Proverbs 24:1-2
“Be not envious of evil men, nor desire to be with them, for their hearts devise violence, and their lips talk of trouble.”
This is a straightforward admonition: Don’t envy or be jealous of the evil people in the people, and definitely don’t associate with them. The evil people of the world are devious and dangerous. They plan violence, and they lie about it. They don’t say, “My plan is to steal from you, damage you, harm you.” Rather, they try to deceive you by saying, “Trust me, I’m here to help, so follow these ideas and do these things.”
This is why the NT warns us that Satan and his servants disguise themselves as people trying to do good, when in fact they are counterfeits.
“And what I am doing I will continue to do, in order to undermine the claim of those who would like to claim that in their boasted mission they work on the same terms as we do. For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness.” (2 Corinthians 11.12-15)
Discernment is essential and wisdom is key. Don’t be fooled. Naivete can be deadly. See evil for what it is, and see evil people for who they are.
Proverbs 24.3-4
“By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established; by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches.”
The central theme of Proverbs is the pursuit of wisdom, and this verse states that wisdom is essential for building and establishing a house. The picture this verse paints is a “house” as a symbol for key human institutions:
- A family
- A church
- A business or team
- A school
- A local community
- A nation
Each of these are institutions in human society can only be built by wisdom and established by understanding. The point is that God is the great Architect and Designer, and he has established principles and standards by which human institutions are to operate. Building a strong family, church, business, team, or nation requires respect for and application of God’s timeless principles.
To ignore or reject God’s standards is foolishness. It is equivalent to building your “house” on sand. The storms of the world will test the foundation and architecture of the house you have built, and if you violate the Lord’s design, your house is at risk. This is exactly what Jesus said at the end of the Sermon on the Mount:
“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” (Matthew 7.24-27)
