Proverbs 21:4
Pride
1. Heart – The inner life; mind; heart; soul; inner self life.
2. Proud: Big; broad; wide; spacious; enlarged.
a. The term is sometimes used in a good sense.
• The word of God is exceedingly broad. (Psalm 119:96)
• Today we use the term “He has a big heart” in a positive sense – he is kind… generous… compassionate.
b. The term is not used in a positive sense in this passage.
• That’s not what the term implies here.
• Solomon is using it in an evil sense: this man has an enlarged heart because he is full of himself…
• His heart is FULL—but it is full of evil things…
• His heart is enlarged because it is swelled up in pride… puffed up in pride…
c. Matt. 15:18-19 – Jesus described what the heart is FULL of.
• The fact that something is FULL or large, does not necessarily imply good.
• A cesspool can be large and full.
• Our hearts can be full of sinful desires and intentions…
d. Prov. 21:24 – Proud men are often scorners and angry men.
e. Prov. 28:25 – The proud of heart often stirs up trouble.
1. When the inwardly heart is full of pride, it will eventually manifest itself outwardly…
a. This is what Solomon describes in this expression.
b. A heart that is enlarged – full of self and pride can be SEEN in a person’s countenance
c. The heart of pride will manifest itself as a “high look.”
2. High = Height; elevation; above; used of pride: Unwarranted assignment of high status to self.
3. Look = Eye; face; visible surface of the earth; (Used here of a man’s face or countenance.)
4. The man with a “high look” is an arrogant man whose pride is visible on his face… on the surface.
a. You don’t have to dig down very deep to discover pride in this man: it’s written all over his face… in his body language. He is dripping with pride.
b. Prov. 10:4 – “The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God.” His inner pride shines right through his countenance.
c. This is the man who thinks himself to be above others… and he looks DOWN his nose at others with disdain.
d. This is a self righteous man whose heart is full: full of himself.
e. Consider the proud Pharisee and the publican…
f. A “high look” is an outward sign of the inward pride of the heart.
g. You can see pride in his face… you can hear it in his words.
h. The man himself might not see it. He probably thinks that he’s humble. But everyone else can see it.
5. Prov. 30:12-13 – “O how lofty are their eyes!”
a. Prov. 6:16-17 – God HATES this haughty, arrogant attitude.
b. Psalm 101:5 – David would not tolerate those kinds of associates. Godly people ought to hate that attitude as well.
c. Isa. 2:11 – The Lord will one day tear down those lofty looks at His coming in judgment.
d. The only way to get rid of a high look (an arrogant countenance) is to deal with the proud heart out of which it arose.
4c And the plowing of the wicked…
1. This expression is translated two different ways.
a. Some translations translate the word “plowing” as “light.”
• It is not a textual issue, but a translation issue.
b. The KJV translates it as plowing—which makes perfect sense in this passage.
2. Plowing.
a. Plowing = a field or ground that needs to be plowed or tilled; hard soil that needs to be broken up.
b. It does not refer to the act of plowing, (verb) but to the ground that needs plowing (noun). (A plowing or a tillage; fallow ground.)
c. Prov. 13:23 – The same term indicates the literal farming land, property owned that lies unplowed.
• Fallow ground has much potential for fruit.
• BUT—it has to be plowed… broken up… and sown with good seed.
• Here the term “plowing” is used of a literal field… with hard, untilled soil.
d. Hos. 10:12 – The same term is used figuratively of the hardened, untilled attitudes of the people of Judah and Israel that required repentance.
• The people were challenged to break up the hard soil of their hearts through repentance… AND to bring forth the fruits of repentance by sowing seeds of righteousness and mercy.
• If they did, God would respond with showers of blessing to cause those seeds to grow and be fruitful!
• But apart from repentance, their hearts would remain hard—like fallow ground… and in need of plowing.
3. Solomon uses the literal concept of fallow, hardened ground in a figurative sense to describe the wicked.
a. The wicked have hard hearts—like hardened claylike soil.
b. Like hardened soil, seeds do not penetrate and are not able to germinate and produce good fruit.
c. This is similar to the parable spoken by the Lord of the four kinds of soils. One type of soil was the pathway… it was hard as a rock from the constant traffic. NO seed could penetrate… and the birds ate up all the seeds that landed there.
d. Hard soil speaks figuratively of a heart condition that needs repentance… but is unwilling to repent.
e. Pharaoh hardened his heart… and so do countless other wicked people.
f. Solomon states that this condition is their fault. It’s not “just the way they are.” It is the result of a choice… like Pharaoh.
g. The wicked are blind to spiritual truth because they chose to close their eyes.
h. The wicked are hardened to spiritual things because they chose to harden their hearts. (Eph. 4:17-18)
a. Solomon mentions three aspects of the wicked—and he states that they are ALL sin (sinful).
• Their arrogant look;
• Their proud heart.
• Their hardened condition.
b. Everything about the wicked is sinful!
• Prov. 21:4 – The plowing of the wicked is sin.
• Prov. 21:27 – “The sacrifice of the wicked is abomination.”
• Prov. 2 8:9 – “He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination.”
• Prov. 15:9 – “The way of the wicked is an abomination unto the Lord.”
• Prov. 15:26 – The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination unto the Lord.”
c. Nothing wicked man can DO is pleasing in the sight of the Lord.
• Nothing good can come from an unclean fountain.
• All that comes forth is polluted in God’s sight. They are full of sin themselves, and what they do is sinful.
• They are so full of sin themselves, all that they do is sinful… self centered… either ignoring or outwardly in rebellion against Gods’ authority…
5. Prov. 16:18 – Pride and arrogance leads to a spiritual fall.
a. Dan. 4:30-33 – Consider the arrogance of Nebuchadnezzar and how God dealt with him!
b. Prov. 8:13 – Therefore, God fearing people should HATE pride and arrogance… and every manifestation of it.
c. I Pet. 5:5-6 – “Be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. 6Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time.”
• God knows how to chop us down to size.
• Don’t put Him to the test… don’t make Him have to do it!
• How much better is it to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God… and HE will exalt us… in His way and in His time.
• There is a lot in the book of Proverbs about pride. There is a good reason for it: we are full of it! We NEED to be reminded of our pride. It is our nature… it is an ever present enemy…
• Those who exalt themselves shall be abased… destroyed… punished… knocked down! We need these reminders.
• Pride is such an insidious sin. It creeps in even when we are doing our best to serve the Lord.
• Spurgeon said: “Say much of what the Lord has done for you. Say little of what you have done for the Lord.”