Proverbs 27:23 Commentary and Bible Study

The next five verses are all of a piece. To understand them we must take them together and consider them in context. The theme of this section is the heart of man, and these five verses are about the contentment that the child of God can have even though he lives in an uncertain world, where riches do not last. The illustration is set in a rural community, but the point of this setting is not to advocate rural life as opposed to urban life, but to give an example of industriousness in any chosen business. Agriculture was of course a common occupation among those people, even for kings and nobility (2 Samuel 12:2; 2 Chronicles 32:29), for Solomon is reported to have had great flocks and herds (1 Kings 4:22-24; 8:63). It would therefore be wrong to read verse 23-24 as a contrast between the simple rural life and the life of riches; the riches in mind are those very flocks and herds. So what is the argument of these first two verses? Why, when Scripture tells us so often to seek first the kingdom of God due to the uncertainty of riches, does it here tells us to give more attention to those uncertain things? What we are not being told to do is trust in uncertain flocks and herds. Indeed, we are taught the opposite: those riches do not last forever, just as a king cannot be certain that his descendants will continue to reign after him (Solomon’s son lost a large part of his father’s kingdom). The argument, as Matthew Poole says, is that what you possess now will not last if you are not diligent to preserve it. Not being slothful in business (of whatever sort) goes hand in hand with not trusting in the riches of this world. The Bible does not tell us to abandon all industry and cease work as if the Lord was about to return immediately. We are to work hard while at the same time being loosely attached to this world. We are to recognise that God is the provider of all things, while at the same time acknowledging the appointed means of making a living in this world. This calm attitude of trust in God allows us to negotiate this uncertain world with peace of mind and thankfulness to the Lord for all his provision. Those living close to the land do indeed have a uplifting view of nature and its natural cycles. It is wonderful to see the hay being brought into the barn and the fresh grass beginning to spring up ready for the process to begin all over again. Even the mountains yield herbs of use to the farmer, and with his flocks he clothes himself with woollen garments, and the goats provide a return more than equal to the price he paid for the land they occupy – though none of this is without diligent work. The goats are milked and the whole household is supplied with fresh and nutritious food – milk and cheese. It is a harmonious picture, in which many beautiful and calming influences make even a life of toil to be pleasant. Nevertheless, the heart of the believer is set on the world to come and he desires to be with Christ which is far better.