Proverbs 29:4 Commentary and Bible Study

The character of a ruler has an enormous influence on the land over which he presides. It is about the nature of kings and the corresponding nature of their kingdoms. Two kings are compared. One builds up his land and causes it to prosper and the other tears it down and destroys it. Of course they do not do this single handed, but such is their influence on their people that their behaviour has a huge effect on the whole land. They make all the key appointments in the realm and those high officials in turn choose others. The king will make it obvious by his choices what his values are and what kind of people he wants in power. He chooses those who are going to implement the policies he wants to promote. Not only so, but the king sets an example which those beneath him will study carefully and be keen to follow, for they want to remain in his favour. Soon the character of the king has an effect on the character of the whole kingdom and there is a reshaping of realm and the way it operates. If he is a man of integrity he will remove those guilt of poor performance or moral failure even if they are his own appointees and his favourites, even if he is disadvantaged in the short term, for justice demands that he do so. He will make judgments which justify the innocent and condemn the wicked, and all will see that this is a ruler who is not prepared to compromise with evil. But if he chooses dishonest and corrupt men, if he does this to promote his own interests then others will follow suit. Of course such a king does not plan to tear down his kingdom, but that is what he effectively achieves. No kingdom can prosper on the basis of injustice, mistrust, bribery and corruption. These things weaken all relationships, breakdown cooperation, and force the introduction of all manner of checks and balances that impede transactions between people and make the wheels of commerce grind slowly. A lie is a very inefficient thing. Specifically the KJV refers to bribes, gifts given to make people see what they do not see, to make them depart from truth. The word in Hebrew is ‘gifts’ or ‘offerings’. These are not offerings which the king makes to the Lord, but which he gives to others and expects them to give him, and of course they are made in order to bend justice as the implied contrast in the verse suggests. There is a game going on and all participants understand the rules and accept them, so that no more need be said about that.