Proverbs 29:13 - Meaning and Application

This verse shows how wisely the great God carries out the plans of his providence by using people of very different temperaments, abilities, and social positions. He works through those who seem opposite to each other. Some are poor and have to borrow, while others are rich and hold much of what the Bible calls the wealth of unrighteousness, that is, deceptive riches. They are creditors, or lenders who take interest, as the margin notes.

Some people are poor, honest, and hardworking. Others are rich, lazy, and deceitful. Yet they meet in the business of this world and deal with one another, and the Lord gives light to both their eyes. He makes his sun shine on both and gives both the comforts of this life. To some in both groups he gives his grace. He brightens the eyes of the poor by giving them patience, and the eyes of the deceitful by giving them repentance, as in the case of Zacchaeus, the tax collector who changed his ways.

God also uses those whom we might think could be spared the most. The poor and the deceitful often seem, to us, like flaws in providence. But God makes even them show the beauty of his providence. He has wise purposes not only in leaving the poor always with us, but also in allowing both the deceived and the deceiver, since both belong to him (Job 12:16), and both can turn to his praise.