Category Archives: Proverbs

We hope you’ll be edified and admonished by this summary of Proverbs 13 11.

Proverbs 13 11 Summary: In 2002 a business man from West Virginia named Jack Whittaker won the lottery in the amount of nearly $315 million US Dollars. That was the most anyone had won to that point in the history of the US. It would seem that he was set for life, financially. But after a lot of bad spending decisions and numerous other calamities, Jack was left broke.

And this story shouldn’t surprise us. After all, God reminds us in Proverbs 13 11 of what happens to “wealth gotten by vanity.”

So, let’s read Proverbs 13 11 and be reminded of the importance of how we seek to obtain our wealth in this world.

^KJV Proverbs 13:11 {Wealth gotten by vanity/Wealth obtained by fraud/Wealth gained quickly/Dishonest money} {shall be diminished/dwindles/will dwindle away/dwindles away}:

but {he that/the one who/he who} {gathereth/gathers/gathers it/gathers money} {by labour/by labor/little by little} {shall increase/increases it/will become rich/makes it grow}.

Now, whenever I study a proverb in Scripture, I first look at whether God is making a contrast between two things. Is he doing that in Proverbs 13 11? Indeed, he is!

First, God is contrasting two approaches to making money.

Proverbs 13 11 Summary
Wealth Gotten by Vanity

The first way to gain wealth mentioned is to do so “by vanity” literally in Hebrew (מֵהֶבֶל). Some other translations take the idea of “vanity” to mean that this wealth is obtained by fraud or that it’s done so in a dishonest manner. Another translation takes the approach that to obtain wealth “by vanity” is to obtain it quickly.

So…which is it?

Well, the best way to hone-in on exactly what one line in a proverb means – in this case, what it means to obtain wealth “by vanity” – is to see what God declares to be the opposite of that approach, which we see in the second line of Proverbs 13 11.

Proverbs 13 11 Summary
Gaining Wealth by Labor

And that opposite approach to gaining wealth is to gather it by labor – or literally to gather it “by hand” (עַל־יָד). This calls to mind manual labor – or perhaps metaphorically, diligent work. God holds out to us the ideal of making money by working hard.

Contrast that to the get-rich-quick schemes that our world and our flesh seem to love. Our sinful human nature loves the idea of winning the lottery or falling upon an inheritance from some long-lost rich uncle.

But whereas our world might try to seduce us into thinking that gaining wealth in this easy-come kind of way is ideal, God himself tells us that this way of making money is not his ideal for us. As the saying goes, easy-come, easy-go!

And that’s exactly the direction Proverbs 13 11 takes next. We’ve already seen the Lord in Proverbs 13 11 contrasting two ways of gaining wealth. You can gain wealth diligently with hard work and labor – or you can gain it by an unexpected windfall or even by deceiving others.

The Result of Gaining Wealth

But the other reality that the Lord confronts us with in Proverbs 13 11 is the effect of those two different ways of gaining wealth.

And you might tend to think gaining wealth is gaining wealth. I mean, if you earn some money it’s all the same. The result will be the same – you get money!

But Proverbs 13 11 alerts us to the fact that there are different results of attempting to gain wealth depending on how you go about doing it.

Proverbs 13 11 Summary
Result 1: Dwindling Wealth

The first potential result of gaining wealth “by vanity” or quickly or deceitfully is that you lose it. It diminishes or dwindles away. It “becomes small” (יִמְעָט) in Hebrew.

And you see this playing itself out in real life. One third of lottery winners in the United States declare bankruptcy often within a few years of their win. Stories of celebrities and athletes who have gone broke after making ridiculous amounts of money abound.

Yes, the Bible – and the God who wrote the Bible – is true – wealth gained by vanity dwindles away.

What’s the alternative?

Proverbs 13 11 Summary
Result 2: Increasing Wealth

Proverbs 13 11 holds out for us the plain ideal of gaining your wealth by hard work. And the not-so-plain result – what everyone ultimately is after – is that your wealth will increase (יַרְבֶּה) as you work hard to earn it. You make your wealth grow as you diligently obtain it. You might even become rich! But you’re not looking to a get-rich-quick scheme to achieve this goal. You are working honestly and diligently. And God might see fit to cause your wealth to grow.

Conclusion

So, you have two choices – try to become wealthy through scheme and games – or gaining wealth by hard work and toil and labor. The latter approach is not glorious, but its result is. You can bank on it!

Let’s try to understand the meaning of Proverbs 13:3.

Proverbs 13 3 Meaning: Just recently – from the vantage point of my writing this – US President Donald Trump (and others) have mentioned that a certain anti-malarial medicine – chloroquine – might be effective in treating the dreaded worldwide pandemic COVID-19. The name of the drug happens to be similar to an ingredient in a product used to clean fish bowls – chloroquine phosphate. Subsequently, a man from Arizona and his wife thought it would be a good idea to eat this fish bowl cleaner in order to avoid getting infected with the coronavirus. Sadly, as a result the man died.

My point is not to assign blame to my president. Rather, it’s to highlight the fact that words have consequences. Your speech is an incredibly and amazingly powerful thing. And in Proverbs 13:3 the Lord wants to speak to us concerning our speech.

So, let’s read Proverbs 13:3.

^KJV Proverbs 13:3 {He/The one} {that/who} {keepeth/guards} his {mouth/words/lips} {keepeth/preserves/guards} his life:

{but he/The one/but whoever } {that/who} {openeth wide his lips/is talkative/speaks rashly} {shall have destruction/comes to ruin/will come to ruin}.

Contrasts

The first thing to note in a Proverb is whether or not God is contrasting one thing with another. And in Proverbs 13:3 we discover that indeed, God is making contrasts and comparisons. So, what are the opposites that we find in Proverb 13:3?

Careful Speech vs. Careless Speech

First, we have the subject of each line of the proverb.

The subject of the first line is the person who guards his mouth or words. The subject of the second line in contrast is one who “opens wide his mouth” or is talkative or who speaks rashly.

The person in the first line is careful about what he says. He guards his words like an armed security guard – not letting any devious statement pass his watchful eye.

In contrast, the person in the second line is careless about his speech. He lets it all out. He says what’s on his mind – no matter whether it happens to be appropriate or not. There’s no filter on this man’s mouth.

So, the first item being contrasted in Proverbs 13:3 is the way in which a person speaks.

A Protected Life vs. a Ruined Life

The second contrast made in Proverbs 13:3 then is the outcome of the life of each type of person.

The outcome of the life of the person who guards his speech is that he keeps or preserves or guards his life. The outcome of the one who opens wide his mouth and lets everything out is that he comes to ruin.

It’s interesting that guarding your mouth or words – which are seemingly small matters – is akin to guarding your very life – which is about the greatest and most important matter one can think of in this world.

In contrast, the person who thinks little of the need to be cautious with his speech will so often in the end come to ruin. He will destroy his life with such little things as words.

Conclusion

How important it is to guard our speech. The Apostle James notes this in his New Testament letter. A small thing like the tongue is like a small fire that can set a whole forest – or continent – ablaze.

So, how are you treating your words? Are you being careless or are you guarding what you say? May the Lord help us to honor him by guarding our words and to thereby protect this one life he’s graciously given us to serve and worship his Son Jesus Christ.