Daily Bible Reading 4th February 2026 // Proverbs 28:4-8
4 Those who forsake the law praise the wicked,
but those who keep the law strive against them.
5 Evil men do not understand justice,
but those who seek the Lord understand it completely.
6 Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity
than a rich man who is crooked in his ways.
7 The one who keeps the law is a son with understanding,
but a companion of gluttons shames his father.
8 Whoever multiplies his wealth by interest and profit
gathers it for him who is generous to the poor.
Kidner has a trenchant comment on 4a: 'Without revelation all is soon relative; and with moral relativity, nothing quite merits attack. So, e.g., the tyrant is accepted because he gets things done, and the pervert, because his condition is interesting.’ The full sequence appears in Romans 1:18-32. The meaning of 1b is that keeping the law strikes a blow for righteousness against evil. There is more on this subject in 6. Judgment here means justice. Evil men just do not understand how absolutely integral to the very structure of the universe justice is. The closer we are to God, however, the more they see this, and therefore the more they will reverence justice. This is why true spirituality is a good quality for public life. This is put in another way in 6: it is moral worth, and the quality of integrity in life, that always tells ultimately in society. And, since the life of society ultimately depends on family life (7), it is in the family that such integrity must first be nurtured. Hence the emphasis on keeping the law. This is not to be confused with legalism: there is a legalistic keeping of the law that leads to bondage, but it was, after all, Jesus Who said, 'If ye love Me, keep my commandments'. The word about 'usury' in 8 is full of interest and instruction. The OT is quite explicit in its teaching on this matter: it does not condemn the principle of lending money for interest as such - in modern life our whole economic system is based upon it- but it does speak against the heartlessness of making your brother pay interest on your loan to him. As Kidner succinctly puts it: '…what is quite proper in terms of economics (Deuteronomy 23:20) is pronounced improper in terms of family care (Deuteronomy 23:19)’ - as if a doctor should charge for treating his own children. Mercy and compassion are to be the keynotes, and the moral, in general terms, is: Don't drive a hard bargain with the poor, it is heartless to do so.