The Wise Welcome Rebuke, The Fool Rejects It (Proverbs 9:7-9)
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Proverbs 9:7-9
Whoever corrects a scoffer gets himself abuse,
and he who reproves a wicked man incurs injury.
8 Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you;
reprove a wise man, and he will love you.
9 Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser;
teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning.
Today we stick with the same theme of correction, but here’s the twist – Proverbs 9 adds a variable we can’t ignore. Yesterday, Proverbs 28:23 encouraged us that rebuke could lead to favor, but today? It’s more complicated. We see that rebuke doesn’t always land the same way.
These verses show us a reality with two types of people who respond to correction in two very different ways. In one corner, we see the scoffer, who abuses, injures, and hates those who rebuke him. Meanwhile, in the other corner, we see the wise man who listens, loves, and grows from correction.
As you hear that, what kind of person are you, and who do you want to be?
It’s clear from these verses that the fool and scoffer want their own way. They want to hear what they want to hear. They want their backs patted and scratched.
But the wise? The wise want the truth. They’re not looking for their backs to be scratched – they want their hearts to be checked.
Essentially, these verses encourage us to be wise and discerning about whom we rebuke. Looking back at Proverbs 28:23 from yesterday, the verse wasn’t implying that we should rebuke everyone, everywhere, no matter what. Instead, it encouraged us to lovingly rebuke those following the Lord when they stumble in sin.
In other words, we can rebuke the wise because they invite it and receive it with joy. They know the rebuke is not meant to shame them; rather, it’s meant to shape them into the image of Christ. But we shouldn’t rebuke the scoffer, because they don’t have the heart to hear it. They have no desire to be shaped into the image of Christ.
And here’s something to consider: How often do we talk about accountability in Christian circles? It’s a big deal, and for good reason. We all need it. But what I’ve learned, and what I think Proverbs 9 affirms, is that you can’t hold someone accountable who doesn’t want to be held accountable.
Put this way: you can’t rebuke someone for character that’s detrimental to their walk with God when they don’t care about Him in the first place.
But let’s slice the ice here – this gets tricky sometimes. I mean, how do you know whether someone cares about their relationship with God? That line feels blurry. For example, what if you have a friend who says they are a Christian, but you aren’t super close, and they’re living in sin? Is it your place to rebuke them or not? And do they want to hear that?
It’s messy, right? Life doesn’t always hand us clean-cut black and white scenarios.
But life in Christ does give us the Holy Spirit. And I think when we face situations like the one I described a second ago, we should pray for wisdom and guidance. The last thing we want to do is become pharisaical in how we rebuke others. But we also don’t want to be passive and neglect accountability altogether.
That’s why prayer is so key – it centers our hearts on God’s wisdom, not our own.
And here’s the part that hits me personally: I don’t want to be the scoffer. I don’t want to hate correction or reject it because it’s uncomfortable. I want to be wise. I want to welcome rebuke, just like David did in Psalm 141:5:
‘Let a righteous man strike me—it is a kindness;
let him rebuke me—it is oil for my head;
let my head not refuse it.’
That’s the heart posture I want for myself, and I want you to have it too. May our heads and hearts not refuse rebuke like a scoffer’s would. Instead, may we embrace it like the wise.
As verse 9 today concludes:
‘Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser;
teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning.’
Today, instead of giving you reflection questions, I want to encourage you to turn this teaching into prayer. Let’s ask God to give us the heart of the wise and the humility to receive correction.
