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The book of proverbs begins by claiming that this is what it has been written for: it is instruction for being wise, and righteousness, justice and equity are the main points of the text. These three characteristics are almost interchangeable sometimes, as one cannot exist in a person without the others. As the book teaches, someone whose concern is to do what is right knows the rights of the poor; but a wicked man does not understand such knowledge. What is justice, then, but having a concern to do what is right, and going after the rights of the disadvantaged and disenfranchised? Clearly the business is ours, if we are righteous. Since we have Christ's righteousness (what does being a Christian mean, if not that!) the question becomes, how can we be a people in pursuit of justice?

Another way of looking at justice is this: To put ourselves out in order to benefit the wider community is to be righteous. The wicked person's view is this - "No: I earned it, I am keeping it." Doing justice as a body of God's people means discovering and recognising that we are not here (to use Tim Keller's useful phraseology) to "hold services and to increase our tribe". It is not our intention to use the town to create a great church, but to use the church to build a great town. A church should be a counterculture for the common good.

Another proverb teaches this:
He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD,
and He will reward him for what he has done.

Hangups, sentiment and pangs of conscience do not lead to righteousness, and hand-wringing is not the path to Justice. If reward is the result of Justice, it is motivated by loving gratitude to God. Any other motivation is unworthy. We should do justice because it is simply a good thing to do. It is right to want what is right for poor people, because God deeply identifies with the poor. Matthew 25 goes so far as to say this: God will say "I was hungry, thirsty, naked, and in prison." Jesus teaches that someone can tell that they have a relationship with God if they are doing justice. More than that, Jesus basically teaches that He understands a living relationship with Him to involve treating the poor well. If we know that we are sinners saved by grace we will identify with the poor. We are at least poor in spirit. Christianity recognises that the only people who are saved are those who know that they are spiritually bankrupt, and that God has made an amazing investment in them to buy them back.

Do you see a man skilful in his work?
He will stand before kings;
he will not stand before obscure men.

What is the purpose of this proverb? What a strange one it is! The bible gives the example of Joseph, who was aged 30 when he "stood before" Pharaoh. He was certainly a man skilful in his work. But when the queen of Sheba visited Solomon, it was the king's wisdom which made the impression on her, rather than the excellence of the court. She counted the servants blessed who could "stand before" him, and learn from his wisdom.

Obviously, governments prize excellence and expertise, and someone who is good at what he does generally gets to the top. People go to where their expertise is valued and where the rewards are greater, and it is a foolish thing to forget it. Power attracts skill. Obscurity repels it. This is simply a function of an inbuilt desire to employ skills to the fullest potential. So much goes without saying. Where, then is the value of the proverb?

When the tabernacle was planned, again and again the call went out to skilled craftsmen. Similarly, when the ark was brought to Jerusalem, David assembled all Israel there to bring it to the place he had prepared for it, and it was Kenaniah the head Levite who was put in charge of the singing. The bible specifically says that this was his responsibility "because he was skillful at it." Similarly, the 288 men who cast lots for the privilege of making music in the temple were specially "trained and skilled in music for the Lord", and they served under the supervision of the king.

David's preparations for the temple involved the acquisition of great wealth, but his most impressive achievement was in the conjunction of skilled men. He knew the value of skilled men, and when he spoke to his son, he drew attention to their worth. "I have taken great pains to provide for the temple of the Lord a hundred thousand talents of gold, a million talents of silver, quantities of bronze and iron too great to be weighed, and wood and stone. And you may add to them. You have many workmen: stonecutters, masons and carpenters, as well as men skilled in every kind of work in gold and silver, bronze and iron—craftsmen beyond number. Now begin the work, and the LORD be with you."

The issue in the proverb is comparison. The skill of the men working is a gauge of the power, honour and fame of the one for whom they work. Skill is often taken in the bible to be a gift (or the perversion of a gift) which is from God. The measure here is not the amount of labour, or even the laziness of the man. Effort and integrity are distinct, but not unrelated matters. Other proverbs teach about the difference that laziness and diligence make to success. "The way of a sluggard is like a hedge of thorns, but the path of the upright is a level highway," is one example. "Whoever is slack in his work is a brother to him who destroys," is another. The consideration is not even the level of knowledge, but the level of ability. Ecclesiastes teaches this distinction: "If the axe is dull and its edge unsharpened, more strength is needed but skill will bring success." The distinctions between wisdom and knowledge and skill are straightforward. It is a matter of wisdom to want to give up smoking. It is a matter of knowledge that there are various ways of achieving this. The skill comes in picking the best effective method. (Pouring half a gallon of petrol over oneself would be an example of an effective approach lacking in skill.) The exertions of the skilful tend to be in the province of the powerful. It is the important who know not to frustrate their skilled workers, and who have the wherewithal to keep them busy.

The author of Chronicles wrote this about the gatekeepers: Shemaiah also had sons, who were leaders in their father's family because they were very capable men. The sons of Shemaiah: Othni, Rephael, Obed and Elzabad; his relatives Elihu and Semakiah were also able men. All these were descendants of Obed-Edom; they and their sons and their relatives were capable men with the strength to do the work—descendants of Obed-Edom, 62 in all. It is a measure of the importance of the work that we are involved in that we attract, retain and develop skilled workers. Are we obscure, or do we find ourselves in the employ of the king of kings? The measure is this - which skilled men do we have working alongside us? Do you see a man skilful in his work?