The Scoffer And The King
2/15/2026
Turn with me to Proverbs 20:26-28. These are our verses to begin studying and memorizing.
Proverbs 20:26-28 A wise king winnows the wicked, And drives the threshing wheel over them. 27 The spirit of man is the lamp of the LORD, Searching all the innermost parts of his being. 28 Loyalty and truth preserve the king, And he upholds his throne by righteousness.
Introduction
We have been dealing with the wicked ways of the scoffing mocker in a nation. As we come to the end of this subsection of verses God declares how they are to be dealt with by the king. In this chapter we have seen the wrongs that scoffing mockers do. We have seen their wicked behaviors. We have seen the way things are not to be. We have also seen that God finds their behaviors abominable. We have seen that we are not to repay evil with vengeance, but rather wait for the Lord and His salvation. Having seen all that, we once again return to the king’s God-given responsibility and authority to deal with these scoffing mockers (cf. Prov. 20:2, 8).
In these last three verses we have a mini-chiasm, very similar to what we had in verses 9-11. That first chiasm focused on the wickedness of all people and their accountability to God. Here we will see the king’s judgment on wicked people for their evil behaviors, and another reminder of everyone’s ultimate accountability to God. The first and last verses show how justice is to be carried out by the king. The middle verse, which is the high-point of the chiasm, emphasizes that our God-given spirit reveals the truth of our innermost life. Our consciences convict us. We know. God knows. Nothing is hidden. All will be revealed. We are all accountable to God.
With that overview, let’s begin taking a look at God’s design for the way that the scoffing mocker’s wickedness is to be dealt with in society in Proverbs 20:26 and our ultimate accountability to God in Proverbs 20:27. Lord willing, next time we look at the final part of the chiasm in Proverbs 20:28. There we will see what is to guide and guard the king in his government.
26 A wise king winnows the wicked, And drives the threshing wheel over them.
The wise king separates out the wicked and destroys them.
This proverb uses imagery that would have been very familiar during Solomon’s day to make a number of precise points about how the wicked scoffing mockers were to be taken care of. It is like a concise parable that makes a complex or confusing situation simple and clear. If this were a picture I would say it was one that communicates a thousand words. The amazing part, is that in his wisdom and wit Solomon does exactly the opposite. He shares just a few words that give us a picture of what then conveys that thousand words. Truly God made him a master of communication and wisdom!
In this proverb Solomon refers to the overall process of someone winnowing grain. So picture a flat cleared stone area in an elevated place which would catch any breeze that blows by. Then imagine wheat from a harvest being brought to it in dried bundles on a cart. It would be strewn across that flat surface. Then a threshing sledge, or in this case the wheeled cart, would be dragged back and forth over the grain. That would crack open the stalks so the grain could come out and be separated from the husks. After that was sufficiently carried out then a big wooden winnowing fork, much like a modern pitchfork, would be used to scoop up the crushed stalks. Those forkfuls would be thrown into the breeze to separate the heavier grain from the chaff and straw. The wind would blow the lighter husks and chaff some distance away. The heavier, but still relatively light, stalks of straw would fall a little bit away. Meanwhile, the heavier grain would fall straight down and could be collected for grinding into flour.
Every year the harvest would carried out this way by most families in Israel. Grain was universally needed for bread. Thus winnowing and threshing was a natural part of life every year after the harvest. The grain would be used for food, and the straw would be used to light fires, to make bricks, or to mix in with animal feed. This is the overall picture that would have automatically been brought to mind with these references to winnowing and the threshing wheel.
Now that we understood the process, the picture of this proverb begins to come alive. How should a king deal with the wicked scoffing mockers? He should treat them just like harvested wheat. Interestingly, though, Solomon arranges the process backwards for his analogy. First he mentions the winnowing of the wheat. Technically that occurs after the threshing. But Solomon mentions it here first because it is what would need to be done first for the way he is applying this.
The first thing that would need to be done would be to separate the wicked from the righteous. A wise king would not want to punish or harm the righteous in dealing with the wicked. To rightly deal with evil doers the ones who are actually guilty need to be determined. This protects the innocent from being wrongly judged. The winnowing process took work. The threshed grain had to be lifted and thrown into the air to separate the useful from the useless parts of the plant. Similarly, the wicked, guilty people need to found out, determined, and separated from the innocent. Like winnowing, that could be hard work. But, it is very worthwhile and needful to do to attain the end product of a thriving and healthy society.
Think about it. On the physical level, it would be a complete waste to have all the hard work of plowing, planting, watering, weeding, and harvesting come to nothing simply because the work was not done well after the harvest to separate the good grain from the useless stalks! Similarly, on the societal level it would be a disgrace to destroy the innocent along with the wicked. Thus, honest witnesses, just judges, carefully examined evidence, and wise discernment need to be encouraged and required in one’s justice system. Care needs to be taken to investigate matters and to faithfully distinguish the guilty from the innocent, the criminals from the victims, and the wicked from the righteous.
Once the guilty people have been winnowed out and separated from the rest of the population, then the second part of the proverb comes into play. At this point we have the first part of the threshing process brought back into the picture. The wise king is to drive the threshing wheel over the wicked. They are to be destroyed. They are to be crushed. They are to be removed permanently from the good part of a nation. They are to be separated from everything else that was useful by crushing and winnowing. Their remnants are to metaphorically be blown away, used to start the cook fire, made into bricks, or eaten up by the livestock. They are to be destroyed, used up, and gotten rid of. Wise rulers do not let wickedness proliferate. They deal with evil-doers. They separate them from the righteous, so as not to destroy them alongside of the wicked. Then they deal with the wicked decisively.
Our short proverb does not tell us exactly what their crimes might be, but we know from the context of this whole chapter that these wicked people are the scoffing mockers who are destroying a nation by their many wicked behaviors. They are inciting revolution in a nation. They are serial beggars who will not work. They are untrustworthy traitors. They are ones practicing evil. They are ones who cheat and steal from others. They slander and gossip. They abuse, misuse, and steal from their parents. They are vengeful hotheads. They make empty vows and do not keep their word. In short, they are lawless people who scoff at God, the king, righteousness, and authority. Justice needs to be applied to these people to protect a nation from them and to prevent this kind of behavior from spreading. Their guilt and true nature is to be carefully determined and they are to be separated out from the righteous. Then the threshing wheel is to be ground over them. That is what the king is to do with the wicked. This is God’s temporal design for the execution of justice in a nation. He has deputized them with the authority and responsibility to carry it out. Thus ruling authorities are to have a justice system that properly and thoroughly deals with the wicked.
Scriptural Example: In Scripture we see an example of this with Solomon at the outset of his rule as king. Right away he had to deal with a coup from his own brother Adonijah. This coup included a number of people who had previously been long-term faithful stalwarts within the kingdom. Solomon also was tasked with dealing with some people who had seriously wronged his father in the past. To do all this, Solomon had to carefully winnow out their loyalty. He tested them to see whether their character remained traitorous or had changed. Once that was determined he carried out justice and removed them from being able to ever hurt the nation again. (1 Kings 1-2)
Solomon also carefully carried out this winnowing in the famous account of the two prostitutes who came to him with their two babies. One had died in the night. The mother of the dead child discovered that and swapped out her baby for the living one. Solomon had to figure out who was guilty with the different stories he was being told from these mothers. He had a sword brought and instructed that the living baby was to be cut in half and both were to be given a half. Through their reactions Solomon was able to determine the guilty woman and reward the innocent mother. (1 Kings 3:16-28)
Another example of this winnowing and carrying out justice can be found with King Ahasuerus of Persia in relation to Esther, Mordecai, and Haman. Haman’s wickedness was disguised as being good for the kingdom. But in reality he was trying to destroy all the Jewish people and remove a number of people who were much more loyal to the nation than he was. Mordecai had uncovered and reported a plot to kill the king. Esther faithfully served the king. Haman, meanwhile wanted to destroy all the Jews and plunder them. Yes, he would give the king some of the loot, but it would be at the far greater expense of much murder and the cost of the lives of many loyal citizens.
The problem, though, was that Haman’s wickedness needed to be uncovered, exposed, and dealt with by the king before it brought ruin on the nation. It all needed winnowing. Through God’s providence Mordecai’s faithfulness was brought back to the king’s attention. Likewise, Esther’s humble loyalty was brought out through her risking her life on her people’s behalf when their demise was imminent. Haman’s true wickedness and the full extent of what he was plotting thus came to light through Esther’s humble efforts. The king then exercised wisdom. He rolled the threshing wheel over Haman and hanged him. With Mordecai’s help a further plan was devised to expose those who were similarly wicked and plotting evil within the nation. With a new law the Jewish people were enabled to defend themselves and plunder any who attempted to hurt them in relation to the previous unchangeable law that had been put into place for their destruction. Thus those who were seeking to pillage and kill others ended up being pillaged and destroyed themselves. They were picked out and the threshing wheel was rolled over them. In this way the loyal subjects of the king were preserved, and the greedy, murderous, wicked ones were destroyed.
Proverb in Comparison: When we compare this proverb with the rest of Scripture, we see a picture of the careful winnowing and threshing process given to us in Isaiah 28:24-29. There we see God’s wise design for planting and harvesting different crops.
Isaiah 28:24-29 Does the farmer plow continually to plant seed? Does he continually turn and harrow the ground? 25 Does he not level its surface And sow dill and scatter cummin And plant wheat in rows, Barley in its place and rye within its area? 26 For his God instructs and teaches him properly. 27 For dill is not threshed with a threshing sledge, Nor is the cartwheel driven over cummin; But dill is beaten out with a rod, and cummin with a club. 28 Grain for bread is crushed, Indeed, he does not continue to thresh it forever. Because the wheel of his cart and his horses eventually damage it, He does not thresh it longer. 29 This also comes from the LORD of hosts, Who has made His counsel wonderful and His wisdom great.
Just like God has a wise design for harvesting different crops and separating the useful from the useless, so too, He has a wise design for governments in dealing with the wicked. It is not to ignore crime. It is not to give it a simple, meaningless slap on the wrist. It is to carefully determine guilt and innocence. Then it is to firmly match the crime with an appropriate punishment that prevents evil-doers from continuing to bring ruin on a nation.
When we come to the New Testament, we see another comparison to winnowing when we are given a picture of what Jesus will one day do when He brings His justice upon this world. John the Baptist shares this picture of Jesus’ future judgment in Matthew 3:10-12.
Matthew 3:10-12 “The axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 11 “As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 “His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
John shared this warning in his call for people to repent of their sin and to turn to God for forgiveness. They needed to do this before Jesus came and brought judgment. John uses this exact same picture of the winnowing out of the wicked from the forgiven and the subsequent destruction of the worthless chaff that we find in our proverb. Since it is what wise, earthly kings were to do, God will do no less when He institutes His full, direct reign of justice on this earth. The only acceptable response is to repent and to “worship the Lord with reverence and rejoice with trembling” as Psalm 2:11 says.
Truth in Connection: This proverb gives us another reason why to trust in God’s sovereignty and to not repay evil. God’s perfect plan lays out both a design to deal with wickedness in this life, and a perfect eternal solution to execute just judgment. Will you trust Him for His justice? If you are in government, will you faithfully do all you can to winnow out the wicked and to justly exercise the God-given responsibility to carry out justice? This is God’s design for the wise king, the wise ruler, and the wise nation to carry out.
As this also comes down to our personal application, the full trembling reality and weight of the implications need to come home to each one of our lives. In our earlier 3 verse chiasm in Proverbs 20:9-11 we learned that in actuality none of us can say that we are pure from sin. Even the young are all tainted by impure conduct. Thus, before God all of us are the wicked who deserve the threshing wheel to run over us. We might escape the notice of earthly kings, rulers, and judges, but in God’s sovereignty He sees everything and will deal with it. Because of this, everyone needs to heed the warning of John the Baptist in Matthew 3. God’s judgment is coming. John came to warn people and to call them to repentance. That is what he started his ministry proclaiming in Matthew 3:2. Jesus Himself started His ministry with the exact same message in Matthew 4:17. “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Have you repented? Have you recognized your sin, seen its wickedness and the judgment that is coming from God upon it? Have you turned to Jesus’ mercy for forgiveness and salvation? He alone can take away our sin, give us His righteousness, and declare us righteous before God. He alone can do this, because He went to the cross. As the perfect God who added on full humanity in the incarnation He paid the penalty in full for all the sin of those who trust Him as their Lord and Savior. Faith in Him is the only way of salvation. His work on our behalf is the only way of being reconciled to God. This is the only way that the husk of our sin and the worthless straw of our wickedness can be removed and we can become good grain by being born again into eternal life. Have you ever been crushed before God’s omnipotent holiness and reborn with Jesus’ life in you? Turn to and Trust in Him alone.
Our next proverb brings out another crucial element for us to meditate on in relation to God. It stresses our personal accountability to Him for our actions. If more people took it to heart and lived in light of it, our society would truly flourish and thrive.
27 The spirit of man is the lamp of the LORD, Searching all the innermost parts of his being.
A conscience from God scours our innermost thoughts.
In this verse we again have an allusion to God’s creation of mankind. Back in verse 24, with our proverb emphasizing God’s sovereignty over our steps, we saw two different words for “man” being used. The second one emphasized mankind being made from the dust of the ground by God. Now here, the word translated “spirit” in the NASB is not one of the normal words for spirit or soul. Rather it is the same word for “breath” that was found in Genesis 2:7. The “breath” of man is the “lamp of the Lord.” This directly hearkens back to God being the one who has put His special breath of life into mankind. It makes us alive and created in His image. Thus, from this proverb we see that with that “breath” in us a God-given conscience has been stamped into our existence. We innately know of God’s existence and our accountability to Him. We have an inkling of right from wrong which examines our innermost being. It condemns us for things we know to be wrong. It pushes us to do what we know to be right. We often call it our conscience.
Do not misunderstand this, though. Our conscience is not currently a perfect representation of right and wrong and all of God’s holy standards. The fall into sin has corrupted it. We can train it in different directions. It can be weak (1 Corinthians 8:7-12), ignored, silenced, rejected (1 Timothy 1:19), defiled (Titus 1:15), seared (1 Timothy 4:2), and evil (Hebrews 10:22). Nonetheless, it still points us to God, scours our innermost being, and reminds us of the even brighter lamp (or spotlight) of God which sees all things and will hold us all accountable to what is right.
Placed here in this chiasm we are reminded of everyone’s ultimate accountability to God. Whether we are a scoffing mocker being judged by a king, a person who somehow is escaping earthly justice, or are the king himself administering justice we cannot escape the breath of the Lord stamped on our lives or His lamp which exposes and reveals everything. None of us can escape God’s coming justice. He sees all things—even the innermost thoughts and motives of our hearts. Our conscience is a small hint of that.
We see this in Romans 2:14-16.
Romans 2:14-16 For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, 15 in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them, 16 on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus.
This truth ought to push the wicked—all of us—away from evil and to repentance. This should push a nation to making sure that justice is what is being actually carried out. This should encourage those who are being unjustly treated that justice will prevail under God’s illuminating spotlight.
Scriptural Example: When we look to Scripture for an example of this proverb we can see one in Joshua 7. During the Canaanite conquest, a man named Achan tried to get away with stealing gold, silver and a Babylonian garment from the ruins of Jericho’s defeat. Everything there, however, had been strictly commanded by God to be dedicated to destruction. None of it was to be spoils of war. Achan did not listen to his conscience and stole those things anyway. God saw it, revealed it, and judged it. When it was all uncovered Achan admitted that when he saw those items he coveted them, stole them, and hid them. He knew in his conscience that it was wrong because his conscience was a lamp from God which searched his innermost being. Yet, he did it anyway and reaped the ultimate consequence.
Judas is another example. After he betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver his conscience smote him (Matthew 27:3-5). He could not get away from the searching lamp of the Lord laying bare the innermost parts of his wickedness. Because of that he did return the money to the priests. Unfortunately, he did not turn in true repentance to God. Instead sought the fake and futile escape of suicide.
We also see this with Ahithophel. He was a renowned man of wisdom and David’s personal counselor. During Absalom’s coup he betrayed David and sided with Absalom (2 Samuel 15-17). But when Absalom did not follow all his advice he knew his doom was coming. His conscience convicted him. He knew the wickedness that he had participated in. He knew there was no escaping justice from what he had done. So he committed suicide. The reality with that, though, is that he just ushered himself into the immediate and eternal justice of God’s judgment upon himself. He did not truly escape anything.
People often ignore their conscience and commit wickedness. But they cannot outrun it or the eventual consequences. They may sear their conscience, silence it, ignore it, and trample upon it, but it searches out their wickedness, shines the light of righteousness on it, and condemns them. Ultimately, the perfect truth and justice of God’s full holiness will shine on their actions and bring justice.
Proverb in Comparison: When we compare this proverb with the rest of Scripture Romans 1 gives us a striking portrayal. It reveals the innate reality of this God-given conscience which condemns people and is often suppressed. It shows the extent to which people will go in defying God. It also emphasizes our accountability to God and the final judgment that we will receive when we persist as scoffing mockers on this pathway of wickedness.
Romans 1:18-32 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. 21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. 24 Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. 25 For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. 26 For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, 27 and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. 28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; 32 and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.
We know the truth of righteousness as verse 18 says. God gave us His breath of life in us. He made us in His image. We have the conscience that He instilled in us shining His light on our innermost beings. We also have the witness of His creation around us unceasingly pointing to Him as our Designer and Creator. Yet, what the scoffing mocker does is decide to not honor God as God or to give Him thanks. Instead they darken their conscience and exchange that wisdom for foolishness. They worship the creation instead of the Creator. They turn what was made for good into sinful perversions. They exchange the truth of God for a lie. They sear their consciences. They work hard at ignoring it. As verse 32 says, even though they know the ordinances of God and that the wages of sin is death they commit it anyway and celebrate the sin of others. Nonetheless, the lamp of the Lord was instilled within the breath of life that was given to us, and we will all be held accountable before God’s justice.
Truth in Connection: As we connect this to our lives, we see a number of important truths from this proverb.
1. God has given mankind a lamp to lead them to Himself. God has given mankind a conscience to expose his sin. We ought to listen to it.
2. Listening to one’s God-given and God-directed conscience preserves and protects the individual as it leads them to God for His one and only way of redemption in Jesus Christ. Beyond that, it leads them towards God’s wisdom for all of life.
3. We are all (including kings and rulers) accountable to God through the conscience He has given. This makes us each responsible for our actions. In the context of these proverbs with the scoffing mocker and the king this is both a warning to the wicked about their responsibility before God for their sin as well as a guard-rail and warning to the king that in his exercise of justice he too is accountable to God. None of us are above God’s law. All of us are accountable to God.
4. Given the reality of scoffing mockers who do not pay heed to the truth of this proverb there is also another warning here. People can sear their consciences over time to ignore the promptings of their conscience. We must not do this. Or, we may very well end up like those in Romans 1 who worship the things of creation, pursue evil, and encourage others to do the same. Sin will take us farther than we ever thought possible, lead us to do things we never thought we would do, and make us pay far more than we would ever want to pay.
Are you listening to your conscience? Are you following the promptings of your conscience to lead you to know God’s wisdom that He has given to us in His Word? Are you growing and training your conscience so that it is guided by the truth of God’s Word and is not weak or defiled by the lies of the world?
If you find yourself having an evil, defiled, ignored, weak, or deceived conscience, there is one and only one solution. Run to Jesus for forgiveness and cleansing. He is the one who makes us a new creation. He is the one who washes us and causes us to be born again. Hebrews 10:22-25 exhorts us this way:
Hebrews 10:22-25 let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; 24 and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, 25 not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.
May we have cleansed consciences in Jesus. Trust Him. Then have Him keep you clean by continually repenting of any and all sin and depending on Him. Stop filling your mind with the conscience defiling filth of the world. Hold fast to Jesus. He is faithful. Then let us stimulate one another to love and good deeds. Let us together help each other in walking blamelessly and serving faithfully.
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.
© 2026, 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
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