Proverbs 11:1 A perfect stone_

A false balance is an abomination to the LORD, But a just weight is His delight. Proverbs‬ ‭11:1‬ ‭NASB‬‬‬‬

Solomon is reflecting on what Moses wrote in the law:

You shall not have in your bag differing weights, a large and a small. You shall not have in your house differing measures, a large and a small. You shall have a full and just weight; you shall have a full and just measure, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the LORD your God gives you. For everyone who does these things, everyone who acts unjustly is an abomination to the LORD your God. Deuteronomy‬ ‭25:13-16‬ ‭NASB‬‬‬‬‬‬

The Hebrew translated “just weight” literally means “perfect stone.” When charging for commodities and weighing out the grain, or oil, or silver or whatever, just like today, we have a system of standards that ensure consistency and fairness. The perfect stone is like the modern international prototype kilogram. (The current version is made from a platinum-iridium alloy rather than stone and maintained by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures rather than in the temple by the priests.)

Business. Each of us make a contribution to the other. We work hard to produce something and then we trade it for something we need. People are an interconnected web of supply and demand. Today many of our professional occupations have become service-oriented, but the principle is the same. I am trading my time for something. If you punch in and punch out, could you imagine how you would feel if you found that your employer rigged the time-keeping clock to slow down during the work day to make an 8-hour day, say 6 or 7? We’d be angry and feel cheated! Although this is highly improbable since time can be confirmed easily with my watch or the arrival of the 5 O’clock news, other things are not so obvious such as the mileage on my car’s odometer or the produce scale at the market. But when I take advantage of obscure standards, I’m being deceptive, self-serving, and wrong.

I see a passionate God reflected in this verse. A false scale is an abomination! Something disgusting, deplorable. Compare that to how fairness and honesty being is his delight, desire, pleasure or favor. He knows we are dependent on each other. And it’s a delight to him when our interconnection with each other is strong and trusting and our labor is rewarded equitably.

In this verse Solomon’s intent isn’t to discuss weights and measures, rather, he’s calling out motivation and character. Fairness in business is important, but even more so is authenticity of character – that standard from which I measure the value of my soul. Who we are governs every aspect of our lives. Diving deeper, I consider a couple of other notable stones or standards in scripture. Isaiah speaks of one when he says:

Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone, A costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed. He who believes in it will not be disturbed. Isaiah‬ ‭28:16‬ ‭NASB‬‬‬‬

There is no more perfect standard in the kingdom than Jesus, from who the building of the church is fitted and joined together. He is the “platinum-iridium” kilo. Paul says in Romans that we have been predestined to be conformed to his very image, to walk in his ways, to have his heart beating in our heart, his life flowing from our lives. If he washed feet, so do we. If he forgives sin, so do we. If he heals, feeds, raises the dead, walks on water… so do we.

And there’s another standard, albeit along the lines of “what NOT to do.” In Ezekiel 28, there is a message speaking in metaphor to the King of Tyre, yet directed in reality to Lucifer. What a dramatic description of his pride and fall, and a warning to men. He was to be a standards as well, yet we find him only using the standard to his benefit: “You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering… you were on the holy mountain of God; you walked in the midst of the stones of fire. You’re heart was lifted up because of your beauty, You corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendor…” Satan was smitten with himself. Although he flirted with the “stones,” they were his cover and source of purging, it’s notable that he never was a stone nor embodied their values or was a champion of a standard. Rather, he used them for his benefit. Now he works diligently to make Jesus a stone of stumbling so others may not find life.

Lucifer is the false balance. Jesus is the just weight.

There are two possible outcomes of our life choices. The results are embodied no more clearly than in Jesus and our Adversary. Yahweh is delighted in his just weight, his perfect gold standard Son, and those who are like him.