DTEB, “HOLY COVERUPS”

My pastor is encouraging us to meditate on the Scriptures, to chew it up thoroughly, like a cow chewing the cud.  That is a good reminder for me.  I used to be better at doing this consistently than I have been of late.

So, this morning I awoke determined to thoroughly chew and digest some Scripture.  Unfortunately (or was it?), my eyes fell on a verse from Proverbs, and I got no further.  Here is the verse:

“He who covers over an offense promotes love, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.” (Proverbs 17:9, New International Version)

The Bible says two things about covering up sin.

1. Don’t do it!  In the long run it is neither healthy nor possible.  (Proverbs 28:13; James 5:16)
2. Do it!  It is essential.  (Proverbs 28:13; 1 Peter 4:8)

Psalm 32:1-5 points out the proper order of covering and uncovering.  Verses 1 and 5 use the same Hebrew word for “to cover” that is used in Proverbs 17:9.  (I have used red font for the translation and have transliterated the Hebrew word in these verses.)

1 “Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sin is put out of sight (caseh)!

2 Yes, what joy for those whose record the LORD has cleared of guilt, whose lives are lived in complete honesty!

3 When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long.

4 Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me. My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat. Interlude

5 Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide (caseh) my guilt. I said to myself, “I will confess my rebellion to the LORD.” And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone. Interlude” (New Living Translation)

The psalmist confesses that he had tried in the past to hide his sin, and that only when he confessed it, did he have a sense of blessed forgiveness.  Hiding our own sin is not a good idea, to put it mildly.

However, Proverbs 17:9 is not about hiding my sin.  Rather, it is about hiding the wrongdoing of the other.

Now, this can certainly be abused.  There is a type of cover-up that is not at all helpful.  Denying that someone has harmed you will make you sick.  Furthermore, such a cover-up will not help the wrongdoer.  The Bible has a great deal to say about confronting your brother or sister about serious wrongdoing (Matthew 18:15; 1 Timothy 5:20; James 5:19-20)

However, as I meditated (and masticated) on Proverbs 17:9, I realized (with the help of some good commentaries) that this Proverb is suggesting that we not “repeat” a person’s offense.  Literally, the Hebrew word that is translated “repeat” in many translations of this verse means “to do something again.”  This verse does not suggest that we ought not to talk with a person who has offended us.  But it is does suggest two possible things to avoid.

1. Don’t repeat the matter to others.  That is why some translations use the word “gossip.”
2. Don’t bring up the matter again with the person who has wronged you.

Both of these things are very difficult.  However, how do you feel when someone gossips about you?  Furthermore, if you are like me, when you indulge in gossip, it leaves a bad taste in your own mouth as well.

And, of course, bringing up past wrong-doings again and again is neither wise nor helpful.  It doesn’t help the other person at all, and it doesn’t help you either—unless, of course, you need some help in being bitter and unforgiving.  Most of us don’t need any help at all with those things.

Or, to put it more positively (as Proverbs 17:9^a does), properly covering over someone’s sin “promotes love.”  And, most certainly, love needs to be promoted.