Bird's-eye view
Proverbs is a book about practical wisdom, which means it is a book about skill in living. And skill in living requires the ability to read the signs, to interpret the data that is all around you. This includes being able to read people. God made man as an embodied creature, and this means that the heart and the body are not disconnected. What is churning in the heart will inevitably find a way to express itself on the face, through the hands, and in a man's general posture. This proverb gives us two key diagnostic indicators of a heart that is up to no good. It is a field guide to identifying a certain kind of fool, the kind who is actively plotting mischief. The winking eye and the compressed lips are not neutral mannerisms; they are the "tells" of a perverse heart. They are the smoke that tells you there is a fire of malice within.
The man described here is not simply a passive sinner, stumbling into trouble. No, this is a man who is actively engaged in the business of devising and bringing evil to pass. He is an architect of trouble. And like any craftsman, he has his little habits, his physical tics that accompany his mental work. Solomon is teaching his son, and us, to be wise to such men. This is not a call to paranoia, but a call to shrewdness. We are to be as wise as serpents and as innocent as doves, and part of that wisdom is knowing what a serpent looks like before it strikes.
Outline
- 1. The Treachery of the Eyes (v. 30a)
- a. The Action: "He who winks his eyes"
- b. The Motive: "to devise perverse things"
- 2. The Malice of the Mouth (v. 30b)
- a. The Action: "He who compresses his lips"
- b. The Result: "brings evil to pass"
Context In Proverbs
This proverb sits in a chapter that deals extensively with the sovereignty of God over the affairs of men, both righteous and wicked. "The LORD has made everything for its purpose, even the wicked for the day of trouble" (Prov. 16:4). "The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps" (Prov. 16:9). Within this context, verse 30 serves as a sharp reminder that while God is sovereign, man is still responsible for the evil he devises. The wicked man is not a puppet; he is an active agent, plotting and scheming. This verse gives us a close-up, a snapshot of what that plotting looks like in the flesh. It complements the surrounding verses by showing us the human side of the equation. God is sovereign over all, but the sinner's face still betrays the machinations of his own wicked heart.
Clause-by-Clause Commentary
He who winks his eyes does so to devise perverse things;
Let's start with the action. "He who winks his eyes." In our modern context, a wink can be a playful or flirtatious thing. But in the Scriptures, it is almost uniformly a sign of conspiracy, deceit, and malicious intent. Think of the psalmist's prayer to be delivered from his enemies, who "wink the eye" at him without cause (Psalm 35:19). A wink is a secret signal. It is a non-verbal way of saying, "We're in on this together, and the person we're looking at is the butt of the joke, or the target of the scheme." It is a form of communication that intentionally excludes and targets another. It is the silent language of the cabal.
And what is the purpose of this conspiratorial signal? The text tells us plainly: "to devise perverse things." The Hebrew word for "perverse" here has the sense of being twisted, distorted, or crooked. This is not a man thinking up a harmless prank. He is designing things that are fundamentally contrary to God's straight and righteous ways. His mind is a workshop for crookedness. The wink is the little twitch of the eye that happens when he's lining up the pieces of his perverse plan. He has just thought of a new angle, a new way to exploit a weakness, a new way to spin a lie. The body cannot help but telegraph the malicious glee of the heart. So when you see that sly, knowing wink, you are not seeing a friendly gesture. You are seeing the outward sign of a mind actively at work inventing crookedness.
He who compresses his lips brings evil to pass.
Now we move from the eyes to the mouth. "He who compresses his lips." This is another piece of body language, and it speaks volumes. Compressing the lips, or biting them, is the physical act of holding something in. But what is being held in? It could be a torrent of angry words. It could be a triumphant shout that would give the game away too soon. It is the look of intense, focused, and malevolent concentration. This is the man who has moved past the "devising" stage and is now on the cusp of execution. The plan is laid, and he is steeling himself to act. He is holding his breath, figuratively, just before he brings his evil plan to fruition.
The result is that he "brings evil to pass." The winking eye was about the devising; the compressed lips are about the delivery. The evil has been conceived in the heart, signaled with the eye, and is now being birthed into the world through determined action. He has successfully restrained himself from blurting out his plan, and now he carries it out. The evil is accomplished. This is a portrait of a man who is determined in his sin. He is not wishy-washy. He sees the evil he wants to do, he focuses, and he gets it done. This proverb is a warning because such men are dangerous. Their body language is the tell-tale sign of a heart that has fully committed to a course of action, and that course is evil. The compressed lips are the physical manifestation of a resolute will, a will that is set on bringing wickedness into reality.
Application
So what do we do with this? First, we are to be discerning. We live in a world full of such men. We must not be naive. Pay attention to how people carry themselves. The Bible teaches us to be shrewd observers of human nature, not so that we can become cynical, but so that we can be wise and protect the flock. When you see these signs, be on your guard. This is not an excuse for snap judgments, but it is a call for Spirit-led caution.
Second, we must examine our own hearts and our own faces. What does your body language communicate? Do you have your own "tells" that reveal a heart of bitterness, envy, or deceit? We are often more transparent than we think. Before we can bring any evil to pass, we must first devise it. And so the battle is in the heart. We must ask the Lord to crush these perverse thoughts before they ever get to the winking or lip-compressing stage. Confess the sin of a malicious thought as soon as you recognize it for what it is. Starve it of oxygen.
Ultimately, this proverb should drive us to Christ. He is the one who never had a perverse thought. His eyes never held a malicious wink. His lips were never compressed in the service of evil. He is the epitome of transparent righteousness. And it is only by being united to Him that our own crooked hearts can be made straight. He took the evil that we devised and brought to pass upon Himself at the cross. He is our only hope for deliverance from the perversity of our own hearts. Therefore, let us flee from the subtle sins of the winking eye and turn to the one whose gaze is full of grace and truth.