Proverbs 30:21–23
²¹Under three things the earth trembles;
under four it cannot bear up:
²²a slave when he becomes king,
and a fool when he is filled with food;
²³an unloved woman when she gets a husband,
and a maidservant when she displaces her mistress.

The more a person becomes part of a group, the easier it becomes to care less about those outside the group. This is true for all levels of society, even the church. Yet the church still has to function in this world. She still contributes to society through her vocations, personal interactions, political voting, and especially the gospel of Jesus Christ. The church cannot forget those outside of her, for their eternal sake as well as their present sake.

Proverbs 30:21–23 grants us wisdom to remember the society in which we live in. Societies anxiously crumble when “arrogant fools” get into wrong positions.¹ For example, when a slave, that is to say an unfit servant, becomes king by usurping the throne. He will prove to hurt other people and “be a pompous tyrant.”² When a morally deficient fool is filled (rewarded) with food doing whatever he wants, when he should have reaped his foolish behavior. He will be up to no good having been inappropriately rewarded. When an unloved woman has finally gotten married and now uses her position to get back at others. When a maidservant takes possession of her mistress’ property and continues in it sinfully.

God’s wisdom cautions us to watch out for these societal “crumblers”—the usurper, the fool, the hateful, and the thief. The earth cannot bear such attributes in wrong places. Let us seek to secure the best for our society, in government and in the home. But how can we do that?

“Thomas Monaghan is founder, president, and chief executive officer of Domino’s Pizza, Inc. From 1970 to 1985, Domino’s grew from a small debt-ridden chain to the second largest pizza company in America, with sales of over one billion dollars in 1985. When asked to account for the phenomenal growth of the company, Monaghan explained, “I programmed everything for growth.” And how did he plan for growth? “Every day we develop people—the key to growth is developing people.” Not special cheese, not a tasty crust, not fast delivery schedules, but people! People are the key to all effective leadership.”³

Monaghan’s answer offers insight for seeking to faithfully honor God and secure the best for our society—invest into and develop people! People occupy positions of leadership; it is people who fill our societies. Let us therefore make disciples of Jesus Christ; disciples who make a difference in our cities, our governments, and our homes.

²¹For (under) three things the earth (likely referring to social order) is perturbed (tremble/quake; feeling anxious concern (Bing search 5/5/2020)),
Yes, for (under) four it cannot (is not able) bear up (endure (Logos); it will crumble):
²²For (under) a servant when he reigns (becomes king; see Proverbs 19:10),
A fool (morally deficient) when he is filled with food,
²³(Under) A hateful woman (not loved; Qal pass. PTC.) when she is married (Nif’al pass. Imperf.), And a maidservant who succeeds (Qal imperf. - idea = take possession of or dispossess (neg.) (Logos)) her mistress.

How do we faithfully honor God?

30:21–23 - God’s wisdom protects society (seeks the best for society; secures good leadership).

style="padding-left: 30px;"The earth cannot bear up (it will crumble) under “arrogant fools” (Waltke, NICOT, 493) who get into wrong positions.

• An unfit servant who becomes king by usurping the throne will prove to hurt others (Waltke, NICOT; “be a pompous tyrant” (494))
  • A fool (social outcast) who is filled with food (when he should have reaped his foolish behavior) can go around in a position of doing whatever he wants; he will be up to no good in society. Idea = rewarding the fool or foolish behavior.
  • An unloved woman who has finally gotten married and now uses her position to get back at others
• A maidservant who takes possession of her mistress’ property will continue in it sinfully.

Society must look out for the usurper, the fool, the hateful and the thief. The earth will crumble under their leadership. God’s wisdom says to rule well, avoiding upheavals and rewarding/enabling foolish behavior (Walkte, NICOT, 493).

Application: Leadership makes a difference. Let us seek to secure the best for our society, in government and in the home. But how can we do that?

Illustration: ‘Thomas Monaghan is founder, president, and chief executive officer of Domino’s Pizza, Inc. From 1970 to 1985, Domino’s grew from a small debt-ridden chain to the second largest pizza company in America, with sales of over one billion dollars in 1985.

When asked to account for the phenomenal growth of the company, Monaghan explained, “I programmed everything for growth.” And how did he plan for growth? “Every day we develop people—the key to growth is developing people.”

Not special cheese, not a tasty crust, not fast delivery schedules, but people! People are the key to all effective leadership.”⁴

I think his answer offers great wisdom for seeking to secure the best for our society—invest into and develop people! So for you raising kids do not underestimate the future leader you are raising and the influence you are having.