Proverbs 21:9 Commentary - Dr Peter Masters

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Proverbs 21:9

Comments

This proverb is repeated in 25:24. Here it presents us with options between two evils, and tells us that the choice made by the believer is going to be very different to that made by the unbeliever. The world is not the permanent home of the Christian and in many respects he must manage the evils he encounters in this life by accepting a temporary disadvantage. The proverb presents one such evil as an example and tells us what principles we should bear in mind in making our choices. The example given is illustrative only but is the case of a husband who has a wife who is endlessly contentious. She manufactures quarrels out of thin air, and is impossible to live with because of her love of strife, and yet she never fails to justify the endless dripping of her complaints. The smallest wrong triggers an enormous response, and this overreaction is likely to be accompanied by a rehearsal of past wrongs from a prodigious memory. How great a gift from the Lord is a wife who is meek, ready to live in peace, inclined to forgive and not exaggerate offences, ready to put away quarrels and not to take revenge or to persist in having the last say. The choice for the husband living in this house is to find some quite corner where he can be alone, or to remain in company in the house and to put up with his quarrelsome wife. Of course the proverb could be the other way round and it could be the husband who is the irritant, but here it is the wife. The roof top of the house was a place where someone went when they wanted to be alone and where Peter went in order to pray to the Lord (Acts 10:9).

Application

An obvious application of this proverb sees no more than the particular case of a difficult wife and how unpleasant it is to be with her, but we must look in Scripture and from this inspired writer for a more profound and spiritual meaning. Wealth and plenty do not make up for the misery of dwelling with a wife addicted to strife, neither do they convince the believer that he should seek the world’s company for the sake of the material advantage it brings. The world puts conditions on its friendship, in that the person who wants to be accepted by it must not criticise it at a fundamental level by regarding mankind as fallen. He must not identify with the Holy Spirit who convinces the world of sin and righteousness and judgment, but must see himself as belonging to the world so that the world will love him as its own. But this choice involves him in putting up with a society that loves sin, that rejects Christ and that never ceases in its contention with the Lord. That is a cost which the believer is unwilling to pay and therefore, if he can, he will separate himself from the world and find quietness in the company of those who love and worship God. This does not mean physical separation from men, but it means that his closest friends will be among God’s people. The meek will inherit the earth, but in this life they are often forced to dwell in a corner for the sake of peace.

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Proverbs 21:9 Commentary and Bible Study