sense to us because all other possibilities are eliminated. For this reason, the disciples were at fault for failing to understand the Lord when he said, ‘Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.’ This could not possibly refer to literal bread and the disciples must learn to think as the Lord thinks in order to understand his meaning.

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Proverbs 20:10 Commentary and Bible Study