Proverbs 28:26 Commentary and Bible Study

As always we must note the points of comparison and the points of similarity. Both halves of the proverb are about the principles which govern an individual life and strongly influence the conduct of that life. But the two contrasts – between trusting in one’s own heart versus walking wisely, and between being a fool and being delivered – are where the emphasis lies. The points of comparison must be equivalents but they are not things that we would usually compare with each other. Even this choice of items to be compared is part of the instruction of the proverb.What is it to trust in our hearts? We might have thought that the one person we could trust is ourselves, because we know ourselves as we know no other. There is no possibility of our own hearts acting behind our back or against our interests, because all that goes on in our hearts is open to our gaze. Yes, there is to possibility of self-deception, but that is not the issue here. The problem is self-confidence and self-trust. It comes from an inflated view of self which attributes more power, more wisdom, more skill, more knowledge to ourselves that we really possess. To proceed through life on this basis is extremely dangerous, just as it is dangerous to underestimate the strength and manoeuvres of an enemy. We have an enemy for we are all born into a war zone whether we like it or not, and our enemy is the devil; he knows no mercy or limitations on his appetite for our destruction. Furthermore as Christian doctrine has long identified we have an enemy of sin within and the world outside, coming to us with items of temptation. Underestimating these enemies and overestimating ourselves are two sides of the same coin. The fool is either completely ignorant of their existence or thinks he is a match for them. But if we do not trust our own hearts, do we not setup a fatal weakness in ourselves? Not if we lean on another. The KJV translation ‘walketh wisely’ is literally ‘walks in wisdom’ and this is set against trusting in ourselves. The only wisdom which the Book of Proverbs recognises is the wisdom which comes from heaven, the wisdom of God. To walk in this is to rely on the Lord for everything that we need. We rely on him for basic things like food and clothing, but we rely on him for forgiveness, salvation, providence, instruction, resurrection, and glorification.