Bird's-eye view
This brief but potent exhortation from a father to his son addresses one of the most insidious and common temptations for the righteous: envy. The passage sets up a stark contrast between two possible objects of our heart's desire. On the one hand, there is the fleeting, gaudy prosperity of sinners, which can provoke a corrosive jealousy in the believer. On the other hand, there is the steady, all-encompassing "fear of Yahweh." The writer commands a decisive rejection of the first and a wholehearted, constant embrace of the second. This is not merely good advice for a happier life; it is a strategic command rooted in eschatological reality. The reason given for this choice is the certainty of a future hope for the righteous. While the sinner's story is a flash in the pan, the believer's story is headed somewhere glorious, and that certain future ought to govern our emotional and spiritual state in the present.
In essence, these two verses are a call to live by faith, not by sight. Sight tells us that the wicked are winning, that their parties are better, and that their portfolios are fatter. Faith, however, looks beyond the immediate appearances to the final act of the play. The command is to let our hearts be governed not by what we see in the sinner's driveway, but by what God has promised in His Word. The fear of the Lord is not a cowering dread, but a joyful, all-day-long orientation of the soul toward God, and this, we are promised, is the only investment that guarantees a future and a hope that cannot be taken away.
Outline
- 1. The War for the Heart (Prov 23:17-18)
- a. The Negative Command: A Prohibition Against Envy (Prov 23:17a)
- b. The Positive Command: A Mandate for Godly Fear (Prov 23:17b)
- c. The Theological Reason: A Guaranteed Future (Prov 23:18)
- i. The Certainty of the End (Prov 23:18a)
- ii. The Security of Hope (Prov 23:18b)
Context In Proverbs
These verses are situated within a larger collection of "the words of the wise" (Proverbs 22:17-24:34), which are presented as fatherly instructions to a son. This section is filled with practical commands for navigating the world in wisdom and righteousness. The immediate context deals with table etiquette before a ruler (23:1-3), the deceitfulness of riches (23:4-5), and the dangers of associating with a stingy man (23:6-8). The warning against envying sinners fits squarely within this stream of instruction on how to maintain godly integrity in a world full of temptations and corrupting influences. It reminds the son that the ultimate measure of a man's life is not his present prosperity or social standing, but his ultimate destiny, a theme that runs throughout the entire book of Proverbs.
Key Issues
- The Nature of Envy
- The Definition of the Fear of Yahweh
- The Christian's Relationship to the Prosperity of the Wicked
- The Certainty of Eschatological Hope
- Living in Light of the Future
The Green-Eyed Folly
Envy is a sin that gets very little good press, even among sinners. Nobody boasts of being an envious man. It is a sneaky, slithering vice that operates in the dark places of the heart. And it is particularly foolish for the Christian because it involves wanting what someone else has, without wanting their ultimate destination. The sinner may have a bigger house, a faster car, and a more exciting weekend, but he is headed for judgment. To envy him is like envying the man on death row because he gets a better last meal. It is a profound failure to think things through to their conclusion.
The Bible tells us that the spirit within us "lusteth to envy" (James 4:5). This is our factory setting since the fall. We are born comparers, measurers, and coveters. This is why the godly have to be explicitly told, right here in Proverbs, not to envy sinners. It is not an intuitive command for our fallen nature. It requires a supernatural perspective, a re-calibration of our desires. This re-calibration is what the fear of the Lord provides. It is the only true antidote to the poison of a jealous heart.
Verse by Verse Commentary
17 Do not let your heart be jealous of sinners, But be zealous in the fear of Yahweh always.
The instruction begins by addressing the heart. This is crucial. The issue is not merely the outward act of snatching your neighbor's goods; it is the inward disposition of the soul. God is concerned with the root, not just the fruit. The command is a negative one: Do not let your heart be jealous. The word for jealous here carries the sense of envy or zealous anger. It's that hot, resentful feeling you get when you see someone who thumbs his nose at God getting everything you think you deserve. This is the temptation Asaph wrestled with in Psalm 73 when he saw the prosperity of the wicked and his own feet nearly slipped. The object of this forbidden envy is "sinners." It is not wrong to be zealous for a righteous man's wisdom or a godly woman's virtue. But to desire what sinners have, acquired by sinful means and for sinful ends, is to let your heart go astray.
The prohibition is immediately followed by a positive and contrasting command. Instead of being zealous for what the sinner has, we are to be zealous in the fear of Yahweh always. The contrast is total. One is a fleeting, situational emotion based on what others have. The other is a constant, all-encompassing orientation of life. The "fear of Yahweh" is not a servile terror, but a loving reverence, a joyful submission, a profound awe that recognizes who God is and who we are in relation to Him. It is the beginning of wisdom (Prov 9:10). And we are to be in this state "always," or "all the day long." It is to be the very atmosphere we breathe, from the moment we wake up until the moment we go to sleep. You cannot be consumed with the fear of God and the envy of man at the same time. One will drive the other out.
18 Surely there is a future, And your hope will not be cut off.
This verse provides the foundational reason for the command in verse 17. The word "surely" gives it the force of a solemn, unbreakable promise. Why should we not envy the sinner? Because there is a future. The Hebrew word here can also mean "an end" or "a reward." The point is that this present life is not the whole story. There is a final chapter, a day of reckoning, a great sorting out. The sinner's story may look like a success in the middle, but it ends in tragedy. The righteous man's story may involve trials and tribulations now, but it ends in glory. The sinner has his best life now; the believer's best life is yet to come.
Because there is this certain future, the second clause follows logically: And your hope will not be cut off. The hope of the Christian is not wishful thinking. It is not a lottery ticket. It is a confident expectation based on the character and promises of God. While the sinner's hope is in his portfolio, his health, or his reputation, all of which can be cut off in an instant, the believer's hope is anchored in the resurrected Christ. It is a living hope (1 Peter 1:3). The projects of the wicked will be "cut off," but the hope of the righteous is indestructible. This eternal security is the ultimate answer to present envy. Why would I want his temporary trinkets when I have been promised an eternal inheritance?
Application
The modern world is a finely tuned machine for generating envy. Social media, advertising, and the whole celebrity culture are designed to make us discontent with our lives and to make us jealous of what others have, or appear to have. As Christians, we are called to swim against this powerful current. This passage gives us the practical theology to do it.
First, we must starve the sin of envy. This means confessing it as sin, not as a minor personality flaw. It means recognizing that when we envy the sinner, we are implicitly questioning God's goodness and justice. We are saying that God is not being fair to us. We must repent of this idolatry of the heart.
Second, we must actively cultivate the fear of the Lord. This is not a passive state. We do this by immersing ourselves in God's Word, by consistent prayer, by fellowship with the saints, and by partaking of the means of grace. The more we are in awe of God, the less we will be impressed by the fleeting baubles of the wicked. A man who has stood on a mountain peak is not easily impressed by an anthill. A man who fears God all the day long will find the swagger of the prosperous sinner to be, frankly, a bit pathetic.
Finally, we must live with the end in mind. Our hope is not in a political victory next year or a market upswing next quarter. Our hope is in the new heavens and the new earth, the home of righteousness. When that future reality grips our hearts, it liberates us from the tyranny of present comparisons. We can rejoice with those who rejoice, and we can be genuinely content with what God has given us, because we know that the best is yet to come. Our hope will not be cut off, and that makes all the difference.