The Zoology of Tyranny Text: Proverbs 28:15
Introduction: The Nature of the Beast
The book of Proverbs is intensely practical. It does not give us abstract platitudes for a quiet life of personal devotion. It gives us inspired wisdom for navigating the real world, a world full of fools and wise men, diligent workers and sluggards, and, as our text points out, good rulers and wicked ones. And it does not mince words. The Bible is not a sentimental book; it is a book of rugged, unflinching realism. It understands that when sin takes root in a man with power, that man does not become a slightly misguided administrator. He becomes a beast.
We live in an age that has forgotten this. Our modern sensibilities are allergic to sharp antitheses. We prefer to think of our political opponents as merely misinformed, or as having a different but equally valid perspective. We have been trained by our secular priests to believe that all political discourse must be conducted in the key of C-major, with no jarring notes. But the Scriptures know nothing of this. The Bible tells us that idolatry causes tyranny. When a people forsake the living God, they will inevitably get the rulers they deserve. And when a ruler forsakes the living God, he ceases to be a minister of God for good and becomes something else entirely. He devolves.
This proverb gives us a zoological classification for the wicked ruler. It tells us what kind of animal he is. This is not hyperbole; it is a precise, theological description of his fundamental nature. He is not a shepherd who has lost his way. He is a predator. And understanding this is the first step toward wisdom in the civic realm. If you misidentify the creature, you will adopt the wrong strategy for dealing with it. You do not reason with a roaring lion. You do not try to appease a rushing bear. You recognize it for what it is, and you take measures accordingly, trusting in the Lord of Hosts, who is the only one who can break the teeth of the lion and deliver the prey from its mouth.
So let us attend to this blunt and necessary piece of divine wisdom. It is a lesson our soft and compromised generation desperately needs to learn. Civil authority is a gift from God, but like all good gifts, it can be twisted by sin into something monstrous. And when it is, we must have the courage to call it what it is.
The Text
Like a roaring lion and a rushing bear
Is a wicked ruler over a poor people.
(Proverbs 28:15 LSB)
The Predator Prince (v. 15a)
The proverb begins with a simile, a comparison that is as vivid as it is terrifying.
"Like a roaring lion and a rushing bear..." (Proverbs 28:15a)
The Holy Spirit does not say the wicked ruler is like a grumpy badger or a territorial squirrel. The animals chosen are apex predators, creatures defined by their power, their ferocity, and their insatiable appetite. This is not an insult; it is a diagnosis.
First, consider the "roaring lion." The roar of a lion is not a conversational gambit. It is an instrument of terror and paralysis. It is meant to establish dominance and to freeze the prey in its tracks. The apostle Peter uses this same image for our ultimate adversary: "Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour" (1 Peter 5:8). A wicked ruler, then, is diabolical in his methods. He governs by intimidation. His decrees, his mandates, his threats, and his propaganda are all part of the roar. It is sound and fury, designed to make the populace tremble and to quell any thought of resistance. He wants you to be too afraid to even think about disobedience. He establishes his authority not on righteousness, but on raw, terrifying power.
Second, we have the "rushing bear." If the lion represents terrifying power, the bear represents rapacious, brute force. A bear, particularly a "rushing" or "charging" bear, is an image of unpredictable, destructive violence. It is not strategic; it is ravenous. It acts on impulse and appetite. This points to the greed and covetousness that drive the wicked ruler. He is not content to simply rule; he must devour. He sees the people and their property not as a trust from God to be protected, but as a resource to be plundered. His policies are not aimed at the common good, but at enriching himself and his cronies. Taxation becomes theft, regulation becomes strangulation, and justice is for sale to the highest bidder. Like a bear crashing through the undergrowth, he tramples rights, laws, and customs in his greedy pursuit of more.
Taken together, these two animals paint a picture of a ruler who has abandoned his God-given calling. Romans 13 tells us that the magistrate is to be God's minister, a terror to bad conduct, not to good. He is to wield the sword to punish evil. But the wicked ruler inverts this entirely. He becomes a terror to the righteous and a protector of the wicked. He has ceased to be a shepherd and has become a predator. His rule is not characterized by justice, but by violence and appetite.
The Vulnerable Flock (v. 15b)
The proverb then specifies the object of this predatory rule.
"Is a wicked ruler over a poor people." (Proverbs 28:15b)
Why does the text specify "a poor people"? It is because the poor are the most vulnerable. They are the ones with the least power to resist. They have no powerful friends, no money for bribes, no legal teams to tie up the courts. They are, in a word, helpless. And the character of a ruler is revealed most clearly by how he treats those who can do nothing for him, or to him.
A righteous ruler, a godly king, understands that he has a particular duty to defend the weak. The Mosaic law is filled with protections for the poor, the widow, the orphan, and the sojourner. The king was to be the ultimate guarantor of their rights (Psalm 72:4, 12-14). He was to be their defender precisely because they could not defend themselves. His job was to ensure that the flock was not ravaged.
But the wicked ruler sees their vulnerability not as a reason for protection, but as an opportunity for predation. It is precisely because they are poor that he can get away with his oppression. They are an easy meal. This is the very definition of cowardice and wickedness. To use God-given strength to crush the weak is a high-handed sin, an abomination to the Lord. It is a complete inversion of the divine mandate.
We should also understand "poor" here not just in economic terms, but in terms of power. A disarmed people is a poor people. A people stripped of their rights is a poor people. A people whose institutions have been corrupted and can no longer provide a check on executive power is a poor people. Tyrants always work to impoverish their people in every way, because a dependent, weak, and fearful populace is much easier to control than a prosperous, armed, and principled one. The tyrant wants subjects, not citizens. He wants a flock of sheep to fleece and slaughter, not a congregation of free men made in the image of God.
The Antithesis of Christ the King
This proverb, like all of Scripture, ultimately points us to Christ. The picture of the wicked ruler as a lion and a bear is the perfect antithesis to our true King, the Lord Jesus Christ. He also is described as a lion, the Lion of the tribe of Judah (Revelation 5:5). But His roar is the gospel that brings life, not the threat that brings terror. He is a lion to His enemies, but a lamb to His people.
Furthermore, our King is the Good Shepherd. He does not devour the flock; He lays down His life for the flock (John 10:11). He does not plunder the poor; He became poor for our sakes, that we through His poverty might become rich (2 Corinthians 8:9). He does not rule by intimidation, but by love. He does not trample the weak, but gently carries the lambs in His bosom (Isaiah 40:11).
Every wicked ruler is a cheap, satanic knock-off of the true King. Tyranny is a blasphemous parody of true authority. The tyrant craves the worship, the power, and the glory that belong to Christ alone. This is why idolatry and tyranny are inextricably linked. When a nation bows down to the idol of the state, or the idol of security, or the idol of materialism, it is inviting a roaring lion to be its king. When men will not be governed by God, they will be ruled by tyrants.
Our Duty in the Face of Tyranny
So what is the practical application for us? This proverb is not in the Bible to make us despair. It is there to make us wise. First, it teaches us discernment. We must learn to identify the roaring and the rushing. We must not be naive. When a ruler begins to consolidate power, to disregard law, to silence dissent, and to prey on the vulnerable, we must call it what it is. It is wickedness. It is tyranny in seed form, and we must not pretend it is statesmanship.
Second, it should drive us to prayer and repentance. Tyranny is a judgment from God for the sins of a people (1 Samuel 8:10-18). If we find ourselves under such a ruler, our first question should not be "How can we get rid of him?" but rather "Lord, what idolatry in our own hearts and in our nation has led you to chasten us with this man?" Reformation must begin in the house of God.
Third, it reminds us of our duty to the poor and vulnerable. We, the church, must be the true defenders of the poor. We must care for the widow and the orphan. We must speak for the unborn. We must stand against the injustices perpetrated by predatory rulers. We cannot be silent when the bear is rushing and the lion is roaring.
Finally, it must fill us with a rugged hope. This world is not ultimate. The tyrants of this world are on a very short leash. They roar and rush for a season, but their end is destruction. Our King, the Lion of Judah, has conquered. He is on the throne. He is putting all His enemies under His feet. And our task is to live as faithful citizens of His kingdom, refusing to bow to the beast, and working for the establishment of His righteous rule in every corner of His world. We must not fear the roaring of earthly lions, for we serve the Lion of Judah, and His roar will be the last one heard.