“The Wise King”
[Proverbs 20:26–30]
We have already received four lessons under the title “The King Who Sits on the Judgment Throne” based on Proverbs 20:8–12. To briefly review those lessons:
First, the king who sits on the judgment throne distinguishes between good and evil and scatters all evil (v.8).
Second, before such a king, no one can claim to have cleansed their sins (v.9).
Third, we must be upright before the king who sits on the judgment throne (v.10).
Fourth, the king who sits on the judgment throne hears and sees everything (v.12).
Additionally, when we think of “king,” we’ve previously reflected on Proverbs 16:10–15 and received three lessons under the title “The Good King Who Pleases God”:
First, a king who pleases God makes sound decisions through God’s wisdom (v.10).
Second, a king who pleases God hates wickedness (v.12).
Third, a king who pleases God listens to the counsel of the faithful (v.13).
Furthermore, based on Proverbs 19:12 and 20:2, we reflected on the subject of “kings” under the title “The Ideal President” and considered two points:
An ideal president rules the nation with justice and love.
Today, based on Proverbs 20:26–30, under the title “The Wise King,” we will meditate on five characteristics of a wise king and receive the lessons that God gives us.
First, a wise king discerns between the righteous and the wicked, separates them, and punishes the wicked.
Look at Proverbs 20:26:
“A wise king winnows out the wicked, and he drives the threshing wheel over them.”
Here, the word “winnows” refers, as we learned in Proverbs 20:8, to the act of separating chaff from grain—meaning the wise king distinguishes between the good and the evil just as a farmer separates grain from chaff.
The phrase “drives the threshing wheel over them” refers to a threshing instrument pulled by oxen, usually with three or four wheels. This device would roll over the grain to remove the husks and reveal the grain.
Likewise, a wise king, like a farmer, clearly separates the righteous from the wicked. Just as the farmer gathers the grain into the barn and lets the chaff blow away in the wind or be burned, so also the wise king renders fair judgment and imposes appropriate punishment on the wicked (source: Internet).
Can you imagine what would happen to a nation if its president cannot distinguish between the good and the evil?
About two weeks ago, I was listening to a Korean radio broadcast reporting that many government agencies in Korea were experiencing delays because key leadership positions had not yet been filled.
When I looked into why those positions were not being filled quickly, it was said that the government personnel office is conducting very thorough investigations, which is why it’s taking time.
Normally, it takes about a week to appoint an agency director, and it takes even longer to appoint a minister.
After hearing this news, I remembered some problematic appointments made during President Park Geun-hye’s administration. Thinking back on those, I realized that the government has no choice but to conduct careful background checks when appointing public officials.
What would happen if the Korean government, without proper discernment, appointed evil people to such important positions?
This principle does not only apply to national governments, but also to the church.
If a church session appoints workers without proper discernment and sets up the wrong people, the consequences could be significant.
This principle also applies to the family. Wise parents must know their children’s friends and be able to identify and separate good friends from bad ones. Isn’t that obvious?
But what if parents cannot even discern whether their child’s friends are good or bad and therefore do not separate them? What will happen to that child?
After Solomon, the writer of Proverbs, offered a thousand burnt offerings in Gibeon (1 Kings 3:4), God appeared to him in a dream and said, “Ask what I shall give you” (v.5).
What did Solomon ask for?
Look at 1 Kings 3:9:
“So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?”
What Solomon asked from God was wisdom to discern between good and evil as he judged God's people (v.11).
Isn’t this the kind of prayer we should also offer to God?
We too must ask God for wisdom to discern between good and evil, just like King Solomon did.
Especially when we pray for the president of our country, we must pray,
“Lord, please give our president wisdom to discern between good and evil.”
If God hears our prayers and grants our president the wisdom to discern, then the president will be able to punish the wicked and uphold justice and order in our country.
And when we pray for ourselves, we must also ask God for discerning wisdom.
When God hears and answers our prayers, we will be able to distinguish between what is holy and what is profane, between what is unclean and what is clean (Leviticus 10:10).
Then we will be able to separate ourselves from what is impure and defiled (Nehemiah 13:3).
Second, a wise king governs the nation with integrity of conscience before God.
Let’s look at today’s passage, Proverbs 20:27:
"The spirit of man is the lamp of the Lord, searching all the innermost parts of his being."
Not long ago, a pastor living in Korea sent me a message on Facebook with this question:
“…Among all the tasks of a pastor, what do you think is the most important, requiring the most care and attention?”
Upon receiving that question, I replied:
“…As a pastor, I believe the most important task, the one I pay the most attention to and care about, is examining myself before God. I consider it essential to reflect myself in the Word of God, which is a spiritual mirror.”
The pastor then responded:
“…So, what you're saying is that before preaching to others, you strive to stand before God one-on-one as a sincere believer and person, trying to live as a genuine Christian first.”
One of the reasons I wrote that examining myself before God is the most important task for me as a pastor is because a pastor, as the leader of the church, cannot tell the congregation to live faithfully if he himself is not doing so.
To say it differently, I want to be a conscientious Christian before God, which is why I place great importance on diligently examining myself through His Word.
In the first part of Proverbs 20:27, it says,
"The spirit of man is the lamp of the Lord..."
Here, “the spirit of man” refers to the conscience of man (as MacArthur explains).
What the author of Proverbs, King Solomon, is saying is that a person’s conscience is like God’s lamp.
This word “lamp” appears two other times in Proverbs:
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“The light of the righteous rejoices, but the lamp of the wicked goes out.” (Proverbs 13:9)
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“For the evil man has no future; the lamp of the wicked will be put out.” (Proverbs 24:20)
What does this mean?
It clearly says that the lamp of the wicked will be extinguished.
However, since Solomon also says the light of the righteous shines brightly, it shows us that a wise king, as a righteous person, governs with a good conscience—exposing the darkness of evildoers and even searching the depths of their hearts.
And the wise king punishes the wicked with justice, extinguishing their lamp.
Psalm 7:9 tells us that God, who is righteous, examines the hearts and consciences of people.
Therefore, the apostle Paul says in 1 Timothy 1:19,
“Keep faith and a good conscience.”
Indeed, Paul stated that he always tried to maintain a clear conscience before God and man (Acts 24:16).
He also boldly declared before the high priest Ananias, the Sadducees, and the Pharisees,
“I have lived my life with a perfectly good conscience before God up to this day.” (Acts 23:1)
The apostle Peter says in 1 Peter 3:16:
“Keep a good conscience, so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame.”
But how is the conscience of us Christians today?
Do we truly have a good conscience?
Are we practicing good deeds in Christ with a pure conscience?
If we are, then as Jesus said in Matthew 5:16,
“Let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”
And just as Peter said, those who slander us will be put to shame by seeing our good behavior (1 Peter 3:16).
However, if we do not have a good conscience, and instead our conscience has become weak and defiled (2 Corinthians 8:7), then what is the current state of our Christian life?
Then we will not be able to make those who criticize us feel ashamed.
Instead, we ourselves will be left speechless before their accusations and, worse yet, we will be the ones put to shame by them.
We must guard against our conscience becoming hardened or numb.
Can you imagine what would happen if all the traffic lights in a city malfunctioned—turning green when they should be red and red when they should be green?
It would cause chaos.
There would be many accidents, people injured, and possibly even deaths.
Now imagine if the conscience of a president—the leader of a nation—were numb. What would become of that country?
Wouldn’t it become filled with evildoers?
What about the church?
If the conscience of a pastor, the leader of a church, were hardened, what would happen to that church?
Dear friends, a wise king strives to have a clear conscience before God.
And he will govern his nation with integrity of conscience before the Lord.
Then, the light of the righteous will shine brightly,
and the lamp of the wicked will be extinguished.
Third, a wise king protects himself with mercy and truth.
Let’s look at today’s passage, Proverbs 20:28:
“Mercy and truth preserve the king, and by lovingkindness he upholds his throne.”
One of the unforgettable memories I have from when I was a seminary student guiding second-generation youth is taking some students to another state and praying earnestly to God together, sitting in a circle (or kneeling) in front of the pulpit in the main sanctuary of a church.
Later on, one of the parents of the students who had prayed with us told me something their child had said. I don’t remember every word exactly, but what I learned then was this: “The students clearly see whether or not I truly love God.”
Since then, while guiding students as a minister, I didn’t deliberately act in a way to show them that I love God, but I made a personal commitment to love God more deeply in my own relationship with Him, realizing that this was essential if I was to be a true example for the students.
Dear friends, I believe the same applies to the citizens of a nation. The people can discern whether or not their president truly loves them.
If the president only says he loves the people, the citizens will not genuinely respect or follow him.
And if, during the election, he makes many promises but, once elected, fails to keep them, the people will never respect or follow that president.
That is why love and sincerity are essential qualities for a leader.
In today’s passage, Proverbs 20:28, the Bible tells us that a wise king preserves himself with mercy and truth. It also says that by lovingkindness, he upholds his throne.
What does this mean? It means that the king guards and strengthens his reign through love and truth.
In other words, a wise king loves his people and faithfully keeps the promises he has made to them.
Isn’t that obvious? If a king loves his people, won’t he naturally fulfill the promises he made to them?
A king who possesses such love and integrity is able to protect himself and strengthen his rule.
A wise king with this kind of love and sincerity ultimately prays to God like this:
“Do not withhold Your mercy from me, O LORD; may Your love and truth always protect me” (Psalm 40:11).
This means that as he governs the nation entrusted to him by the Lord, not only does he demonstrate God’s mercy and truth to the people, but he also prays that God will always protect him with that very same mercy and truth.
Thus, a wise king combines both prayer and action.
As a result, he is protected by the Lord and his throne is made secure.
Fourth, a wise king possesses both strength and wisdom.
Let’s look at today’s passage, Proverbs 20:29:
“The glory of young men is their strength, and the splendor of old men is their gray hair.”
When we think of young people, we all know they have strength.
Then what do we think of when we consider the elderly? It is wisdom gained through many experiences.
A wise king is one who possesses both.
In other words, a wise king has strength, but he also has wisdom gained through experience.
When I reflect on the “strength” and “wisdom” that a wise king possesses, I’m reminded of God’s instruction regarding kings in Deuteronomy 17:15–20.
Especially verses 18–19:
“When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the Levitical priests. It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the LORD his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees.”
The Bible also says that a king must not accumulate many horses (verse 16) or many wives (verse 17).
Instead, he is to keep the Book of the Law beside him and read it all his life.
Thinking about this, my conclusion is that a king should not focus on increasing military power through horses, or carnal strength through many wives, but rather, he must possess the strength that comes from the Word.
Why does the Bible command that a king must read the Book of the Law all his life?
What is the reason?
It is so that he may learn to fear the Lord his God.
And why must a king learn to fear God?
Because when the king fears the Lord, he will hate evil and turn away from it.
Look at Proverbs 14:16:
“A wise man fears and departs from evil, but a fool rages and is self-confident.”
Dear friends, to fear God is the very foundation of wisdom.
So, when we say a wise king fears God, it means he possesses the power of wisdom.
Look at Proverbs 24:5:
“A wise man is strong, yes, a man of knowledge increases strength.”
A wise king has the strength of a young man and the wisdom of an elder gained through experience.
This means that he possesses the power of the Word and the power of wisdom.
Fifth and lastly, a wise king administers discipline.
Let us look at today’s passage, Proverbs 20:30:
“Blows and wounds cleanse away evil, and beatings purge the inmost being.”
You’re probably familiar with the Korean saying, “You don’t come to your senses until you’ve been beaten.”
This means that people often don’t wake up or become aware until they receive discipline.
That’s why the latter part of Proverbs 10:13 says:
“…a rod is for the back of one who lacks sense.”
And Proverbs 19:29 says:
“Judgments are prepared for mockers, and beatings for the backs of fools.”
What does this mean?
It means that the rod is for the backs of the foolish who lack wisdom.
Foolish people only begin to come to their senses after they’re disciplined. In that sense, the rod is effective for the foolish child.
So Proverbs 22:15 says:
“Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline will drive it far from him.”
If a parent truly loves their child, they will discipline that child to drive away the folly bound up in their heart.
In the same way, our Heavenly Father disciplines us to drive out the foolishness that is entangled in our hearts.
Look at Hebrews 12:4–11:
“In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says,
'My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,
because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.'
Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father?
If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all.
Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it.
How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live!
They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness.
No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”
The Bible tells us that God disciplines us because we are His children.
In other words, He sees us as sons and daughters, and so He disciplines us.
And God disciplines us because there is still “hope” for us (Proverbs 19:18).
Also, the Bible says that God disciplines His children because He loves us.
See Proverbs 3:12:
“The Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.”
And Proverbs 13:24:
“Whoever spares the rod hates their children, but the one who loves their children is careful to discipline them.”
Thus, God disciplines us for our benefit.
What is that benefit? That we may share in His holiness.
And through discipline, God trains us so that we may bear the fruit of righteousness and peace.
See Psalm 89:32:
“I will punish their sin with the rod, their iniquity with flogging.”
God disciplines us with the rod and the whip to rule over and punish our sins.
Why the rod and the whip?
Because “the rod and rebuke give wisdom” (Proverbs 29:15).
As a result, we confess our sins and repent, and we return to God.
And through this process, we are even saved from the depths of Sheol (Proverbs 23:14).
Likewise, the wise king in today’s passage disciplines his people as he governs the nation.
When he disciplines, he does so with the rod to strike and remove evil from among his people.
Why? Because he knows that “blows and wounds penetrate deep into a person” (Proverbs 20:30).
He distinguishes between the righteous and the wicked, and he punishes the wicked justly.
In doing so, he protects the citizens of his country and establishes order in the land.
If the one being disciplined is wise, then he will repent of his sin and turn away from evil.
But if the one being disciplined is foolish, what will happen?
There are only two possibilities:
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He will learn wisdom through discipline.
As Proverbs 19:25 says:
“Flog a mocker, and the simple will learn prudence; rebuke the discerning, and they will gain knowledge.” -
Or, he will continue to sin despite the discipline.
As Proverbs 17:10 says:
“A rebuke impresses a discerning person more than a hundred lashes a fool.”
Let me close today’s meditation.
We have reflected on five aspects of a wise king:
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A wise king discerns between the righteous and the wicked and punishes the wicked.
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He rules his nation with a clear conscience before God.
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He protects himself with mercy and truth.
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He has both strength and wisdom.
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And he administers discipline.
Let us take this time to pray for the president of our country.
Let us ask God to grant him wisdom to lead our nation well.