Commentary - Proverbs 14:24

Bird's-eye view

This proverb sets before us a sharp, antithetical parallelism, contrasting the ultimate outcomes of wisdom and folly. It is a proverb about results, about the harvest that grows from the seeds of character. For the wise, the fruit of their wisdom is "riches," which here functions as their crown, a visible, glorious adornment that signifies honor, authority, and blessing. Wisdom is not an ethereal, impractical thing; in God's economy, it bears tangible, weighty fruit. On the other side of the ledger, the fool's harvest is simply more of what he already is. His folly produces nothing but more folly. It is a closed and sterile loop, a self-perpetuating cycle of emptiness that is its own miserable reward. The verse teaches us that wisdom is a productive, generative force, while folly is a barren, dead-end street.

The structure here is designed to make us evaluate the paths we are on. One path leads to a coronation, to a glorious and substantial reward that adorns the man who walks in it. The other path leads to a tautological dead end; the fool invests his folly and his only return on investment is more folly. It is a picture of glorious increase on the one hand, and a pathetic, circular ruin on the other.

Outline

Context In Proverbs

The book of Proverbs consistently sets two paths before the reader: the way of wisdom and the way of folly. This verse is a classic example of that central theme. Throughout the book, wisdom is presented as something that must be sought above all else, even above gold and silver (Prov 3:14, 16:16). However, Proverbs also teaches that wisdom, when genuinely obtained, often results in material blessing and honor. "By humility and the fear of the LORD are riches and honor and life" (Prov 22:4). This verse fits squarely within that deuteronomic framework where obedience and wisdom lead to blessing, and disobedience and folly lead to a curse. It is not a promise that every wise man will be a millionaire, nor that every rich man is wise. Proverbs are not flat, axiomatic guarantees. Rather, they describe the way the world is wired to work under the government of God. This proverb, like many others, shows that godly character has real-world consequences, for good or for ill.

Key Issues

Wisdom's Coronation

One of the central lies of our pietistic age is that spirituality and material substance are somehow at odds. We are taught to be suspicious of any connection between righteousness and riches, as though poverty were somehow next to godliness. The book of Proverbs will have none of it. Now, to be clear, Proverbs is adamant that wisdom is to be preferred over wealth. If you have to choose between being wise and poor or rich and stupid, the choice is a simple one (Prov 19:1). But the Bible also presents us with two other options: poor and stupid, or rich and wise. The ideal, the blessing of God, is to be rich and wise.

This proverb teaches that in the ordinary run of things, under the blessing of God, wisdom produces wealth. Not as an end in itself, but as a natural consequence, a byproduct. The wise man, because he fears God, is diligent, prudent, honest, and generous. These are the very virtues that build a flourishing household, a thriving business, and a stable community. The "riches" spoken of here are the tangible result of a life lived skillfully before God. And these riches are not a snare, but a "crown." A crown is a public symbol of honor, authority, and glory. When a wise man prospers, his wealth is an adornment; it is a platform from which his wisdom can be exercised for the good of many. It is a visible testimony to the goodness of God's world and the rightness of His ways.

Verse by Verse Commentary

24 The crown of the wise is their riches,

The first clause lays out the reward for a life of wisdom. The key terms are crown, wise, and riches. The wise are those who live with skill, according to the grain of God's created order. They fear the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom, and they apply His truth to the practical affairs of life. The result of this skillful living is riches. This refers not just to money, but to substance, to a well-ordered and productive household, to abundance. But notice the function of these riches. They are a crown. A crown is not something you hoard in a vault; it is something you wear on your head. It is a public declaration. It signifies honor and authority. The prosperity of the wise man brings him honor and extends his influence. It is a visible, glorious thing that adorns his life and testifies to the fact that God's ways work. This is not the health-and-wealth gospel; it is the deuteronomic logic of the covenant. Godliness has the promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come. Wisdom pays dividends, and those dividends are a crown of glory.

But the folly of fools is folly.

The contrast is stark and almost jarringly blunt. We might expect the proverb to say, "But the poverty of fools is their ruin." Instead, it says their folly is their folly. This is a profound tautology. A tautology is a statement that is true by definition, and the Holy Spirit uses it here to make a crucial point about the nature of foolishness. The fool invests his folly, his laziness, his arrogance, his refusal to listen to correction, and what is the return on his investment? More folly. He gets exactly what he put in. There is no increase, no product, no crown. His life is a closed, sterile loop of stupidity. Folly is not only the cause of his ruin, it is the ruin itself. It is his process and his product. It is his seed and his harvest. He ends up with nothing but the very thing he started with, only now it is his settled condition, his inescapable reward. While the wise man's life is generative, producing a glorious crown, the fool's life is utterly barren. He is stuck with himself, and that is his hell.

Application

This proverb forces us to ask what we are building and what crown we are seeking. The world offers many crowns, the crown of celebrity, the crown of political power, the crown of intellectual respectability. But these are flimsy things, wreaths of parsley that wither in a day. The crown described here is the result of a life lived in the fear of God. It is the crown of substance, of real-world effectiveness, that comes from applying God's wisdom to our daily tasks.

So, are you seeking wisdom first? Do you desire to live skillfully before God more than you desire the riches themselves? If you seek riches for their own sake, you will not be innocent (Prov 28:20). But if you seek wisdom, you will find that she holds in her left hand riches and honor (Prov 3:16). We should desire to be productive and effective servants, and we should desire the tools that allow us to be so. Wealth in the hands of a wise man is a mighty lever for kingdom good. It can build churches, fund schools, support missions, and care for the poor. It is a crown, an adornment to the gospel.

At the same time, we must take the warning to heart. The path of the fool is a dead end. If you are investing in foolishness, in laziness, in pride, in sexual sin, in bitterness, do not be surprised when your only harvest is more of the same. The folly of fools is folly. The only way to break this cycle is through repentance. It requires turning from the barren path of folly and seeking the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the wisdom of God. He is the one who took the fool's reward, the curse and the shame, so that we might be given the wise man's crown, which is righteousness, and with it, every good thing.