Commentary - Proverbs 11:24

Bird's-eye view

This proverb sets before us one of the central paradoxes of the Christian life, and particularly of what we might call covenantal economics. The wisdom of God routinely turns the wisdom of the world on its head, and this verse is a prime example. The world, enslaved to a zero-sum way of thinking, believes that the way to get more is to clutch what you have tightly. The way to increase your pile is to guard it jealously. But Scripture teaches the opposite. The world is not a closed system; it is an open system, governed by a prodigal and generous God. Therefore, the path to increase is scattering. The way to abundance is open-handed generosity. Conversely, the man who greedily withholds, who pinches every penny and refuses to let go of what is "rightfully" his, finds that his fist, though closed, is mysteriously empty. This is not a karma-like spiritual platitude; it is a description of how the world, under the blessing and curse of God, actually works.

Solomon is contrasting two kinds of men and two kinds of outcomes. The first is the generous man who "scatters." He gives, he invests, he casts his bread upon the waters. The result, contrary to all worldly calculation, is that he "increases all the more." The second man "holds back what is rightly due." He is a hoarder, a man whose baseline is stinginess. He might even think he is being prudent, but his prudence is a form of faithlessness. The result for him is not security, but "only in want." This principle is foundational. It teaches us that our material possessions are not ultimately ours to hoard, but are tools given to us by God to be used faithfully in His world. True wealth is a current, not a stagnant pond.

Outline

Context In Proverbs

Proverbs 11 is a chapter full of contrasts between the righteous and the wicked, the wise and the foolish. We see juxtapositions of dishonest scales and just weights (v. 1), pride and humility (v. 2), integrity and crookedness (v. 3), and riches and righteousness (v. 4). Verse 24 fits perfectly within this pattern. It is one of a cluster of proverbs in this section that deal with the surprising results of godly economic behavior. It is immediately followed by verses that amplify the same theme: "The liberal soul shall be made fat: And he that watereth shall be watered also himself" (v. 25), and a warning against hoarding resources in a time of need (v. 26). This is not an isolated piece of advice but part of a broader tapestry of wisdom that connects a man's character directly to his prosperity or poverty. The point is that economic activity is never morally neutral. It is always an expression of a man's heart, either trusting in God's abundance or fearfully clinging to his own perceived security.

Key Issues

Money as Seed

To understand this proverb, we have to get a fundamental scriptural image fixed in our minds: money is seed. This is what the apostle Paul teaches in 2 Corinthians 9 when he talks about the collection for the saints. "He that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown" (2 Cor. 9:10). A farmer understands this principle instinctively. If he wants a harvest, he cannot keep all his seed in the barn. To keep it all is to lose it all. He must "scatter" it in the field. He must throw it away. But he is not throwing it away randomly; he is throwing it away into the soil, in faith, expecting a return.

This is precisely the logic of Proverbs 11:24. The generous man is a spiritual farmer. He casts his seed, his money, his resources, his time, into the fertile ground of God's kingdom. He gives to the poor, he supports the work of the church, he is hospitable. To the worldly eye, this looks like loss. It looks like madness. As John Bunyan put it, "A man there was, though some did count him mad, the more he cast away the more he had." This is not madness; it is faith. It is acting on the knowledge that God is the Lord of the harvest, and that He has promised to multiply the seed sown.

Verse by Verse Commentary

24a There is one who scatters,

The verse begins by presenting us with a character. His defining action is that he "scatters." The Hebrew word here suggests a dispersing, a spreading abroad. It's the action of a sower casting seed with a broad sweep of his arm. This is not a timid, calculated doling out. It is open-handed, free, and liberal. This man is not constrained by the fear of running out. He operates from a mindset of abundance, not scarcity. He sees needs and opportunities all around him and understands that his resources are meant to be deployed, not warehoused. This scattering is the very picture of generosity.

24b and yet increases all the more,

And here is the divine paradox. The logical, worldly result of scattering should be decreasing. If you give away what you have, you should have less. But in God's economy, the result is the opposite. The one who scatters, increases. And not just a little, but "all the more." His generosity does not lead to a slow depletion of his assets, but to their multiplication. God sees his faithful stewardship, his open hand, and He opens the windows of heaven. The channels of blessing are kept clear by the constant outflow of generosity. This is not a mechanical formula for getting rich, but rather a description of the world as it is under the governance of a generous God who loves to reward faith.

24c And there is one who holds back what is rightly due,

Now Solomon presents the contrasting character. This is the man who withholds, who holds back. The phrase "what is rightly due" is key. The Hebrew is literally "more than is meet" or "more than is right." This is not talking about refusing to pay a legal debt, though it would certainly include that. It goes deeper. It refers to a withholding of what is morally and covenantally appropriate. This is the man who sees his brother in need and shuts up his heart of compassion. This is the man who refuses to tithe, who neglects to support the work of the kingdom, who always errs on the side of stinginess. He clutches his possessions tightly, believing that this is the path of prudence and security. He sees his assets as his own, to be preserved at all costs.

24d and yet results only in want.

And here is the second half of the paradox, the tragic irony of greed. The very thing the stingy man fears, poverty, is the thing his actions bring about. His tight-fistedness does not lead to wealth, but to want. His withholding does not preserve his pile; it causes it to shrink. How does this happen? In a thousand ways. God can dry up the sources of his income. His hoarded wealth can be destroyed by moth and rust. His lack of generosity isolates him from the community, so that when he falls on hard times, no one is there to help. His very stinginess can make him a poor businessman, unwilling to take wise risks or invest in others. Ultimately, it is a spiritual law. A closed hand cannot give, but it also cannot receive. By cutting himself off from the flow of God's blessings outward, he cuts himself off from the flow of God's blessings inward.

Application

This proverb forces us to ask a very pointed question: Is my financial life governed by the wisdom of the world or the wisdom of God? Do I operate out of a mentality of scarcity or a mentality of abundance? The natural, fallen human heart is a hoarder. We believe that security is found in accumulation. We are tempted to see generosity as a risk, a luxury we can afford only after all our own needs and wants are met, and a hefty buffer is in the bank.

God calls us to a radical, faith-filled generosity. He calls us to be scatterers. This does not mean being foolish or irresponsible. A farmer does not throw his seed on concrete. But it does mean we must see ourselves as stewards, not owners. God has given us resources not for them to terminate on us, but to flow through us for the good of others and the glory of His name. We are to be conduits, not reservoirs. The application is intensely practical. It means we should be deliberate and cheerful in our tithing. It means we should practice hospitality. It means we should be quick to help those in genuine need. It means we should invest in the work of the gospel.

And when we are tempted to close our fist, we must remember the ultimate "scattering." The Lord Jesus Christ, who was infinitely rich, scattered His divine glory and became poor, so that we through His poverty might become rich (2 Cor. 8:9). He gave everything, His very life, on the cross. And the result? He increased all the more, being raised from the dead and given the name that is above every name. Our generosity is simply a faint echo of His. We give because He first gave to us, and we can give with confidence, knowing that the Lord of the harvest will honor the faith of those who scatter His seed.