Proverbs 17:7. Fine speech is not becoming to a fool; still less is false speech to a prince.
The words not becoming used here are quite strong. Grotesque is the word Old Testament scholar Bruce Waltke uses here. Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout, he says.
What is so grotesque? A fool who tries to use fine or excellent speech. A prince who lies.
This proverb is following the same argument that is found all over scripture, especially in the New Testament – be what you are. Are you a fool? Then don’t try to talk like you’re not a fool. If you are a fool, then speak and act like one. Don’t try to use fine speech like the prince. Are you a noble prince? Then use truthful and honorable speech. Don’t start telling lies like the fool.
The word for fool used here in Proverbs 17:7 is nabal. This is the first time this word has appeared in Proverbs. We have met many different fools in the book so far, but this is our first time meeting a nabal. A
contrast, the prince is someone of noble character. Kind. Generous. Respectful. Isaiah 32 offers an even more vivid look at the differences between the prince and the fool.
Isaiah 32:1-8. 1Behold, a king will reign in righteousness, and princes will rule in justice. 2Each will be like a hiding place from the wind, a shelter from the storm, like streams of water in a dry place, like the shade of a great rock in a weary land… 5The fool will no more be called noble, nor the scoundrel said to be honorable. 6For the fool speaks folly, and his heart is busy with iniquity, to practice ungodliness, to utter error concerning the Lord, to leave the craving of the hungry unsatisfied, and to deprive the thirsty of drink. 7As for the scoundrel—his devices are evil; he plans wicked schemes to ruin the poor with lying words, even when the plea of the needy is right. 8But he who is noble plans noble things, and on noble things he stands.
Which are you? The fool or the prince (or princess)?
To answer this question don’t start by assessing your words or actions. Start by claiming your identity in Christ. Are you in Christ? Yes! Then you are a noble prince. A righteous princess. Is Christ in you? Yes! Then you are no fool. It is not Nabal that lives in you, it is Wisdom himself. The Prince of Peace is alive in you. His shalom is waiting to burst forth from your life!
Now that you know who you are in Christ, you can ask yourself does my life reflect who I am? Remember, it is grotesque for a prince or a princess in the court of the King of Kings to use false speech for personal gain. Only a fool would do that. Only a fool would speak folly, crave iniquity, fail to feed the hungry and leave the thirsty unsatisfied.
Christian, be what you are. Be a prince. Practice righteousness and justice. Be a shelter from the wind and storm. Serve the needy. Plan noble things. Stand on noble things, the most noble of things – your union with the cross of Christ. There is nothing more noble than the good news of the cross, the cruciform life that it produces in us and the shalom that it offers to others.
You: Are you a fool, or a noble prince or princess?
You in Christ: How does knowing who we are in Christ allow us to transform how we live in Christ?
Christ in you: Do your speech and action match the nobility of Christ? What might need to change today for these to align?
Pray: Father, I am a noble prince/princess in your court. Use me today to live out the shalom of the Prince of Peace. Amen.
To Live is Christ 