18 Prepare plans by consultation,
And make war by wise guidance.
19 He who goes about as a slanderer reveals secrets,
Therefore do not associate with [k]a gossip.
20 He who curses his father or his mother,
His lamp will go out in [l]time of darkness.
21 An inheritance gained hurriedly at the beginning
Will not be blessed in the end.
22 Do not say, “I will repay evil”;
Wait for the Lord, and He will save you.
23 [m]Differing weights are an abomination to the Lord,
And a [n]false scale is not good.
Verse 21 reminds me of the prodigal son in Jesus’ parable. Though it was centuries later, it makes me wonder if Jesus had this verse in mind when he told the story. But before we get that far, let’s back up a couple verses. Solomon encourages us to get counsel and guidance from others before we make our plans, and certainly before we make war.
And instead of war, we might say, before you start a conflict, or an argument, or a debate. For even our politicians must instigate debate to begin any sort of change, and certainly there are times in our lives where a change needs to happen, in our family, or at work, and we may need to get some counsel so we don’t shoot ourselves in the foot.
Indeed, Solomon continues by reminding us to watch our tongues, don’t get involved in slander, or gossip. And certainly don’t say bad things about your parent, even if you think they deserve it (sadly, some may). Then we’re back to v. 21, and I’ve heard it said that the prodigal son was effectively cursing his father and wishing he were dead by asking for his inheritance early.
Solomon’s words certainly came true for him. In no time at all, his money was gone, squandered in reckless living. He hadn’t sought counsel at all, wasn’t interested in anything but indulging himself, and now it was spent. Yet there is a key moment, when the prodigal decides something that even the older son misses.
He doesn’t just come back, expecting the father to take him in. There may have even been some legal requirement of that, though Jesus never mentions it–that the prodigal is still family, so at the least, he can camp out in his old room and have free room and board the rest of his life. But no, he chooses to humble himself before his father, and that is a key here also.
Perhaps Jesus’ listeners were expecting a different ending, one where the prodigal was cast away as the fool he was, per v. 21. Yet we see it all come full circle in v. 22, when the prodigal humbled himself, he came back to the father who saved him. And Solomon pushes it even further, even if someone deserves revenge, evil for evil, eye for an eye, God says “No!” Instead, “Wait for the Lord, and He will save you.”
That’s no small task, but all of this requires the same humility that the prodigal found. To recognize that our plans may not be the best (v. 18), that we don’t know better than everyone else (v. 20), and that ultimately, God knows better than anyone (v. 22). Embrace that, as James wrote “Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.”
Not in a way that you can boast, because only God can do that, it is “not of ourselves, lest any man should boast.” We have an incredible inheritance, living with the Father, submitting to His plan in all we do, because He is a good, even more so, the best Father.