Proverbs
11:1 (KJV)
A false
balance is abomination to the LORD: but a just weight is his delight.
The subject
of the false balance is brought up three times in Proverbs, with the other two
being
Proverbs
16:11 (KJV)
A just
weight and balance are the LORD'S: all the weights of the bag are his work.
Proverbs
20:23 (KJV)
Divers
weights are an abomination unto the LORD; and a false balance is not good.
It’s been my
plan in this series to address even recurring subjects each time they present
themselves in the book of Proverbs but this one is of a nature, I will likely
not do that.
That is not
to say it is unimportant.
God repeats
this truth three times. It is vitally important.
Let me begin
the lesson with some,
I. HISTORY
Proverbs 11:1
(KJV)
A false
balance is abomination to the LORD: but a just weight is his delight.
The use of
weights and balances for bartering goes back almost as long as recorded
history.
The first
known scale was in Egypt in 3500 BC[1]
and has been vital for trade and economy ever since.
The earliest
scales were simply a balance; a beam set on a fulcrum with equal measures on
either side.
Something of
value would be placed on one side of the scale and that which the purchaser
desired would be placed on the other.
One of the
earliest trading good was salt – we get our word “salary” from it.[2]
A prescribed
amount of salt might be placed on one side of the scale and a certain amount
of:
· Grain or
· Meat or
· Material
· Etc
would be
placed on the other.
The types of
scales have been refined and the number of ways to measure has increased, but
nothing has really changed.
We still buy
our goods based on weight, volume, or some other measurement
like it.
Today, we
use scales[3]:
· At the gas station pump
· At the grocer’s deli
· At the garbage dump
to name just
a few.
Every
package in the store is labeled with a weight and there is generally a sticker
somewhere that gives the cost per oz. or unit.
The weight
of your vehicle is recorded in the door panel.
Everything
you order online includes a shipping weight.
Some of you
work at a job where you punch a time-clock to measure exactly how many hours
you work – and you are paid for that number of hours.
Pickup
trucks have
· A weight limit for the suspension and
· A towing weight capacity
I want to
move on to my second point,
II. MEANING
Proverbs
11:1 (KJV)
A false
balance is abomination to the LORD: but a just weight is his delight.
The concept
of the false balance has to do with fraudulent practices in commerce and
business.
Have you
ever noticed at the gas pump that there is a sticker certifying the pump to be
accurate?
There are at
least two key measurements taken every time you use the pump:
1. Volume
The pump is
certified that it gives you a gallon of gas for every gallon of gas it claims
to give
If the pump
was off even by a 20th of a gallon, multiplied over the thousands of
gallons sold through it each day the profit or loss of the station would be
huge.
2. Price
The price of
the gas is linked to the volume of gas pumped.
If the sign
says the gas is $2,69 per gallon and the pump actually charged you $2.70 the
result would be an enormous amount of fraud committed every day.
This is the bedrock of a thriving economy -
We have to
be able to trust the scale in order for us to confidently make the sale.
We have to
know[4]
that:
· We pay for what we get
· We get what we pay for
or else
neither the buyer nor the seller, would conduct the business.
For this
reason, governments impose laws to regulate trading practices and to certify that
balances are true.
· When you buy a home, the seller is required to
disclose what he knows to be wrong on the property
· When you buy a used car (from a dealer), he is
required to give you a three day window to get the vehicle checked out and to
return it if you find things you don’t want to have to repair.
A,
· Gas station or
· Deli store
Might be
heavily fined or even put out of business for tampering with their scales and
selling you less product than they claim.
Unfair trade
practices have taken down
· business like Enron and
· celebrities like Martha Stewart
In the
sports arena, athletes, coaches, and staff get in major trouble for gambling on
their own games.
Pete Rose,
one of baseball’s best, almost missed out on the hall of fame for doing exactly
that.
Even in
horse racing, where gambling is legal, the
· Jockeys
· Trainers and
· Owners
Are not
allowed to bet.
Betting on an
event one has some input in lends itself to cheating for profit.
Allow me to
turn our attention for just a moment to consider the,
III. GRAVITY
Proverbs
11:1 (KJV)
A false
balance is abomination to the LORD: but a just weight is his delight.
A just
weight is:
Imperative to trade
Both the
buyer and the seller, the employer and the employee depend upon it for
confidence in business
The foundation of justice
The symbol
of justice is a woman, blindfolded, holding a scale.
· That she is a woman symbolizes government
· That she is blindfolded symbolizes impartiality
· That she has a scale symbolizes equality and
fairness
Finally, a
just weight is
The delight of the Lord
To be dishonest:
· As a buyer or a seller
· As an employee or employer
· As a representative of the government or citizen of the same
is an abomination to the
Lord.
It is disgusting to Him
and, implied in the definition of the word, is the equivalent of idolatry.
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