Proverbs - Things Hard to Process

Proverbs 30:21-23

For three things the earth is disquieted, and for four which it cannot bear:

For a servant when he reigneth; and a fool when he is filled with meat;

For an odious woman when she is married; and an handmaid that is heir to her mistress.

These are things that will probably bother most of us and we are told here that this is to be expected.  The first thing we are told about is when a servant reigns.  This is not referring to a wise servant who is promoted but rather someone who should not be promoted yet ends up there anyway.  It could be due to a pay off, or favoritism.  This usually disquiets those around who know the real story and see such an undeserved promotion. 

The second thing that is hard to bear is when a fool is filled with meat.  This is saying that when someone wastes their time, is lazy or squanders what they have and ends up with financial blessings, we can find ourselves a bit burdened by this apparent inconsistency.

Another thing that disquiets us is when a hateful woman is married.  When we see a wicked, mean woman sought after and vowed to, we don’t understand why the man has chosen her.  This, too, is hard to bear.

Finally, when we see someone receive an inheritance that should have gone to someone else, we can get rather perturbed.  All of these things should help us understand that there will be those things in life that we may sense are unjust.  As we read through the book of Proverbs we see that there are general principles that God has placed to play out in life, but, at times, we will see temporary contradictions.  We must give these to the Lord and trust that He will deal with matters according to His everlasting truth.  When we find ourselves burdened with these inconsistencies we must wait on the Lord and trust He will bring all that He says to pass.  Don’t be too discouraged and don’t think that God’s Word is not true.  Trust in the Lord, commit your way to Him and He WILL bring it to pass.