The Scoffer And The King
12/21/2025
Turn with me to Proverbs 20:14-15. These are our verses to study and memorize this week.
Proverbs 20:14-15 “Bad, bad,” says the buyer, But when he goes his way, then he boasts. 15 There is gold, and an abundance of jewels; But the lips of knowledge are a more precious thing.
Introduction
In Proverbs 20 (20:2-21:1) we are looking at the scoffer and the king. The mocking scoffer’s way of life brings ruin upon families, communities, and nations when it is allowed to go unchecked and to spread. In contrast, by seeing what not to do we also begin to see what a wise way of living positively looks like. It leads to a thriving life, family, community, and nation.
The sub-section that we are now in, Proverbs 20:12-19, deals with people’s words and behaviors towards one another in a nation. It begins with the important reminder that God is the one who made our ears and eyes. Thus He hears and sees all things. He also is the one who makes the obedient hearer, and opens the eyes of people to truly see. Without His work in our lives we are spiritually separated from Him and enslaved to our sins. It is His redemption and His wisdom that is needed for individuals and a nation.
A few verses back, in Proverbs 20:10, Solomon condemned the fraudulent seller with his differing weights and measures. Then in Proverbs 20:13 he examined the sluggard who loses what he has to his laziness and inaction. Now, here in verse 14, he confronts the manipulative buyer who tries to get what is not rightfully his. In the next verse he will then highlight a primary cause of these behaviors: not accurately valuing wisdom, and overvaluing riches and possessions.
As we come to this time of year when buying and receiving gifts can be quite consuming for many people this verse has a special relevance. Likewise, with all the enticing product marketing and the emphasis on buying and having new things we can very easily begin living like money and possessions are the most important part of life. We might not ever say it, but we can definitely begin living like it.
With that overview, let’s take a closer look at having integrity in our transactions and valuing wisdom more than money from Proverbs 20:14-15.
14 “Bad, bad,” says the buyer, But when he goes his way, then he boasts.
The wheeler and dealer will pretend his intended purchase is worthless to unfairly get as low a price as he can, and then he will boast about how great he did.
For the scoffing mocker who discounts the authority of God and government over him his main concern is himself. When he is selling something, if he can get away with ripping someone off, then he will. If he is buying something he will do whatever he can to get what he wants cheaper. Lying, cheating, deceiving, and manipulating are all fair game. His main concern is how things affect and benefit himself.
This proverb’s description of the buyer who minimizes the quality or worth of an item that he is potentially buying is often a normal part of haggling and bartering in many parts of the world. Even in our society there can often still be a bit of this in purchasing a car, or in direct person to person sales such as occur through Facebook Marketplace, yard sales, and other such venues. As acceptable as this might seem to many people, lying, manipulating, and cheating is never righteous or acceptable before God in our business transactions.
Here in our country, with the fixed prices of store bought items, we do not tend to deal as much with haggling in our every day life. Still, there are most definitely additional ways that buyers can try to manipulate sellers, take advantage of them, and effectively steal from them. For instance, with online sales and returns this could particularly occur in situations where a used item is unfairly returned, or where an item is returned that we were fully at fault in breaking. It’s one thing to return a faulty item, or one that broke due to poor construction. It is another thing entirely to misuse or break a perfectly good item and then try to get our money back.
All these kinds of deceptive behaviors in buying show a disregard for what is right in our relationships with one another in a society in favor of whatever selfishly benefits oneself. When cheating other people becomes normalized like this it encourages further such behaviors. It erodes trust in other people and builds a greedy, self-seeking mentality. It undermines concern, compassion, and care for other people. It exalts getting ahead at any cost—especially when we boast about such behaviors. This is the mindset of the scoffing mocker who is tearing down society, not the wise, righteous person who is building it up to be what God designed our relationships and nations to be.
Instead of living like the scoffing mocker we ought to be people of integrity, truthfulness, honesty, and character in all of our business transactions.
Scriptural Example: In Scripture we see an example of this kind of bad behavior in Laban’s treatment of Jacob with his deceitful terms of service. He consistently treated Jacob’s work as of little worth. First, he promised to allow him to marry Rachel in exchange for 7 years of work. Then he tricked him on the wedding night and had him marry Rachel’s older sister Leah. Thus he got him to work another 7 years for a wife he had not bargained for. After that Jacob continued working for Laban for wages, but Genesis 31:7 tells us that Laban changed his wages 10 times in order to try to cheat him.
Laban was not concerned about what was right. Laban was not concerned about being honest. Laban was not concerned about the true value of Jacob’s services that he was buying. No. He was concerned with how it all could benefit himself. That ruined and destroyed the relationship between them. It also ruined and destroyed the relationship between Laban and his daughters. They saw what he really cared about—himself and things. He was not concerned about his own daughters and their family well-being. They were simply something to be exploited to financially benefit himself. In the end, it destroyed and pulled down relationships rather than built up and established them.
On the positive side, we see the way that things ought to be in a financial transaction with how David bought the future temple mount from Araunah the Jebusite. David had sinned in numbering the people. In judging him for it God sent a plague on Israel which He stopped right before Jerusalem was to be destroyed. God then told David to sacrifice on the spot that the plague stopped. To keep the plague back, Araunah the Jebusite was glad to just give David the land and everything needed for the sacrifice.
David, however, valued the land and sacrifice he was to make to God too much to accept it as a gift from Araunah. So he paid the full price for them. He did not take advantage of this being during a plague from God to take what was needed. No, he paid the full price. He did not take advantage of this being a sacrifice commanded by God to enable him to haggle a good price. No, he paid the full price. He did not take advantage of the reality that he was the king of Israel and Araunah was a gentile, Canaanite Jebusite. No, he paid the full price even to him. David would not make a sacrifice to God with something that cost him nothing. He would not make a sacrifice with something that he had gotten by taking advantage of someone else. (2 Samuel 24:10-25, 2 Chronicles 21:7-30)
The same ought to be true of us. How could we go and supposedly live our lives for the glory of God with something with which we have cheated out of others? We cannot. Sometimes people try to cover up their sin or put a salve on their conscience by dedicating some of their fraudulently obtained resources to God, a church, or some other philanthropic endeavor. But it does not work that way. Sin is sin. God wants our righteousness, integrity, and honesty, not money or things that we got wickedly.
God wants us to be honest and righteous in all our financial transactions. Yes, it will hurt sometimes. Yes, we may have to go without or do with less. But to have churches, communities, and nations that grow and thrive they must be built on righteous behavior in their individual members. This is why in the law in Leviticus 25:14 God said this:
Leviticus 25:14 If you make a sale to your fellow citizen or buy from your fellow citizen, no one is to wrong his brother. (NET)
This was in the immediate context of land sales in light of the Jubilee year laws. With God emphasizing this in those situations it reflects how high God’s standard of right and wrong is. They needed to take everything into honest account when buying or selling. No deception or trickery was allowed on either side of a sale.
Proverb in Comparison: When we compare this proverb with the rest of Scripture we see that God calls judgment down upon those who lie and deceive this way in Isaiah 5:20-21.
Isaiah 5:20-21 Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! 21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes And clever in their own sight!
We must not be deceptive in our words. We must uphold truth and not compromise on it. Some temporary gain that we might get is not worth having God’s judgment upon us. In Acts 24:14-16 we see that our belief in Jesus and the resurrection ought to push us to do our best to maintain a blameless conscience like it did with Paul. In this passage Paul is giving a defense of his situation before Judea’s governor Felix:
Acts 24:14-16 “But this I admit to you, that according to the Way which they call a sect I do serve the God of our fathers, believing everything that is in accordance with the Law and that is written in the Prophets; 15 having a hope in God, which these men cherish themselves, that there shall certainly be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked. 16 “In view of this, I also do my best to maintain always a blameless conscience both before God and before men.
Matthew 7:12 and Colossians 3:25 reiterate this:
Matthew 7:12 “In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
Colossians 3:25 For he who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality.
That is the standard we ought to have in all our transactions. Treat everyone like we would want to be treated.
Truth in Connection: As we apply this to our lives we need to make sure that our default way of evaluating how we buy and sell things is not just based on what is financially best for us personally. If that is what we base our words and actions on then we will be tempted to shade the truth, manipulate, lie, deceive, and cheat—even if it is in subtle ways. Instead, we need to conduct ourselves in complete honesty and integrity. Our default way of buying and selling should be based on the goal of bringing glory to God through our interactions. That can only be done if we are honest, fair, and just.
We must not take advantage of people because they are in a desperate situation where they need the money or they really need work done for them. We must not take advantage of someone, like Laban with Jacob, because it is a family situation, because they rely on us, or because they need something. We must not take advantage of someone because we can get away with it. We must always be fair, honest, and just. Pay for all of your items at the self-checkout. Only return items if it is just and right to do so. Do not lie about how much you actually made in income to the government just because they do not know.
We must not allow ourselves to lie, cheat, or dishonestly deal with people just because it is a government, a large company, or a rich person. We must not allow ourselves to make any excuses for dishonest dealing. That is the way of the scoffing mocker. It tears down relationships and communities. Let’s be absolutely clear and honest with ourselves. Shading the truth, manipulating people, and taking advantage of them is sin just like any other outright lying and stealing is. In God’s righteous, redeemed way of living it has no place among His people.
Jesus came to this earth, lived perfectly, and died on the cross to pay the just penalty of our sin. He rose from the dead to overcome that sin and free us from it. When we become a Christian we trust in what He did to forgive us of our sin, free us from our sin, and reconcile our relationship to God that our sin had destroyed. He takes our sin, gives us His righteousness, and declares us righteous before God’s court of justice. Then He gives us His Spirit. He begins sanctifying us from sin until the day that He finishes His work of redemption and brings us home to be with Him eternally. There He gives us our new sinless, eternal resurrection bodies. Given all that, there is no room in our new lives with Jesus to continue walking in such dishonest, lying, stealing, sinful behaviors. That is what He has saved us from. He has saved us to live in righteousness and holiness.
If there is anything in your life that you need to turn from and deal with, do not ignore it. Jesus went to the cross to free you from slavery to that sin and to cleanse you. Do not go back to living in your old deceitful, greedy, self-focused, sinful way of thinking. Daily surrender it to Jesus. Live with the peace, joy, strength, holiness, and purpose that He has for you. We really do not need a few more fraudulently gained things in this life. Remember who we are in Christ and what is awaiting us. We are fellow heirs with Jesus of all things for all eternity. We are not to be building our “best life” now, but rather building Christ’s kingdom as His ambassadors. As we go about living we are to be making disciples of all nations.
If you have not trusted in Jesus as your Lord and Savior, then He is what you need, not just a bit more money or a good deal on some toy or tool. What you need is freedom from your sin. What you need is to turn from your destructive sin and trust in Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Turn to Him for true, real, eternal life. Turn to Him for the treasure that will not perish, be stolen, be corrupted or fade away.
Our next proverb turns to exposing a primary cause for the scoffing, mocker way of life that prioritizes the wrong things and that tempts people to shade the truth, manipulate, and deceive at others expense.
15 There is gold, and an abundance of jewels; But the lips of knowledge are a more precious thing.
Money and valuable things abound, but worth more than all that is listening to and having wise tongues.
The vague English word for “thing” there is actually a fairly descriptive word in Hebrew. It is something that has been designed, fashioned, created, or made into something more useful out of raw materials. It’s not just any thing, but rather a made thing. It was used in a broad range of contexts depending on what it was. For instance it could refer to a tool, a weapon, a utensil, a piece of jewelry, a cup, a bowl, a storage vessel, or a crafted piece of furniture. So when you place it in the context of the raw materials of gold and jewels, and add the description “precious” to it, you get the idea that this is like a carefully crafted, exquisite, precious piece of jewelry.
That is what lips of knowledge are in comparison to gold and jewels. They are a carefully crafted piece of jewelry that is now worth far more than just those component parts. The Mona Lisa is worth far more than the canvas and paint it is made out of because of the craftsmanship that went into producing the painting. The crowns, orbs, and scepters of the British monarchy are worth far more as they are than if they were melted down and sold for their individual parts. Michelangelo’s sculptures of David and Moses are worth far more as they are than the big blocks of marble that they were made out of. They were exquisitely crafted by an extremely talented artist giving them a much greater value.
In the exact same way, Solomon is telling us that listening to wisdom and developing wise speech is worth exceedingly far more than the physically valuable treasures of gold and jewels that are universally valued. Gold and jewels are indeed worth a lot, but they are nothing in comparison with being able to listen to or have lips of knowledge. The wisdom that lips of knowledge share gives priceless guidance for every circumstance of life. Having that crafted into our lives will benefit us far more—even eternally. Money can only give temporary and limited advantages.
Mocking scoffers forget this, ignore this, or do not know this. All they seek is the physically tangible riches of gold and jewels and what they can physically experience. Because of that, they are then willing to cheat, steal, and lie to get more out of other people in their buying and selling. They have a limited, wrong picture of what really matters and what is truly valuable. A society that buys into the lie that materialism and money are most important undermines and destroys itself. Ultimately it will exalt greed, selfishness, and the pursuit of money over everything else. What is right and wrong gets subordinated to what produces money and things.
Instead of allowing that to happen in our lives, in our families, or in our nation we need to value the fashioned jewelry of God’s wisdom as what we should supremely pursue. It is of far more importance than money, gold, silver, or precious jewels. Those things do have their usefulness, but they are nowhere near as useful as listening and heeding the words of God’s wisdom that we are taught. It is nowhere near as useful as developing a life of carefully crafted wisdom that comes forth in our actions and words.
Back in Proverbs 3:13-15 and Proverbs 8:10-13 we were taught these truths through a word picture where wisdom was personified.
Proverbs 3:13-15 How blessed is the man who finds wisdom And the man who gains understanding. 14 For her profit is better than the profit of silver And her gain better than fine gold. 15 She is more precious than jewels; And nothing you desire compares with her.
Proverbs 8:10-13 Receive my instruction rather than silver, and knowledge rather than choice gold. 11 For wisdom is better than rubies, and desirable things cannot be compared to her. 12 “I, wisdom, have dwelt with prudence, and I find knowledge and discretion. 13 The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; I hate arrogant pride and the evil way and perverse utterances.
Nothing that we could desire or gain in this life can compare to the benefit of possessing God’s wisdom to live by. Nothing. Is that your perspective for the way that you value money in comparison with the way that you value God’s Word for your life? Does the mental focus, time, and energy you spend pursuing wisdom exceed the focus, time, and energy you spend pursuing money and things?
Once we do actually see the surpassing value of gaining “lips of knowledge” we will want to be intentional about seeking it. This exact same expression was used earlier in Proverbs in Proverbs 14:7. There we were given a warning on where not to spend our time if we are trying to gain this wisdom.
Proverbs 14:7 Leave the presence of a fool, Or you will not discern words of knowledge.
We can only find wisdom and gain lips of knowledge for ourselves if we go to God and those who point us to Him for it. We cannot keep hanging out with other sinfully-focused people and expect to gain or understand God’s wisdom. We cannot keep pouring the world’s way of thinking into our hearts and minds and think that we will still somehow become wise just because we go to church once a week or occasionally read a chapter of the Bible or pray before we go to bed. It will not happen. If we voluminously stream the so called wisdom and morals of Tiktok, Facebook, X, movies, TV shows, influencers, mainstream news media, and other such content producers into our lives then our thoughts and perspectives will be shaped by that. We need to be picky and careful on what we allow into our hearts and minds.
As God told Joshua in Joshua 1:8, we need to meditate on God’s Word day and night. It must not depart from our mouths. Essentially, we must memorize it. How else will we keep it from departing from our mouths and be able to meditate on it even at night? [Side note: This is why we encourage everyone every week to memorize these proverbs.] As this verse says, we must not turn from God’s Word to the right or to the left. We must be careful to do all that is written in it.
Joshua 1:8 “This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.
Paul reiterated that in Philippians 4:8 for each one of us.
Philippians 4:8-9 Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. 9 The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
As we go to God’s Word like this to dwell in it and to let it dwell in us, we will be listening to “lips of knowledge.” The more we live it out the more we will have that wisdom ourselves. Proverbs 15:7 uses a similar expression to show what our next step will be as we gain this wisdom.
Proverbs 15:7 The lips of the wise spread knowledge, But the hearts of fools are not so.
Wise people pursue this knowledge of God. They value wisdom. As they receive it and gain it they then also share it. They become a source of exalting God, His wisdom, His righteousness, His design, His purpose for life, His glory, and His redemption/salvation from sin.
What we are actually valuing and pursuing will end up being reflected in our lives. If we value gold and silver pre-eminently, then we will do everything to get it—even if it is wrong, sinful, and destructive. Through that we will become scoffing mockers and tear down our lives, our families, our churches, and our nation. Whether slow or fast, it will happen. Your children and others will see what you value, just like with Laban and his daughters.
On the other hand, if we value God’s wisdom we will live righteously. We will strive to live lives of blamelessness, honesty, integrity, and truth. We will become wise. We will then also proclaim God’s wisdom. What are you and I truly valuing and seeking? Is God’s wisdom our true focus this Christmas season? Are we valuing earthly treasures, or an eternal crown of wisdom exquisitely crafted by God?
Scriptural Example: In Scripture we see both a good and bad example of this in Solomon’s life. In 1 Kings 3 we see Solomon starting off very well. He asked God for wisdom instead of riches and honor. God gave it to him and he used it to carefully govern the kingdom, protect the kingdom, build the temple, and write the book of Proverbs. With his prudence the nation flourished and became very prosperous. Yet, he ended up forsaking God’s wisdom and his very own words of wisdom to follow after idolatry in his later years. Yearly he accumulated to himself vast hoards of gold, silver, and precious treasures. He also accumulated vast numbers of war horses and wives. Those were the very three things that the future kings of Israel were specifically warned against pursuing in Deuteronomy 17:16-17.
Deuteronomy 17:16-17 “Moreover, he shall not multiply horses for himself, nor shall he cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses, since the LORD has said to you, ‘You shall never again return that way.’ 17 “He shall not multiply wives for himself, or else his heart will turn away; nor shall he greatly increase silver and gold for himself.
Exactly what that passage warned about happened to Solomon. His wives turned him to idolatry and to even building pagan worship centers for them. More precious than all that gold, riches, and honor which he had was the wisdom to do what is right. Sadly, he stopped listening to it. He stopped abiding by the wisdom of God’s Word. He destroyed himself and led the nation astray by it.
King Hezekiah was another example of this. He faithfully followed and wisely sought God through some very hard situations. God miraculously preserved Judah by the Angel of the Lord destroying 185,000 enemy soldiers encamped against them. God also preserved his life and healed him from a deadly illness. Yet, in God’s blessings upon him he ended up pridefully showing off all his physical riches to a visiting Babylonian envoy. It would have been far better for him to have had lips of knowledge and simply pointed them to his most precious treasure who had protected his life and given him life: God. Those treasures had not protected him. God had. Why glory in what cannot save us? Years later it would be Babylon who would ransack Judah, take those treasures, and deport the people.
In the New Testament, the rich young ruler could not get past the allurement of wealth in his pursuit of eternal life. He would not give up the temporary wealth of this world to gain the eternal wealth of following Jesus. The disciples on the other hand did. They left everything and followed Jesus when He called them to do it. Which will we be? Day by day we need to make this choice to seek first God’s kingdom and His righteousness and not our own.
Proverb in Comparison: When we compare this proverb with the rest of Scripture we see this point restated in Jeremiah 9:23-24.
Jeremiah 9:23-24 Thus says the LORD, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; 24 but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the LORD.
Our own wisdom, our own riches, our own physical strength, or our own earthly power is nothing in comparison with knowing God. It is His wisdom that we need. It is His true eternal riches that will last. It is our future resurrected bodies which will have unfading strength. It is God’s eternal power alone which will reign supreme. Therefore, we ought to go to Him for His wisdom for everything. In everything it is superior to our man-made imitations and wealth.
Matthew 13:45-46 gives us a short, but very powerful parable which Jesus taught about this issue of what we should value and pursue in life.
Matthew 13:45-46 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, 46 and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.
One thing is simply worth more than anything and everything else: Jesus. Jesus is worth more than anything else we could ever have. His salvation and forgiveness of sin is of priceless worth. Go to Him for it. He alone can give us the gift of eternal life. He alone can take away our sin and give us His righteousness. He alone can forgive us and reconcile us to God. Jesus’ wisdom for all of life is worth more than anything else we could have in this life. We ought to go to Him for it every day.
Truth in Connection: As we connect this to our lives we ought to ask ourselves. Have we trusted Jesus as our Lord and Savior? Or, put more bluntly, have you stopped pursuing your own treasured pursuits and realized the priceless value that Jesus alone has for life and eternity? Have you given up everything, surrendered it to Him, and trusted Him to be your Lord and Savior? Or are you still stuck thinking that the temporary gold, silver, and pleasures of this world are worth more than His salvation, His wisdom, His righteousness, and eternity with Him? They cannot give you lasting wisdom and eternal life. Turn to Jesus for what is truly of priceless, unfading value for every area of life on into eternity.
If you have turned to Jesus as your Lord and Savior, are you continuing to value His wisdom over the treasures of this world? Are you letting His wisdom guide every area of your life? Are you so dwelling in His wisdom daily that your lips are becoming lips of knowledge for others to help guide them? Malachi 2:7 pictures what that should have looked like for the Old Testament priests:
Malachi 2:7 “For the lips of a priest should preserve knowledge, and men should seek instruction from his mouth; for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts.
Are we faithful messengers of this Lord of armies? Do our lips proclaim the wisdom of God? Are we faithful ambassadors for Jesus? Do we seek the kingdom of heaven like that priceless pearl?
May we see earthly gold and precious jewels in their proper light. They are there. They have their place and use. But they are not the purpose of life. They cannot bring us life. They cannot continually sustain our life. God’s wisdom alone can and does. May we always see that and live in light of it. May we pursue it. May we not let His Word depart from our mouth. May we memorize it. May we meditate therein day and night. May we be careful to do all that is written in it. Then indeed we will have a truly prosperous way and have true, eternal success in the eyes of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ. May this truly indescribably blessing and gift be yours in full this Christmas and New Year. It can be in Jesus.
Conclusion
If you have any questions on any of this or want help in coming to know Jesus as your Lord and Savior please come talk with us. We are available. Let’s pray.
© 2025, Kevin A. Dodge, All rights reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible® (NASB),Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.Lockman.org
English (US) · 