Commentary - Proverbs 22:10

Bird's-eye view

This proverb presents a straightforward, yet frequently ignored, principle of social and spiritual health. It functions as a divine prescription for peace within a community, whether that community is a family, a church, or a nation. The diagnosis is simple: the presence of a "scoffer" is the direct cause of strife, contention, and public disgrace. The prescribed cure is equally direct, though it runs contrary to our modern sensibilities of sentimental tolerance: the scoffer must be expelled. Solomon, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, teaches us that peace is not the result of appeasing troublemakers, but of removing them. This is a foundational text for understanding the biblical necessity of church discipline and the wisdom of setting firm boundaries in any covenantal body.

The logic is causal and absolute. If you want the effects (strife, contention, disgrace) to cease, you must deal with the cause (the scoffer). This is not a suggestion for negotiation or therapy; it is a command for purgation. The health of the entire community is prioritized over the feelings of one toxic individual who is committed to his folly. This is spiritual surgery, and while it may be painful in the moment, it is essential for the long-term life and peace of the body.

Outline

Context In Proverbs

Proverbs consistently draws a sharp line, a great antithesis, between the wise man and the fool. Within the category of the fool, there are several gradations, and the "scoffer" (Hebrew: luts) is the most hardened and dangerous type. He is not merely ignorant; he is arrogant, unteachable, and contemptuous of wisdom and correction (Prov 9:7-8, 13:1). This verse, found in the "thirty sayings of the wise" (Prov 22:17-24:22), moves from describing the character of the scoffer to prescribing the necessary community action against him. It fits squarely within the book's overarching purpose: to impart practical wisdom for navigating God's world according to God's rules. One of those fundamental rules is that fellowship with certain types of people is impossible and destructive. Purity and peace are linked, and this proverb shows that achieving the latter sometimes requires enforcing the former.

Key Issues

The Peaceable Fruit of Purgation

Our age is one of therapeutic management and a deep-seated fear of confrontation. The prevailing wisdom is that conflict is a misunderstanding to be mediated, and every disruptive person is simply a victim who needs to be heard. The Bible operates on a different, more robustly realistic, set of assumptions. It teaches that some problems are not misunderstandings; they are rebellions. And some people are not victims; they are perpetrators. This proverb is a bracing dose of that realism.

The peace of a community is a precious thing, but it does not happen by accident. It must be cultivated, and part of that cultivation involves weeding. The scoffer is a noxious weed who, if allowed to remain, will choke out the healthy plants. The wisdom of God, therefore, is not to ask the garden to learn to coexist with the thorns and thistles, but rather to root them out. What our culture calls intolerance, the Bible calls wisdom. What we see as harsh, God sees as the necessary prerequisite for peace.

Verse by Verse Commentary

10 Drive out the scoffer, and strife will go out, Even contention and disgrace will cease.

The verse is a simple command followed by a guaranteed result. It is a spiritual law, as certain as the law of gravity. Let us break it down.

First, the command: Drive out the scoffer. The "scoffer" is the proud, cynical, and incorrigible mocker. He does not just have a different opinion; he holds the very idea of truth and authority in contempt. When he is corrected, he bites back (Prov 9:7). He is unteachable because he believes he is intellectually and morally superior to everyone, including God. The command is not to reason with him, accommodate him, or form a committee to study his grievances. The command is to "drive out," a strong verb that implies decisive and forceful removal. This is the Old Testament equivalent of the New Testament command to excommunicate, to "purge the evil person from among you" (1 Cor. 5:13). It is a necessary act of communal sanitation.

Second, the immediate result: and strife will go out. Notice the cause and effect. Strife is not a free-floating entity that descends randomly. It is manufactured and sustained by particular people. The scoffer is a strife-generator. He thrives on conflict, gossip, and division. He loves to set people against one another. Therefore, when the source of the infection is removed, the fever breaks. The strife "will go out" with him, as though it were his personal possession that he takes with him when he leaves.

Third, the broader results: Even contention and disgrace will cease. This expands on the blessing that follows the act of obedience. "Contention" refers to the specific quarrels, lawsuits, and arguments that the scoffer instigates. "Disgrace" points to the public shame that a community suffers when it is known for its internal conflicts. A church that is constantly fighting brings dishonor to the name of Christ. When the scoffer is expelled, the arguments die down for lack of fuel, and the community's reputation for godliness and peace can be restored. The peace that results is comprehensive, touching both the internal atmosphere and the external witness of the group.

Application

The application of this proverb is intensely practical, and it strikes at the heart of much modern church practice. Many churches are filled with strife, contention, and disgrace precisely because they have refused to obey this command. They have tolerated scoffers in the name of love, but it is a counterfeit love. It is a sentimentality that loves the wolf more than the sheep.

True biblical love for the body of Christ requires the courage to perform surgery. When a member of the church shows himself to be a scoffer, one who is proud, divisive, and contemptuous of the church's teaching and authority, he cannot be allowed to remain indefinitely. The process of discipline outlined by Jesus in Matthew 18 must be followed, and if the man remains unrepentant, he must be driven out. This is not done to destroy him, but rather to save the church, and perhaps, by the shock of his removal, to bring him to his senses (1 Cor. 5:5).

This principle also applies in the home. A parent who allows a child to cultivate a scoffing and rebellious attitude without firm, decisive discipline is setting up the entire household for strife. It applies in business, where one toxic employee can poison the culture of an entire company. The lesson is universal: peace is a fruit of righteousness, and righteousness requires judging evil and separating from it. We cannot have the peace promised in this verse if we are unwilling to carry out the command that is its prerequisite.