Those who forsake instruction praise the wicked,
but those who heed it resist them.Evildoers do not understand what is right,
but those who seek the Lord understand it fully.Better the poor whose walk is blameless
than the rich whose ways are perverse.A discerning son heeds instruction,
but a companion of gluttons disgraces his father.Whoever increases wealth by taking interest or profit from the poor
amasses it for another, who will be kind to the poor.Proverbs 28:4-8
Kidner has a trenchant comment on 4a: 'Without revelation all is soon relative; and with moral relativity, nothing quite merits attack. So, e.g., the tyrant is accepted because he gets things done, and the pervert, because his condition is interesting. The full sequence appears in Romans 1:18-32. The meaning of 1b is that keeping the law strikes a blow for righteousness against evil. There is more on this subject in 6. Judgment here means justice. Evil men just do not understand how absolutely integral to the very structure of the universe justice is. The closer we are to God, however, the more they see this, and therefore the more they will reverence justice. This is why true spirituality is a good quality for public life. This is put in another way in 6: it is moral worth, and the quality of integrity in life, that always tells ultimately in society. And, since the life of society ultimately depends on family life (7), it is in the family that such integrity must first be nurtured. Hence the emphasis on keeping the law. This is not to be confused with legalism: there is a legalistic keeping of the law that leads to bondage, but it was, after all, Jesus Who said, 'If ye love Me, keep my commandments'. The word about 'usury' in 8 is full of interest and instruction. The O T is quite explicit in its teaching on this matter: it does not condemn the principle of lending money for interest as such - in modern life our whole economic system is based upon it- but it does speak against the heartlessness of making your brother pay interest on your loan to him. As Kidner succinctly puts it 'What is quite proper in terms of economics (Deuteronomy 23:20) is pronounced improper in terms of family care (Deuteronomy 23:19) - as if a doctor should charge for treating his own children. Mercy and compassion are to be the keynotes, and the moral, in general terms, is: Don't drive a hard bargain with the poor, it is heartless to do so.