Bird's-eye view
Proverbs 28:20 sets before us two men, two paths, and two entirely different destinies. It is a proverb of stark contrast, laying out a fundamental law of God's economic and moral universe. On the one hand, we have the faithful man, the man of integrity and steadfastness. His path is one of patient diligence, and the result is an abundance of blessings. On the other hand, we have the man in a frantic hurry, the one who makes haste to be rich. His path is one of shortcuts, schemes, and compromise, and his destiny is certain judgment. This is not a promise that every faithful man will be a millionaire, nor is it a simple condemnation of wealth. Rather, it is a statement about character and consequence. God's world is designed to reward faithfulness over the long haul, while the frantic pursuit of mammon is a self-destructive enterprise that God will not allow to stand unpunished.
The core issue is the heart's orientation. The faithful man serves God and therefore builds things of lasting value. The man who makes haste to be rich serves money, and in his idolatrous sprint, he tramples the very laws of God and man that make true prosperity possible. This proverb is a foundational principle for Christian economics, a warning against all get-rich-quick schemes, and an encouragement to embrace the slow, steady, and ultimately fruitful path of daily faithfulness in our callings.
Outline
- 1. Two Paths in God's Economy (Prov 28:20)
- a. The Reward of Steadfastness: The Faithful Man's Blessings (v. 20a)
- b. The Reckoning for Haste: The Greedy Man's Punishment (v. 20b)
Context In Proverbs
This proverb fits squarely within the book of Proverbs' extensive teaching on diligence, laziness, wealth, and poverty. Proverbs consistently honors hard, honest work (Prov 10:4; 12:24; 13:4) and warns against the folly of get-rich-quick schemes (Prov 13:11; 21:5). Verse 20 is a close cousin to verse 22 of this same chapter, which says, "A man with an evil eye hastens after wealth and does not know that poverty will come upon him." The "evil eye" there is a picture of stinginess and greed. Proverbs does not see poverty as a virtue or wealth as a sin. The issue is always the manner and motive of acquisition. Wealth gained slowly through honest labor is a blessing from the Lord (Prov 10:22), while wealth sought through frantic, unprincipled means is a trap that leads to ruin. This verse distills that broad theme into a potent, memorable antithesis.
Key Issues
- The Definition of a "Faithful Man"
- The Nature of Covenantal Blessings
- The Sinfulness of Haste and Greed
- The Certainty of Divine Judgment on Economic Sins
- The Contrast Between Building and Grasping
The Plodder and the Plunger
In the kingdom of God, the tortoise really does beat the hare. Our culture, and sadly, often our churches, are infatuated with the hare. We love explosive growth, overnight success, and viral sensations. We are drawn to the man who strikes it rich, the plunger who risks it all and wins big. But God's wisdom, distilled here in this proverb, commends the tortoise. God blesses the plodder.
This proverb presents us with a choice between two economic models, which are really two theological models. The first is a high-trust system built on character, integrity, and patience. The second is a low-trust system built on opportunism, shortcuts, and a lust for immediate results. The first man is building a cathedral, stone by patient stone. The second is trying to win the lottery. Solomon tells us that God's world is structured to reward the first man and to bankrupt the second. This is a law as fixed as gravity.
Verse by Verse Commentary
20a A faithful man will abound with blessings,
First, who is this faithful man? The Hebrew is ish emunot, a man of faithfulnesses, plural. This is not just a man who has a generic belief in God. This is a man who is reliable, trustworthy, steady, and true to his word in all his dealings. He is the man who shows up on time, does the job he was hired to do, pays his debts, and delivers what he promised. His character is his collateral. He is faithful in the small things, and so he becomes a man who can be trusted with much. This faithfulness is a reflection of the character of God Himself, who is supremely faithful to His covenant promises.
And what is his reward? He will abound with blessings. This is the principle of the harvest. A man who faithfully sows good seed, day after day, will eventually reap an abundant crop. These blessings are not limited to a fat bank account, though they certainly can include financial prosperity. The blessings for a faithful man are comprehensive. He has a good name (Prov 22:1). He has a stable family. He has the trust of his community. He has a clear conscience. He has the favor of God. His life is marked by a settled fruitfulness, a deep and wide prosperity that cannot be measured in dollars alone. This is the ordinary, predictable, designed result of living according to the grain of God's universe.
20b But he who makes haste to be rich will not go unpunished.
Here is the contrast, the man on the other path. His defining characteristic is not wickedness in general, but a specific kind of frantic greed. He makes haste to be rich. This describes a man consumed by the lust for wealth, and he wants it now. He has no time for the slow, patient work of the faithful man. He is looking for the angle, the shortcut, the inside track, the loophole. This is the man who falls for pyramid schemes, who fudges the numbers on his taxes, who tells half-truths to close a sale, who speculates wildly with money he doesn't have. His goal is not to build something of value, but to get something for himself as quickly as possible.
His end is stated with stark finality: he will not go unpunished. The Hebrew phrase, lo yinneqah, means he will not be held guiltless or be acquitted. This is courtroom language. God is the judge, and the verdict is in: guilty. The punishment is not an arbitrary lightning bolt from heaven. More often than not, the punishment grows right out of the sin itself. The get-rich-quick scheme collapses. The speculative bubble bursts. The lies are exposed, and his reputation is ruined. He alienates his family and friends. In his haste to grab everything, he ends up with nothing. He sowed the wind of frantic greed, and he will reap the whirlwind of ruin. God will not be mocked; a man reaps what he sows.
Application
We live in a culture that is almost entirely dedicated to making haste to be rich. The lottery is a tax on people who are bad at math, and it is a monument to this very sin. Advertising constantly fuels a spirit of discontentment and frantic desire. The prosperity gospel tells people that God wants them to take shortcuts to riches. This proverb cuts right across all of that noise with the clear, sharp truth of God.
As Christians, we are called to be the faithful men and women of this proverb. We are called to a long obedience in the same direction. This applies to every area of life. In your work, don't look for the shortcut; do your job with diligence and integrity as unto the Lord. In your finances, don't fall for speculative fads; build slowly and steadily through hard work, wise savings, and generous giving. In your family, don't look for a quick fix for deep-seated problems; invest the time, day in and day out, to build a legacy of faithfulness.
The ultimate faithful one is the Lord Jesus Christ, who for the joy set before Him, endured the cross. He did not take a shortcut around the will of His Father. He was faithful unto death, and as a result, He has received the ultimate blessing: the name that is above every name, and a redeemed people for His own possession. Because He was the truly faithful man, we who are in Him are freed from the frantic, idolatrous need to make haste to be rich. Our inheritance is already secure. This frees us to simply be faithful, right where God has planted us, trusting Him for the abundance of blessings that will surely follow, in His time and in His way.