Condemnation is ready for scoffers, and beating for the backs of fools.
As humans, we despise consequences. ‘Consequences’ means me having to deal with all the imperfect parts of what I’ve done, and I’ve done a lot that’s imperfect. Whether the consequences are natural—God’s world working out reciprocation for sin—or intentional—an authority issuing discipline (parents with children) or judgement (the state with its citizens)—, they hurt; they tell us what we were trying very hard not to know; and they make us think a second time before doing what we want to do. This verse focuses on a particular facet of consequences: their effect on the contemptuous and the foolish.
The ‘scoffing’ here is not just scoffing in general; Isaiah 28:1 might be called ‘scoffing,’ as could Isaiah 44:9-20, but Proverbs 19:29 condemns neither the prophet nor the Lord who gave Isaiah those words. The ‘scoffing’ here, in conjunction with the promised condemnation and the company of ‘fools,’ means contempt towards that which ought never to be mocked or disregarded. The scoffer of which this verse speaks, like the man of Psalms 1:1, is the man who has only contempt for righteousness, for wisdom, for good sense, for God, and for God’s Providence—for consequences.
Judgement differs from discipline in this: it is given as retribution, not reminder. God does not slay man body and soul in order to better the man; once he is so totally dead, the man has no further hope (Is. 66:24). Lesser judgements are of naturally lesser finality, so that judgement on this earth, short of death, does not preclude repentance. As a result, though judgement is an act of justice rather than mercy, God can use it by His mercy (or His wrath) to bring to the fool and the scoffer some restraint: “You shall stone him to death with stones…. And all Israel shall hear and fear and never again do any such wickedness as this among you” (Deut. 13:10-11).
I say ‘by His mercy or His wrath’ because it may be either. It is mercy to restrain for a time, assuredly, but it is mercy in the eternal perspective only if the sinner repents, only if the scoffer turns from his scoffing, if the restraint is a prelude to abhorrence of the sin as a sin, instead of mere fear of its consequence (Mark 1:15). If the scoffer or the fool refuses repentance, the judgement which deterred him is almost a cruelty, for in giving it, God gave more evidence and instruction, and “from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more” (Luke 12:48). His restraint for the sake of self-preservation is small credit, his evil despite warning a great debit.
Then, of course, consequences may be to the fool not just warning but termination. The fool can come to an end as a result of his sin. Folly does not extend indefinitely, and eventually judgement brings an end: “For wrath brings the punishment of the sword, that you may know there is a judgment” (Job 19:29). The fool is urged to be wary of this, as Job here does to his friends (who are not such great fools in the end (Job 42:9)), but that warning would have neither teeth nor truth unless in the end judgement descended.
To those who have disavowed folly at the root, who cling to Christ alone for salvation (Mark 1:15), such final consequences are a warning and reminder. We do not face that final terminus, by His grace, but we merit it in ourselves at every turn. I’ve sinned multiple times while I write this—thoughts, desires, temptations too long allowed—and so do we all, every day. We may never despair at this knowledge, for despair would be to deny His saving power in emotion, if not theory. We must, however, recognize that without Him, “we are of all people most to be pitied” (1 Cor. 15:19), knowing our damnation, acknowledging it, and having no hope against it. In so seeing, we will learn the better to cleave to Him, the better to love Him, the better to abhor sin.
We can also take comfort in this: no matter the power of the wicked (Job 21), in the end, he is a fool (Ps. 53:1-3) and therefore doomed. The wicked will face utter downfall; someday, they will face irreparable ruin. We ought not to rejoice in the death of His image (Jam. 3:9), but we ought also to rejoice in the destruction of His foes (a delicate balance). The destruction of the wicked is proper; Psalm 137 needs no apology (though certainly it may never be made a pretext for worldly anger). But “The meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace” (Ps. 37:11), till at last His victory is fully revealed (1 Cor. 15:26).
God bless.
Sanctuary Functional Medicine, under the direction of Dr Eric Potter, IFMCP MD, provides functional medicine services to Nashville, Middle Tennessee and beyond. We frequently treat patients from Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Ohio, Indiana, and more... offering the hope of healthier more abundant lives to those with chronic illness.
Colson Potter writes copious fiction and nonfiction, including a weekly Proverbs post and his blog at Creational Story.
