Commentary - Proverbs 27:23-27

Bird's-eye view

This passage in Proverbs is a beautiful and earthy exhortation to godly diligence. It is not a call to frantic, mindless work, but rather to intelligent, informed, and faithful stewardship. Solomon grounds our labor in the real world of sheep, goats, grass, and milk, reminding us that the foundation of true wealth is not hoarded cash or a royal title, but rather the productive blessing of God on our faithful work. The argument flows from the particular to the general and back again. It begins with the specific command to know the state of our affairs (v. 23), provides the theological reason for this diligence by highlighting the temporary nature of worldly wealth and power (v. 24), and then illustrates the fruit of this diligence with a pastoral picture of God's faithful provision through the created order (vv. 25-27). This is applied theology for the farm, the shop, and the home office. It is a call to work with our heads and our hands, trusting that God blesses such faithful, intelligent labor.

Outline

Verse by Verse Commentary

23 Know well the condition of your flocks, And pay attention to your herds;

The wisdom here begins with a command that must precede all our hard work. Before you start shearing, you count the sheep. Before you build a new pen, you know how many goats you have. The injunction is to be diligent in knowing the state of your affairs. This is not a suggestion to be a micromanager, but a command to be a faithful steward. Information is gold. Knowing where you are is the first and most necessary step in figuring out what to do next. Many a Christian businessman has run his enterprise into the ground assuming that the only solution to any problem is simply to "work harder." But working harder at the wrong task is like trying to fill a bucket with a hole in it by pouring water in faster. You just get wetter. Solomon is telling us to inspect the bucket first. Know the state of your flocks. Pay attention. This is the difference between effectiveness and mere efficiency. Effectiveness is doing the right things. Efficiency is just doing things. God calls us to be effective, and that requires knowledge, analysis, and careful attention. This is true of your financial capital, but it is also true of your spiritual capital, the state of your family, and the condition of your own soul.

24 For wealth is not forever, Neither is a crown from generation to generation.

And here is the reason why such diligence is necessary. The world is a slippery place. What you have today can be gone tomorrow. Solomon is not just talking about a stock market crash or a bad harvest. He is giving us a foundational theological principle. All earthly wealth is temporary. All earthly authority, symbolized by the crown, is transient. You can't take it with you, and your kids might just squander it. This reality should not lead us to despair, but rather to diligence. Because wealth is not forever, we must manage it wisely while we have it. Because the crown does not last, the one who wears it must govern justly and prudently in his time. This verse is a direct assault on the man who puts his trust in riches. The rich fool in the parable had his barns full, but his soul was required of him that very night. He knew the state of his grain, perhaps, but he did not know the state of his soul before God. True, lasting wealth is found in fearing the Lord, not in trusting our portfolios. This proverb drives us to depend not on the created thing, the wealth, but on the Creator who gives the power to get wealth.

25 When the grass disappears and the vegetation appears, And the herbs of the mountains are gathered in,

After establishing the principle and the motivation, Solomon now paints a picture of how God's world actually works. This is a portrait of cyclical provision. The hay is cut and gathered, and then the new growth appears. The mountain herbs are harvested. This is the rhythm of the seasons, the dependable pattern that God has woven into the fabric of creation. This is not an automatic process. The herbs don't gather themselves. The hay doesn't leap into the barn. This dependable cycle requires a dependable man to work within it. The diligent man, the one who knows the state of his flocks, understands these rhythms. He knows when to cut the hay, when to move the flock to new pasture. He works with the grain of God's created order, not against it. This is a profound picture of faith. We trust that God will make the grass grow again, and in that faith, we gather what He has provided for today. We act on the basis of God's faithfulness, which is displayed in the turning of the seasons.

26 The lambs will be for your clothing, And the goats will bring the price of a field,

Here we see the tangible results of informed diligence. The man who pays attention to his herds will have wool for his sweaters and capital for expansion. Notice the practicality of it all. This isn't "name it and claim it" theology. This is "tend it and get it" theology. The lambs provide clothing. The goats are not just for milk; they are a currency that can be traded for a capital asset, a field. This is how a family builds generational wealth, not by hoarding a crown that fades, but by productive, faithful work. God's blessing is not abstract; it is concrete. It is warm clothes on a cold day. It is the ability to purchase a field that will provide for your children. This is the opposite of the get-rich-quick scheme. This is slow, methodical, faithful stewardship that bears real, tangible fruit in the world. This is how a man builds a household that can stand as a bastion of faithfulness and hospitality in a crooked and perverse generation.

27 And there will be enough goats’ milk for your food, For the food of your household, And sustenance for your maidens.

The passage concludes with the beautiful promise of sufficiency. Not extravagance, not luxury for its own sake, but enough. There will be enough milk for you, for your family, and for your servants. The blessing of diligent stewardship overflows. It provides not just for the master of the house, but for his entire household. This is a covenantal picture. The head of the household is responsible for the well being of all under his care, and God honors the faithful discharge of that duty. This sufficiency is the direct result of the process laid out in the preceding verses: knowing your business, understanding the temporary nature of worldly wealth, working within God's created order, and wisely managing the fruit of your labor. The end result is peace, provision, and a well-ordered household. This is the kind of wealth that matters. It is the quiet contentment of a family that is fed, clothed, and secure, not because of a massive bank account, but because of their faithful labor under the blessing of a faithful God. This is the good life, as defined by Scripture, and it is a world away from the frantic, anxious pursuit of Mammon that characterizes our age. It is a life rooted in the soil of God's creation and ordered by the wisdom of His Word.

Application

The central application here is to take responsibility for the things God has entrusted to you, and to do so with intelligence. "Know well the condition of your flocks" is a command that applies to every area of life. A husband must know the condition of his wife's heart. Parents must know the state of their children's souls. A pastor must know the state of his congregation. An employee must know the state of his assigned tasks. We are all stewards.

This passage teaches us that true security is not found in the amount of our wealth, but in the faithfulness of our work. The crown will fade, the dollar will inflate, but God's promise to bless diligent hands is a constant. We are therefore called to work with our heads, to think, plan, and analyze before we act. And we are called to work with our hands, to engage with the real world God has made.

Ultimately, this points us to Christ, the Good Shepherd who knows His sheep by name. He is the ultimate steward, the one who laid down His life for the flock. Our stewardship is always a reflection of His. Because we have been bought with a price, all that we have is His. Our flocks, our herds, our businesses, our families, they are all His. And our diligent care for them is an act of worship to the one who owns it all and who provides for all our needs according to His riches in glory.