The wicked flee when no one pursues,
but the righteous are bold as a lion.
When a land transgresses, it has many rulers,
but with a man of understanding and knowledge,
its stability will long continue.
A poor man who oppresses the poor
is a beating rain that leaves no food.Proverbs 28:1-3
The first verse speaks of the effect of sin on the conscience. As Shakespeare puts it 'Conscience doth make cowards of us all'. The power of a bad conscience can be very great indeed. Conversely, righteousness makes men bold, in the sense of being confident. This might be some indication of the real source of what we sometimes call the unction of the Lord. When a man's life is right with the Lord, it carries with it something of the divine authority which cannot be gainsaid, even if bitterly disagreed with. In 2, we have a word about the effect of rebellion and revolution (this is the sense of the word 'transgression') Kidner refers to the quick succession of evil rulers in Israel, after the death of Solomon, almost all of them being despatched by assassination, whereas Judah had comparative stability (RSV's word for 'state' in AV). Ironside comments: When a people refuse to own the powers that be as ordained of God they are likely, in a disrupted state of society, to be exposed to the evil machinations of various leaders, each one jealous of the other, hence their princes or rulers are many, and continually changing. One could wish that those who are so keen on revolution in society would recognise that when they once initiate a revolutionary idea or spirit, they have tampered with a power that straightway goes outwith their control, and that even though they succeed in establishing their revolution, they themselves may well be the next victims. In this connection what is said in 3 is very apposite: look what the dictatorship of the proletariat has done to Russia. Freakish rain brings havoc instead of blessing, and if a dictatorship of the right is replaced by a dictatorship of the left, then the rain that was meant to bring refreshment and renewal can be ruinous. Too much rain makes everything drab!
