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More Proverbs commentaries
Proverbs 21:1-10
A Contentious Wife Makes Life Miserable
Proverbs 21:11-21
A Wise Person Stores Food Like an Ant
Proverbs 21:22-31
Wisdom Gives Strength and Security
Proverbs 22:1-11
Train a Child Right and He Will Not Depart From It
Proverbs 22:12-21
Sayings of the Wise
Proverbs 22:22-29
The Problem of Co-signing for Someone
Proverbs 23:1-11
Trying to Teach a Fool is Useless
Proverbs 23:12-23
A Wise Child Will Hear His Parents Instruction
Proverbs 23:24-35
Drunkenness Leads to All Kinds of Problems
Proverbs 24:1-10
What is in Your Heart Comes Out in Your Talk
Proverbs 24:11-22
Rejoicing for the Wrong Reasons
Proverbs 24:23-34
Priorities in Establishing a Home
Proverbs 25:1-10
Tell a Person His Fault Alone
Proverbs 25:11-20
Self Control Is Important
Proverbs 25:21-28
Compromise Invites an Attack by Satan
Proverbs 26:1-9
The Man of Wisdom Will Not Dispute a Fool
Proverbs 26:10-19
The Less You Do, The Less You Want to Do
Proverbs 26:20-28
It Always Takes Two to Quarrel
Proverbs 27:1-9
Don’t Brag About Tomorrow
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Rejoicing for the Wrong Reasons
Proverbs 24:11–22
» View this passage in NIV (Bible Gateway)
“If your heart takes more pleasure in reading novels, or going to the movies, or talking to friends, rather than just sitting alone with God and embracing Him, sharing His cares and His burdens, weeping and rejoicing with Him, then how are you going to handle forever and eve … More
People who are being taken to death and slaughter probably are victims of unjust oppression rather than guilty people being condemned (v. 11. Some people may claim they are ignorant of others’ plights, but God knows who is guilty of willful ignorance and He will judge it. We learn here about the method of execution that was once prevalent in Palestine (v. 12). Historians tell us that when a criminal was led to execution there was a crier who went before him and proclaimed the crime for which he had been accused. He would also ask that anyone who could say anything in behalf of the condemned to come forward. Just as honey, the sweetest substance known in the ancient Near East, is good and tastes sweet, so wisdom is beneficial and desirable to the soul because it gives a person future hope (vv. 13-14). A warning is given that it is futile for the wicked to attempt to destroy the righteous and his possessions (vv. 15-16. Because of God’s protection the righteous person recovers from robberies and attacks but the wicked who instigate such schemes find that they are the ones who suffer.
We are not to rejoice over the sorrows of others, even though the one who is suffering has been a bitter foe (vv. 17-18). Rejoicing over an enemy’s failure may cause God to withdraw His wrath from that person even though he has done wrong. God makes it plain that He hates our laughing at another person’s suffering because it suggests a superior attitude over others. The envy of sinners is condemned (vv. 19-20). Fretting over what sinners have and do and wanting to join them is wrong because they have no future hope. We are to beware of men who are revolutionaries and have a greed for power (vv. 21-22). They will bring sorrow to themselves and to those they seek to overthrow. We need to stay away from such a man or we will share in his sorrow.Application
It is so easy to be guilty of rejoicing in another person’s mistake. Here are some verses that I need to keep handy when such a temptation comes my way (vv. 17-18).
Proverbs 24:11-22 (English Standard Version)
Rescue those who are being taken away to death; hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter. If you say, "Behold, we did not know this," does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it, and will he not repay man according to his work? My son, eat honey, for it is good, and the drippings of the honeycomb are sweet to your taste. Know that wisdom is such to your soul; if you find it, there will be a future, and your hope will not be cut off. Lie not in wait as a wicked man against the dwelling of the righteous; do no violence to his home; for the righteous falls seven times and rises again, but the wicked stumble in times of calamity. Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles, lest the LORD see it and be displeased, and turn away his anger from him. Fret not yourself because of evildoers, and be not envious of the wicked, for the evil man has no future; the lamp of the wicked will be put out. My son, fear the LORD and the king, and do not join with those who do otherwise, for disaster will arise suddenly from them, and who knows the ruin that will come from them both?
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