Proverbs 19:29
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Judgments are prepared for scorners, and stripes for the back of fools.
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Fools and scorners deserve one thing - a beating! It is the only thing they understand (26:3)! Only other fools try to protect them from a whipping or give them honor. Holy men stand with the LORD and despise fools and scorners. Unless they repent, they should be severely punished. Giving them honor or kindness is rebellion against God.
Wise men do not need punishment, for correction and instruction are enough. They hear the reproofs of truth, and they reform their lives to match it. They listen to instruction and gain understanding (1:5; 9:9). They benefit from teaching, unlike fools and scorners. "A reproof entereth more into a wise man than an hundred stripes into a fool" (17:10).
Fools are stupid; scorners are rebellious. Fools are stubborn; scorners are malicious. They both deserve to be punished, because they flagrantly violate laws of an orderly society. Therefore, authority must deal severely in punishing them - especially civil government, which legally imposes judgments and stripes on civil offenders (Deut 25:1-3).
Stripes come from flogging on the back. Flogging was once the chief means of discipline in homes, schools, the military, and society. Check any old encyclopedia. Of course, our confused and effeminate generation treats even violent criminals tenderly. Flogging is now thought abusive, inhumane, and Neanderthal; though it was common just a few years ago. Let God be true: (10:13; 13:24; 18:6; 19:18,25; 22:15; 23:13-14; 26:3; 29:15)!
The wise man, King Solomon of Israel, knew better than our generation. He understood that certain men only respond to one thing - pain. Therefore, he knew the value of a strict penal code. It was the only way to communicate with fools and scorners. Their ignorance and arrogance preclude them from learning by instruction, so they must be punished.
Ignorant sentimentalists protect and honor fools and scorners. Punishment deters their wickedness (Eccl 8:11). And it is an example to others (19:25; 21:11). Reducing punishment promotes pride and rebellion. The nation is reaping the bitter fruit of what it has sown. The present youth have nothing to fear for their folly and scorning. Honoring a fool or scorner is wrong (26:1). They should be avoided, rejected, and punished.
From parenting to voting for elected officials, a strict criminal justice system and severe penal code effectively promote wisdom and righteousness in homes and society. The horrible pain and suffering caused by rebellion and violence today could have been avoided by following this simple proverb, which our grandparents understood clearly.
Israel had no prisons, for God's justice system did not have a need for them. The Law of Moses put capital offenders to death immediately, used flogging for other crimes, required heavy restitution for others, and sold you into slavery if you could not pay. Not a dime was spent on a prison system, where depraved fools and scorners can come together for three squares a day and mutual encouragement in wicked thinking and planning.
Fools and scorners who are not punished due to weak parents and/or an effeminate society should remember there is a God in heaven, Who sees every act of arrogance and rebellion; He will punish without compromise (Num 32:23; Ps 5:4-6; Eccl 12:13-14).
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