Proverbs 21:26-31

Proverbs 21:26-31
English Standard Version
26 All day long he craves and craves,
    but the righteous gives and does not hold back.
27 The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination;
    how much more when he brings it with evil intent.
28 A false witness will perish,
    but the word of a man who hears will endure.
29 A wicked man puts on a bold face,
    but the upright gives thought to his ways.
30 No wisdom, no understanding, no counsel
    can avail against the LORD.
31 The horse is made ready for the day of battle,
    but the victory belongs to the LORD.

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"He" in verse 26 points back to the antecedent of the sluggard in verse 25.  The sluggard (or slothful person) has cravings that should motivate him to work, but he does not.  Instead, he is lazy and expects someone else to satisfy his cravings with their hard-earned money.  The righteous on the other hand has more than enough to satisfy their needs and gives freely out of the abundance that the LORD provides for them.  They do not need to loan the money because they are lending it to the LORD when they give a gift to the poor.  The LORD will repay them with their reward in heaven, even if He doesn't repay them someway in this life (which he usually does, even though it's not always in material wealth and possessions).

The sacrifice that the wicked, unrepentant man brings to the LORD's altar is an abomination that will not provide atonement for him.  He is simply going through the motions trying to pretend to serve a God that really serves him.  It's even more detestable when the evil man brings a sacrifice as part of an evil scheme or plot.  God detests fake worshipers who are children of the devil but pretend for some reason to be children of God.  One day, He will expose them for who they are.

The person who is a false witness should die and be eternally condemned by God according to Solomon (the word "perish" carries a heavy weight of not only physical death but also spiritual/eternal death).  However, the one who is wise and listens to the wisdom that is shared with him (like someone who hears the gospel and receives it with joy and repents and believes) will have eternal life.

The wicked man (who is often times also a foolish man) charges in boldly where a man who would carefully deliberate his steps would not go.  However, the wise man considers the fact that the LORD is with him everywhere that he goes, and that there is nowhere outside of the LORD's protection if the LORD calls you to go somewhere "dangerous."  That's not the same as putting on a brave face and pretending to not be scared.  No, it is trusting in the LORD with all your heart and leaning not on your own understanding.

Speaking of that, all the wisdom and knowledge of men cannot hold up in a debate against the LORD.  Job learned this when he tried to challenge God to a debate and the LORD asked Job all kinds of questions that he could not answer so that Job shut his mouth and listened.  In fact, the LORD did this twice, because it doesn't seem like Job learned the lesson fully the first time.

We can do everything we can to prepare for the day of battle when hard times will come (the picture here is of the king keeping war horses ready and training them so that when the day of battle comes upon them suddenly, they are fit and ready to help fight).  However, even with all the resources, the battle and the victory belong to the LORD and Him alone.