Proverbs 29a

 The righteous, the wise, and the upright here are contrasted with the wicked, the scoffers, and the fools. We can guess where this is going, but it is good to think about the categories, the actions, and the consequences. What happens when the righteous follow God’s law, and what happens when the wicked ignore God’s law and become a law unto themselves? 

29: 2, 4,12. When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice, 

but when the wicked rule, the people groan.

By justice a king gives stability to the land, 

but one who solicits and receives bribes ruins it.

If a ruler listens to falsehood,   

all his officials will be wicked.

 Pace Machiavelli; but very few normal people rejoice when the wicked rule. Probably only those who stand to gain by supporting the wicked ruler. Why do the people rejoice when a righteous person rules? Because righteous rule should benefit all the people, not just the ruler, not just the rich, and not just those who suck up to the ruler. 

 How can you tell a righteous ruler? When the whole community benefits, not just the ruler himself. A wicked ruler follows his own interests and gives little but empty words for the interests of the people. When the wicked rule, the people groan.

 When the ruler acts with fairness, and expects the same of his appointed judges, then people know what to expect, then there is stability in the land. Our statue of Lady Liberty holds a balance scale, but have you noticed that she wears a blindfold? Why? Because justice should be impartial; Lady Liberty is not permitted to look on the faces of the litigants, and thus she cannot be partial to one over the other. 

 Should the ruler, or the judges, permit bribes or gifts to influence their actions and pronouncements, then the nation is ruined. When the ruler who leads the way listens to lies and repeats these in public, then the ruler’s officials also become wicked.

29: 7. The righteous know the rights of the poor;

the wicked have no such understanding.

 What circles does the ruler and his judges travel in? Their circles are made up of people like them; lawyers, bankers, business leaders. So, in an effort to be fair-minded, the righteous ruler as well as the honest judge must consider the needs of the people who are not like them. This proverb mentions the poor. Do the poor have rights? The Bible says so. By contrast, the wicked ruler and unfair judge never bother to learn about the world of those who are not like them. 

29: 8-11. Scoffers set a city aflame,   

but the wise turn away wrath.

If the wise go to law with fools,

then there is ranting and ridicule without relief. 

A fool gives full vent to anger,   

but the wise quietly hold it back.

 If we didn’t live in today’s political environment, we might find it more difficult to understand what these proverbs mean. Now they make more sense. Scoffers, who cynically reject public principles (equality, fairness, compassion) and who are combative to the point of mocking people who don’t serve their self-interest, make the situation worse; they fan the flames and laugh at the results. 

 With the fool, there will never be peace. It is the nature of the fool to imagine that everyone wants to listen to him, that everyone is interested in every little story about his escapades and his prejudices. 

 The fool has no self-restraint, but the wise quietly and firmly turn away wrath and anger, rather than respond with anger. It is the fool who “gives full vent to anger” and thus turns an already difficult situation into a hopeless one. Seek the wise, not the fool.