Proverbs 17:16 - Meaning and Application

Two things are spoken of here with amazement.

First, God shows great kindness to foolish people by putting into their hands the means to gain wisdom, knowledge, and grace, so they can be ready for both this life and the life to come. We have rational souls, the means of grace, the work of the Holy Spirit, and open access to God in prayer. We also have time and opportunity. Some understand this as meaning that a person with wealth has added advantages for gaining wisdom, because he can buy instruction and training. Good parents, relatives, ministers, and friends are also helps in learning wisdom.

This is why it is called a price. It is something valuable, like a talent entrusted to us. It is a price already in the hand, already in our possession, because the word is near us. It is a price for gaining something useful, and that useful thing is wisdom, the very thing foolish people need most. We have good reason to wonder that God would give us such advantages, even knowing ahead of time that we would not use them well.

Second, there is man’s great wickedness, shown in his neglect of both God’s favor and his own good. This is strange and hard to understand. He has no heart for it, neither for the wisdom that can be gained nor for the use of the means by which it can be gained. He has no heart, no skill, no will, and no courage to make use of his advantages. His heart is fixed on other things, so he has no desire for his duty or for the great needs of his soul. Why should such a valuable gift be wasted on someone so undeserving?