“Do Not Associate With Those Given to Change”

Thinking about Proverbs 24:21-22.

Photo by Mika Baumeister on Unsplash

My son, fear the LORD and the king; Do not associate with those given to change; For their calamity will rise suddenly, And who knows the ruin those two can bring? (Proverbs 24:21-22).

Sometimes change is a good, necessary thing. For example, repenting of sins involves a much-needed change.

But other times, change is not a good thing. The passage considered in this article is one of those times when change is not good.

The Proverbs writer offers a powerful warning in this passage: “do not associate with those given to change.” Solomon wrote much of Proverbs, and assuming he wrote this passage, he certainly had some personal experience with this warning.

Remembering Solomon’s Brothers.

Solomon’s brother Absalom conspired to steal the throne from David – and nearly succeeded. David fled for his life because many of the people sided with Absalom.

But the Lord was with David, and Absalom listened to the advice of Hushai, who was protecting David. In the battle that was fought between David’s army and Absalom’s army, Absalom was defeated and murdered by David’s general Joab (2 Samuel 15-18).

Later, near the end of David’s life, Solomon’s brother Adonijah decided to exalt himself as the next king of Israel. He even convinced David’s general Joab and several of the influential priests to side with him.

But his attempt to seize the throne for himself failed when David proclaimed Solomon as the next king of Israel. When Adonijah attempted to undermine Solomon’s authority as king, Solomon had him executed (1 Kings 1-2).

Beware of This Kind of Change.

When the Proverbs writer warns about siding with those “given to change,” he is speaking from personal experience in sharing the wisdom of God.

Those who rebel against either the Lord or the king invite disaster upon themselves. So don’t “hitch your wagon” to those who rebel either against the Lord or the king.

Still today, we must beware of those who tempt us to follow them instead of God. Solomon warned his son not to follow those whose “feet run to evil” (Proverbs 1:15-16). The devil is like a roaring lion stalking us (1 Peter 5:8) and is our enemy trying to destroy us with one of his schemes (Ephesians 6:11). We must resist him (1 Peter 5:9).

Also, we need to be on guard against those who promise Christians power and prominence in exchange for following them in their rebellion against the government. We must be people who “give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s” (Luke 20:25). As people who respect God’s authority, we must also respect the authority He has given to our governing authorities (Romans 13:1-7).