What does Proverbs 24:32 mean?

Solomon did not stop in passing to rebuke the lazy owner of an unkempt field (Proverbs 24:30). The condition of the property made it clear the owner was uninvolved or simply unwilling to do the required work (Proverbs 30:31). Rather than step in and scold the property manager, Solomon chose to reflect on the situation and apply his thoughts to his own life. This is not a casual glance. What's described is both noticing and pondering. Solomon "looked and received instruction." The obvious results of foolish laziness served as a learning moment for Solomon. Solomon did not summon the lazy farmer to appear before him to be punished. Instead, he learned more deeply that laziness is one of the routes leading to poverty (Proverbs 24:33–34).

This basic lesson is echoed many times in the book of Proverbs (Proverbs 10:4; 20:13; 28:19). Verses 33 and 34 of this chapter are identical to verses 10 and 11 of chapter 6.

It is essential that those who instruct others, as did Solomon, keep on learning (Proverbs 1:5; 15:14; 19:25, 27); no one attains a state of knowing everything. Even near the end of his life the scholarly apostle Paul asked Timothy to bring him not only his cloak that he had left with Carpus but also "the books, and above all [copies of Scripture]" (2 Timothy 4:13).