The War of the Words: Proverbs 12:6
Introduction: Two Mouths, Two Destinies
The book of Proverbs is intensely practical, but it is not a book of disconnected moralisms. It is not a collection of fortune cookie sayings for a respectable life. Underneath every sharp contrast, every pointed observation, lies a comprehensive worldview. The Bible understands that all of human life is a tale of two cities, two seeds, two ways, two destinies. And here in our text, we see that this fundamental conflict is waged not just with swords and shields, but with syllables and sentences. Words are not neutral. They are weapons. Every time you open your mouth, you are engaged in spiritual warfare. You are either building or destroying, setting an ambush or mounting a rescue.
Our secular, therapeutic age wants to pretend that words are just expressions of our inner feelings, and that the highest virtue is "speaking your truth." But the Bible tells us that our words do not just express reality; they create it. They have the power of life and death. A man's mouth reveals his heart, and his heart reveals his god. Therefore, the words of the wicked and the words of the upright are not just different in their content, but in their very nature and design. They spring from two different sources and aim at two different ends.
Proverbs 12:6 draws a stark, black-and-white distinction. There is no middle ground, no neutral territory. One man's words are a predator's ambush, set for the shedding of blood. The other man's words are a lifeline, a rescue operation. This is not hyperbole. This is the unvarnished truth about the nature of human communication in a fallen world. We must understand this because we are all participants in this war of words, whether we realize it or not. The question is not whether you will use your words as weapons, but for which king and for which kingdom you will wield them.
The Text
The words of the wicked lie in wait for blood, But the mouth of the upright will deliver them.
(Proverbs 12:6 LSB)
The Wicked Mouth: A Carnivorous Ambush (v. 6a)
The first half of the verse lays bare the native language of fallen man.
"The words of the wicked lie in wait for blood..." (Proverbs 12:6a)
The picture here is of a hunter or a bandit setting a trap. The words are the snare. The intent is not misunderstanding or a simple disagreement. The intent is destruction. "Blood" here signifies not just literal murder, though it certainly includes that, but the total ruin of a person. The wicked man uses his speech to destroy his neighbor's reputation, his livelihood, his family, his peace of mind. This is the native tongue of Hell.
How does this ambush work? It works through gossip, which is character assassination in slow motion. It works through slander, which is bearing false witness to ruin a man's standing. It works through flattery, which is laying a trap of pride for a man to fall into. It works through false accusation, as Potiphar's wife did to Joseph, or as the Pharisees did to Jesus. It works through manipulative questions, designed to trip someone up, just as the serpent did in the Garden: "Did God really say...?"
The wicked man's words "lie in wait." This is not a crime of passion. It is premeditated. He watches, he listens, he gathers information, not to help, but to harm. He learns a person's weaknesses, their fears, their past sins, and he stores this information as ammunition. Then, at the opportune moment, he deploys his words to inflict maximum damage. This is the strategy of the accuser, Satan, who prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. The speech of the wicked is carnivorous.
We must see this for what it is. This is not just "being negative." This is bloodlust. The heart of the wicked, which is the unregenerate human heart, is deceitful above all things and desperately sick. It resents the righteousness of the upright. It envies the blessing of God on the faithful. And so it uses words to try and tear down what it cannot build. Cain's hatred for Abel began in his heart, but it was surely nursed with bitter thoughts and likely expressed in wicked words before he finally rose up and shed his brother's blood.
The Upright Mouth: A Divine Rescue (v. 6b)
In stark contrast to the verbal predator, we have the righteous man, whose speech is an instrument of deliverance.
"But the mouth of the upright will deliver them." (Proverbs 12:6b LSB)
Who is the "them" that is delivered? It can be the upright themselves, whose honest and wise words get them out of trouble. But more often, it refers to the victims of the wicked man's ambush. The upright man's mouth is a rescue party. While the wicked man is setting snares, the righteous man is cutting people out of them.
How does this deliverance work? It works through speaking the truth in love. When a reputation is being torn apart by gossip, the upright man speaks a word of defense. He speaks what he knows to be true and refuses to participate in the slander. It works through wise counsel. When someone is heading down a foolish path, ensnared by lies, the upright man offers a word of correction that delivers them from ruin. It works through a timely warning, pointing out the trap the wicked have set.
Fundamentally, the mouth of the upright delivers because it speaks God's truth into a situation. The wicked man's power is in his lies, his distortions, his half-truths. The upright man's power is in the simple, plain, unvarnished truth. Truth is light, and when you turn on the light, the predators lurking in the shadows are exposed and scattered. The upright man doesn't need to be clever or manipulative. He just needs to be faithful. His words have authority because they are aligned with the ultimate reality of God's Word.
This is why the Scriptures place such a high premium on the truth. "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor" is not just about courtroom perjury. It is a command that governs all speech. We are to be people of the truth, because our God is the God of truth. Our Savior is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. And the Spirit is the Spirit of Truth. To speak truthfully, wisely, and lovingly is to wield the power of God's kingdom. It is to participate in the great deliverance that God is working in the world.
The Gospel Mouthpiece
This proverb, like all of Proverbs, finds its ultimate fulfillment and its deepest meaning in the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the ultimate upright man, and His mouth is the ultimate instrument of deliverance.
The words of the wicked lay in wait for Him His entire ministry. The scribes and Pharisees constantly tried to "entangle him in his talk" (Matthew 22:15). They used flattery, trick questions, and false accusations, all in an attempt to shed His blood. Their words were the snare, and they eventually succeeded in having Him crucified. The cross was the greatest ambush ever set by the wicked.
But the mouth of the Upright One accomplished the greatest deliverance. On that cross, He spoke words of forgiveness: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." He spoke words of assurance to the thief beside Him, delivering him from Hell and into Paradise. And with His final breath, He spoke the word of victory: "It is finished."
And now, through the foolishness of the message preached, the mouth of the upright continues to deliver. Every time the gospel is proclaimed, it is a rescue mission. We were all trapped, lying in wait for the bloodletting of eternal judgment that our sins deserved. We were caught in the snare of the devil. But God sent messengers, upright men and women whose mouths delivered us. They spoke the truth about our sin, but they also spoke the glorious truth about the Savior who shed His blood in our place.
The gospel is the ultimate deliverance. It is the mouth of God speaking into our desperate situation and rescuing us from the ambush of sin and death. And now, as those who have been delivered, we are called to use our mouths for the same purpose. We are to be agents of deliverance. Our words are to be filled with grace, seasoned with salt, ready to give an answer for the hope that is in us. We are to defend the weak, speak truth to the powerful, and proclaim the good news that rescues souls from the fowler's snare. The war of words continues, but we fight on the side of the one whose Word spoke the universe into existence and whose final word will be one of ultimate victory.