Initial Notes from Proverbs 11:23-27

[Lord willing, I will be teaching this text this Wednesday evening at Kosmosdale Baptist Church.]

²³ The desire of the righteous ends only in good;
    the expectation of the wicked in wrath.
²⁴ One gives freely, yet grows all the richer;
    another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want.
²⁵ Whoever brings blessing will be enriched,
    and one who waters will himself be watered.
²⁶ The people curse him who holds back grain,
    but a blessing is on the head of him who sells it.
²⁷ Whoever diligently seeks good seeks favor,
    but evil comes to him who searches for it.

The “5 Ws”:

Who: The righteous and the wicked.

What: Desire.

Where: Society.

When: Either in this life or the life to come.

Why: Because our God is a sovereign King and a righteous Judge.

How: The “how” would work out in various ways according to different circumstances.

So what? So we must be giving, work to bring blessing, be just in our business practices, and seek good.

Observations on Specific Verses:

v. 23 and v. 27 together seem to have direct gospel implications, as we all naturally are wicked, having an expectation of wrath, and must (by God’s grace) turn and seek good in Christ.

v. 26 seems to be speaking a word against miserly hoarding. [see Luke 9:24; 12:13-21]

Commentaries:

Geneva, v 23. “They [the wicked] can look for nothing but God’s vengeance.”

Matthew Henry, v 23, “[The wicked] expect and desire mischief to others, but it shall return upon themselves; as they loved cursing, they shall have enough of it.”

MacArthur, vv 24-26, “The principle here is that generosity, by God’s blessing, secures increase, while stinginess leads to poverty instead of expected gain. The one who gives receives far more in return.

Believers’ Study Bible, v 26, “The phrase ‘withholds grain’ refers to holding crops back to cause scarcity, thereby inflating prices and incurring the wrath of the people. Foregoing high profits for the emergency, however, brings the blessing of God, a more lasting reward.”

Reformation Study Bible, vv 26-27, “The generosity of v. 25 is illustrated by the community-minded merchant who puts the needs of others ahead of his own interests… The one who ‘seeks good’ is either the benefactor of society who receives community approval in return, or the seeker of righteousness who receives the approval of God (cf. Matt 5:6).”