Will You Have Done All And Still Be Found Wanting?

*“Worthless bread,” *curses the buyer, *because he was consumed *with boasting *in himself. (MAST)

Proverbs 20:14 (NKJV)

14 “It is good for nothing,” cries the buyer; But when he has gone his way, then he boasts.

*[Worthless bread] literally, with emphasis, a charge of heightened evil. The context is a response to the effects of the wise counsel that Solomon gives regarding the bread of labor. The best medicine for weary eyes is to awake to earning the bread they eat. But this buyer tasted this bread and found it of no satisfaction to himself. The culture of these working men didn’t have much to choose from in terms of industry. The industry was mostly agriculture. Depending on who this proverb was initially and directly addressing, it’s difficult to assume that he was referring to a landowner, for this manner of bread was second nature to landowners (Ecc.2:24;3:13). So this is most likely referring to someone who depended on landowners to provide work. Therefore the search for work may have been an obstacle, and so he found this counsel to be bitter. It leaves him with a bad taste in his mouth. So, “with his lips,” he curses this bread out of a heart of misery. The background may also suggest some kind of marriage or labor lawsuit. Poverty has overtaken this (spiritual) lazy man because of the choices he has made for himself. Out of this sinful but human nature, he calls this holy, loving wisdom accursed. Though his circumstances are harsh, it doesn’t change the soundness of this wisdom. He is responsible for overcoming his laziness by the sacrificial labor of his own hands. Now we find that there is a repetition to this Hebrew word for “evil.” It was repeated for exclamation and emphasis. While the word for bread is absent from the original language, it is clear that the repetition of this Hebrew adjective is describing the bread of Solomon’s wisdom of the previous proverb. The lazy man’s “opinion” identifies the bread as having no value at all. It is considered to be reprobate or miserable bread. Now, this adjective is usually translated as evil, which is to describe something as morally corrupt. Still, it can also describe something poorly made that is distasteful, like a bad meal. It offers the appearance of something of little to no worth. It is like he is painting a word picture of moldy bread, an image that you would turn your nose and head away from in disgust. Therefore this lazy man is painting the picture that this practical doctrine is morally corrupt. But we know that he is twisting what God intended for good to be observed as evil, and therefore this lazy man is challenging God on the dangerous but holy ground (Isa.5:20). He desires to undermine the system of love that God has established for "Israel" to receive mercy and goodness in a time of need (Ecc.3:9-15). He “desires” to undo the foundation of Israel’s blessing with his own doctrine of cursing the pathway to acquiring true wealth. But Solomon is not buying into it, for he has heard this argument before (Pr.20:15).

*[curses the buyer] literally, answers the buyer. But the context calls for a more descriptive response coming from the heart of this buyer. Again, the background is a court of law. That’s the means of mercy by which this “spiritual” bread is obtained, but its buyer isn’t sold on the court's counsel. The buyer of this court wants satisfaction now, suing for whatever so-called damages that he may have lost (Ex.21:18-27). But Solomon charges this man’s loss to his spiritual laziness. Therefore the buyer is an atheist because he uses this court of justice to acquire financial gain by passing over the hard work required to obtain the favor of the judgment seat (1Tim.6:1-21). In other words, he curses the means, that is, the bread of this spiritual counsel, but in truth, it’s living bread (Gen.42:18; Dt.8:1-3), contrary to how he is trying to make a mockery of it. Therefore his response is cursing that which God has called good in the bread of labor (Gen.2:10). So it is an utter irony to call this bread accursed when in reality, his actions are displaying this spiritual curse of (his own) laziness (Gen.3:17-19; Rom.8:28). Work was never cursed in the fall, the man was, in that it would not work for his spiritual good (apart from) the knowledge of God (Gen.3:22-24). So it’s contextually appropriate to translate this as “curses” in place of “answers.” The following clause, therefore, further defines for us the heart from which this answer comes (Jer.17:9).

*[because he was consumed] literally, to be extinguished or used up. This cursing comes from a heart with a vain purpose for living (Ecc.1:1-4,8-9; 2:1,3-11). The conjunction, preposition, and adverb here are working reflexively to create a causative effect in our English understanding. However, neither of the two Hebrew verbs are Hiphil (causative). But this response (or answer) is a result of what the actions of the two verbs are performing. So that’s how we are to view the adverb working together with the conjunction and preposition. The conjunction then is to be understood under the causative factor in its relationship to the verb and preposition. Now the verb is very difficult to pinpoint its meaning, for it has multiple understandings depending on the context. The most basic definition is: to go away or disappear. But also extends to mean: be exhausted or evaporated. However, it can also mean: to be used up or burnt out, like an extinguished fire. Based on what follows, as it further defines the buyer’s response, I believe extinguished is the better "translation" because it is directly associated with the man’s pride in himself. Therefore, the cursing is the result of his trust and hope in himself being consumed up like a brush fire, but this reality doesn’t change the way he reflects on himself; instead, it only increases it. He refuses to see his works of being worthy of being burned or used up (1Cor.3:10-17). After the judgment of this court, all his works suffered loss, and the only medicine that the court offered was more work. And so his answer is more cursing of the work that God has blessed, by continuing to “take pride” in himself and holding up his self-esteem (Php.2:3). He is essentially saying, “I am better than this and am worthy of more.” He bears no humility nor responsibility for the loss of the keepings of his labor (Pr.25:8; 1Cor.15:34), for he has used it all up on the keeping of his self-honor (Rom.12:3). And to preserve his own name, he has taken the spiritually bankrupt into this court and lost (1Cor.6:1-11), because he did not take the time to exercise his spirit to find the favor of the sovereign of the land through the work of wisdom and the fear of the LORD (Ps.4:5-6), using it to be holy in the sacrifices of Yahweh, the one true Spirit of Israel (Dt.6:4).

*[with boasting] figuratively, burned up by pride. In another stem form, the verb can mean: to make a fool of oneself through anger; and that may have some application here, but our current stem form addresses his pride more than his potential anger. This pride may be expressed with the emotion of anger, but the author wants us to see his motive--pride--which is what he praises or glories in. In this case, it is his self-worth. He is too proud to beg for work, and whatever the lawsuit was about, he believes he is entitled for the court to decide according to his self-estimated value. So it’s possible that he does go away acting like a madman, cursing the court's decision, but it is more likely that he followed the decision of the court but was left with nothing to show for his obedience. And that’s why some may associate this Hebrew word with a eulogy; that is, the praise or admiration of the deceased. After tasting and seeing the result of this obedience, the spiritual lazy man sees it as nothing more than dead works (Ecc.12:6-8), for there is nothing to show for it in his present way of life (Ecc.12:14). How does doing the right and good thing bring in a lasting reward (Ecc.7:15)? Look at the cross of Christ! Righteousness means death to the body of this life. And so if we observe this only through the veil of the flesh, that certainly would be true (Matt.3:15; 20:22). Righteousness offers us nothing, in terms of material reward, in this life (Gal.5:1-3; Ecc.7:16-18). But this bread of labor of which Solomon is referring to goes beyond the life of the body (Rom.7:24-25). This bread feeds the soul (Pr.3:13-22)! It’s to be life to the man's spirit, which also preserves his body (Rom.8:11). This bread was never offered to feed his ego at death, for all of it is consumed at death because it never had life within it (James 4:14). Nevertheless, that’s the heart of pride by which he curses Solomon’s (God's) wisdom. Christ is not dead, for repentance unto life is righteousness made alive (1Cor.15:34). Open your eyes to this work, and you will live (Pr.20:13)! It is not in your own work which you will find praise, but in the work where righteousness is counted to you by the work of the Spirit of grace (Pr.3:21-22). But that’s not how this man sees this counsel. He sees only a cursed Christ nailed to a cross of pain and suffering for the honor of this bitter taste of bread gained by righteous labor (1Cor.12:3; Heb.2:9). He sees this spiritual court as foolish, even though it is honest bread (1Cor.1:18,21;5:6;Jn.6:28-29;Ecc.9:10;1Thess.4:9-12;2Thess.3:7-15;Eph.4:28). And so this boasting of his is not from what is being done for him but in the satisfaction of what he has done for himself and in himself (Pr.20:17). He goes to his own eulogy bearing no shame in himself and receives all the praise to himself. All that he has to thank for his death is in himself (Lk.18:9-14). And the irony is that it is true regarding only the wages of his sin (Rom.6:23).

*[in himself] literally, making his boast in himself. The Hebrew verb, to make a boast, is the Hithpael (reflexive) stem. This praising or glorying is reflexive then as the action is singular. It is a self-centered bragging. But its fire of pride is cut short like a flash of lightning. The Qal stem of this verb means, to shine, and the Hiphil stem means, to flash forth light. In this form of boasting, the life of this man has been cut short because he has nothing to boast about (in himself). The list of those who sign off on his eulogy is limited to one person--himself. There is no one there who stands up for his defense. He is found by the judgment seat without an advocate (1Jn.2:1). The pride of his name was not found written in Lamb’s Book of Life because he would not buy into the wisdom of truth with his humble trust. Trusting in his own understanding, he was the one found to be worthless (Dan.5:27), like monopoly money without a gold standard. He just kept writing checks with his boasting that his body could not cash, nor were their self-sufficient works to bail out his business of printing out his pride with his self-image upon it. All his schemes melted like plastic over an open fire (Ecc.7:29). And so we have proverb after proverb that stack up-on one another with understanding by understanding in contrast between the spiritual man and the natural man. The following proverb does just that as it weighs the standard, which has been set for this world, with the standard for the redeemed world, on the scale of wisdom’s discernment (Pr.20:15).