Bird's-eye view
This proverb addresses a foundational principle of God's created order: the unbreakable link between process and blessing. Solomon warns against the desire for instant gratification, the spirit that seeks to grab the prize without running the race. An inheritance obtained through haste, trickery, or impatience is fundamentally unstable because it bypasses the character-forming work that God intends to accomplish through diligent, patient labor. The proverb teaches that the legitimacy of a possession is determined not just by its acquisition, but by the manner and timing of that acquisition. A beginning marked by frantic grasping will inevitably lead to an end that is empty and cursed, for God will not be mocked. He blesses the work of faithful hands, not the schemes of restless hearts.
The core contrast is between a God-honoring process and a man-centered shortcut. The world says, "get it now." The Word says, "build it faithfully." The inheritance that comes as a result of godly diligence, sown in its proper season, is the one that will endure and receive the benediction of God. Anything else is a flash in the pan, a structure built on sand that is destined for a great fall. This is a law of the universe, as true in finance and farming as it is in our spiritual lives.
Outline
- 1. The Law of Process (Prov 20:21)
- a. The Impatient Beginning (Prov 20:21a)
- b. The Cursed Conclusion (Prov 20:21b)
Context In Proverbs
This verse sits squarely within the major themes of Proverbs concerning wealth, labor, and stewardship. The book consistently contrasts the diligent man, who works patiently and builds wealth slowly, with the slothful or hasty man, who comes to ruin. For example, "The hand of the diligent makes rich" (Prov 10:4), while "He who gathers in summer is a wise son, but he who sleeps in harvest is a son who causes shame" (Prov 10:5). Proverbs 21:5 is a direct parallel: "The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty." The wisdom of Proverbs is earthy and practical; it teaches that the fear of the Lord is the foundation for a life that is stable and fruitful in every respect. A "hurried" inheritance is one seized without the fear of the Lord, without respect for His timing and His ordained processes for blessing.
Key Issues
- The Sin of Haste
- Diligence vs. Laziness
- The Nature of a True Blessing
- Means and Ends
- Character and Stewardship
- The Prodigal Son Principle
The Curse of the Shortcut
We live in an age that worships the shortcut. We want six-pack abs in ten minutes a day, a thriving business from a weekend seminar, and deep spiritual maturity from a podcast. We are, in short, a people who want an inheritance gained hurriedly at the beginning. But God is the God of process. He is the God of sowing, cultivating, watering, and then, in His good time, reaping. He is not the God of the lottery ticket. This proverb is a bucket of cold water on our get-rich-quick fantasies, and it applies to far more than just money.
The central issue is a failure to trust God's timing and His methods. Haste is a form of practical atheism. It is the decision to take matters into our own hands, to force a result that God has not yet ordained. It is the spirit of Jacob deceiving his father for the birthright, the spirit of Saul offering the sacrifice before Samuel arrived, and preeminently, the spirit of the prodigal son demanding his share of the estate before his father was dead. In every case, the shortcut leads to trouble, sorrow, and loss. God is interested in what we are becoming through the process of faithful work, and when we try to skip the process, we forfeit the character necessary to handle the blessing.
Verse by Verse Commentary
21 An inheritance gained hurriedly at the beginning...
First, what is an inheritance? In the most direct sense, it is family wealth passed down. But the principle applies to any significant blessing or position: a business, a reputation, a ministry, a leadership role. It is something of value that is meant to be received at a proper time and in a proper way. The key verb is hurriedly. This is not about being efficient; it is about a spirit of frantic, impatient grasping. It is the young man who wants the corner office on his first day. It is the church planter who wants a megachurch in his first year. It is the couple who wants the lifestyle of their parents without the thirty years of work their parents put in.
The phrase at the beginning is crucial. This is about wanting the end result right now. The arch-example of this is the younger son in Luke 15. "Father, give me the share of the estate that falls to me." This was a profound insult, essentially wishing his father dead. He got what he wanted, hurriedly and at the beginning of his adult life. He short-circuited the process of learning wisdom under his father's roof. He wanted the wealth without the relationship, the stuff without the wisdom. This is the essence of the sin described here.
...In the end will not be blessed.
And here is the inevitable result. The end of that road is a curse, not a blessing. Notice, it does not say the inheritance will disappear, although it often does. It says it will not be blessed. A blessing is more than mere possession; it is the favor and good pleasure of God resting upon something. You can have a million dollars in the bank and have it be a curse to you. You can have a large ministry that is not blessed by God. A thing that is not blessed will be a source of anxiety, strife, and sorrow, and it will ultimately turn to dust in your hands.
Why is this so? Because the inheritance was obtained apart from the character needed to steward it. The prodigal son had the money, but he did not have the wisdom, so he squandered it in riotous living. The man who cheats his way to the top of a company has the position, but not the integrity to hold it, and his fall will be great. The blessing of God is holistic. It includes both the provision and the wisdom to handle the provision. When we grab for the first without submitting to God's process for the second, the end is always ruin. The end of the matter reveals its true nature. The shortcut, which looked so clever at the beginning, proves to be the long way to the pigsty.
Application
This proverb is a call to patience and diligence. It is a call for young men to reject the siren song of "easy money" and to embrace the nobility of hard, faithful, and often slow work. Build your house brick by brick. Don't despise the day of small beginnings. Learn your trade, be faithful in the small things, and trust God to bring the increase in His time. The world will tell you that you are falling behind. Your friends who took the shortcut may seem to be soaring past you for a season. But trust the Word of God: their end will not be blessed.
This applies profoundly to our spiritual lives as well. Sanctification is not a hurried affair. It is a long, slow, patient work of the Holy Spirit. We want to be spiritual giants overnight, but God makes us grow like an oak tree, not a mushroom. We must embrace the ordinary means of grace: the Word, prayer, fellowship, the Lord's Table. We must be faithful in the mundane, day-in and day-out battle against sin. There are no shortcuts to holiness. An attempt to gain a reputation for spirituality "hurriedly at the beginning" is the very definition of hypocrisy, and its end will not be blessed. The path to the celestial city is a pilgrimage, not a teleport. Let us learn to be good pilgrims, walking faithfully one step at a time, trusting that the God who began a good work in us will bring it to completion in His time, and that the inheritance He gives at the end will be eternally blessed.