Proverbs 24:7 - Meaning and Application

Here is the description of a weak man: wisdom is too high for him. He thinks it is out of reach, so he gives up trying to gain it and settles for life without it. In truth, he is not fit for it. Even if he has a sharp mind, wisdom is still beyond him if he is lazy, playful, selfish, drawn to pleasure, or keeps bad company. It is hard to gain wisdom, and people like that are unlikely to reach it.

Because they lack wisdom, they are not fit to serve their country. “They open not their mouth in the gate,” that is, they are not welcome in the public place where leaders meet and judge cases. If they do sit among rulers, they are like silent statues, counted as nothing. They say nothing because they have nothing worth saying, and they know no one would listen anyway. Young people should work hard to gain wisdom, so they can handle public duties well and with honor.

This also describes a wicked man, who is not just ignored like a fool, but hated. Some wicked people are like this. One kind are those who hide their malice. They may speak politely and seem pleasant, but they are planning harm. They are plotting an evil act against someone they dislike or envy.

Such a person will be known as a troublemaker, a master of mischief. He may be blamed whenever harm is done, or at least suspected of helping to cause it. Planning evil is itself the “thought of foolishness” (Proverbs 24:9). People may brush it off as a simple foolish idea, but it is truly sin, and serious sin. It is bad to do evil, but it is even worse to plan it, because that shows the subtle poison of the old serpent, Satan.

This can also be understood more generally. We are guilty not only when we carry out foolish actions, but also when we entertain foolish thoughts, even if they go no further. The first stirrings of sin in the heart are already sin, and they offend God. They must be repented of, or we are ruined. Not only malicious, impure, and proud thoughts are sinful, but foolish thoughts are too. If useless thoughts stay in the heart, they make it unclean (Jeremiah 4:14). That is why we must guard our hearts carefully and not let in thoughts that cannot give a good account of themselves (Genesis 6:5).

Another kind of wicked person is openly abusive. The scorner, who insults everyone and takes pleasure in putting people down, is an abomination to men. People with any sense of honor and virtue will not want to be around him. The “seat of the scornful” is like a poisonous chair, as the Septuagint says about Psalm 1:1, and wise people will stay away from it to avoid the infection. Those who try to make others hated only end up making themselves hated.