How blessed is the man who fears always, But he who hardens his heart will fall into calamity. Proverbs 28:14

This particular proverb is based on the previous verse.  That verse deals with those who conceal versus those who confess and forsake their sin.  This verse is a reminder to us about another comparison.  This one is those who fear God versus those who harden their heart.  That is what happens when we become aware of sin in our lives.  We have a choice at that point as to whether we are going to fear God and deal with our sin - or - whether we are going to harden our hearts and think that sin is not that big of an issue.  Some even deny that sin exists and in so doing, put another crusty layer of hardness from ungodly philosophies over their heart. 

When we become aware of sin we should fear God.  We should fear God because He is holy and sin will break our fellowship with Him.  As a holy God, we should also fear because His great love for us will respond with discipline in our lives to get us to turn from sin.  Anyone who is even remotely familiar with the passages in the Old and New Testament where God responds to sin, should know that good things are NOT going to happen when we choose sin.  Even worse things are in store if we not only choose sin - but them add to our sin by rejecting the conviction of the Holy Spirit when He seeks to alert us to our rebellion against God's Word.  Just naming names and places should remind us of this.  Sodom and Gommorah, Pharaoh, the Egyptian army at the Red Sea, Dathan and Abiram, Achan, Nadab and Abihu, David and Bathsheba, and Annanias and Saphira are names and places that should immediately make us aware that God takes sin seriously.  Then there is that whole "judgement seat of Christ" thing, as well as the "lake of fire" in the book of Revelation that should remind us that God is anything but "pro-sin" in His dealings with mankind.  Therefore we grasp and see that there would be a blessing on the man who "fears always," when it comes to sin.  This does not mean that this man is cowering 24 hours a day thinking God will strike him dead at any moment.  But it does mean that this man has a healthy fear of God that assists him in making godly choices - and steering clear of ungodly ones.

When sin comes to us, we do have a second choice.  That choice is to "harden our heart" toward God.  The wise man receives the conviction of the Holy Spirit.  He embraces what God has to say to him, knowing that God loves him - and sin will be harmful.  But the fool stiffens when God offers rebuke and correction.  The fool doesn't want to listen - and he doesn't want any other authority than himself in his life.  He completely rejects any warning that is given.  He wonders what an ancient document has to do with him.  Why should he restrict his desires and wants due to what the Bible has to say.  Thus he hardens his heart against God and against God's Word (think here whatever God has to say about an issue. 

The problem with a hardened heart toward God is that its rejection of God's Word puts him in the path of calamity.  That is what we read here.  God made this world - and it works best when we submit to Him.  When we do not - problems are on our horizon.  What I am about to say you can take to the bank.  You cannot reject God's Word without causing yourself harm. There are going to be consequences for disobedience and rebellion.  There are going to be consequences for following your own lusts.  There are going to be consequences for choosing your own way or the ways of the world system rather than choosing God's ways.  The best way to describe these consequences is with the word "calamity."  This word is the Hebrew word "raah" and it means something evil or bad.  Zhodiates says that this word has ten or more shades of meaning about evil according to the context where it is used.  It describes absolute evil as well as various aspects of bad things that happen in our lives.  One thing though about this word is that it never means something good.  Thus we may not physically die immediately after rejecting God's Word and hardening our hearts toward Him - but - you can know that nothing good is going to come of it. 

We have a choice day by day as to how we are going to live.  Will we respect our own thinking and ways or the ways of God?  Will be fear God and choose to honor and obey Him and His Word - or will will consider our own finite minds more than adequate to guide us through life?  In the end, the choice that we make will yield very clear consequences.  Thus we need to know as we make these daily choices that every one of them will come with either a reward or a recompense.  May we be wise and choose the right way - the way of fearing the Lord - and the way of turning from sin rather than turning to it.

I will also laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your dread comes, when your dread comes like a storm And your calamity comes like a whirlwind, When distress and anguish come upon you.  Proverbs 1:26-27

As we look at the wisdom of including negative messages in teaching - and not just trying to accentuate the positive at all times - these verses almost slap us in the face.  That is because what they say to us about God seem to contradict much of what is taught about Him.  They definitely do not fit the normal way that people want to think of God.  Yet, these verses are part of God's revelation of Himself to us in Scripture.  We would do well to read such verses - and allow ourselves to be instructed by them.

God says to those who reject His counsel and His reproof that He will laugh at their calamity and mock them when their dread comes upon them.  As I said at the outset of these verses, they do not seem to fit very well with the average person's view of God.  Yet, these are accurate verses that describe the God that we serve.  God is not a pushover, and He is not One who sits in a corner crying and grieving when He is rejected or ignored.  He remains the Lord of the universe Whose power and majesty cause men to cower in fear and terror.  He is also a God Who, according to the book of Psalms, is angry every day with the wicked.  So it should not shock us to learn that when He is ignored and mocked by the wicked - that He too mocks at their calamity when their wicked behavior comes upon their own head.  This is not the only place such language is used of God.  In Psalm 2:4 we read, "He who sits in the heavens laughs, the Lord scoffs at them."  We read in Psalm 37:13 that, "The Lord laughs at him, for He sees his day is coming."

There will be a day when God's vengeance will fall upon the wicked in humanity.  There will be a day when His perfect justice and righteousness will be dealt out with absolute purity.  That is a day about which the wicked should tremble - for there will no longer be any mercy - but judgment will fall and it will be passed out with shocking accuracy.  Those who think God will never act with vengeance should only have to look to the cross of Christ to know that God will judge those who are guilty of sin.  The joy for those of us who know His grace is that what Jesus paid upon the cross pays for our judgment in full.

God also knows that the longer one remains in rebellion - the more judgment will be coming like a storm.  God warns in these verses of a dread that will come like a storm - of calamity that will come like a whirlwind.  Mankind will be promising peace and good fortune to each other - yet they canont stop the hand of God that is gong to fully act in justice and judgment.

Four words are used to describe what it will be like when God's judgment falls upon those who persist in their rebellion.  The first word dread.  This meant a terror or trembling that would come upon men as they were being prepared to come in to the very presence of the Lord.  Next is calamityshich speaks of a time of disaster or trouble.  Then there is distress and anguish.  These two are put together.  Distress speaks of a specific episode of trouble and anguish.  This trouble is a kind that man cannot rescue someone from though the power of mankind.  One needs God in this incident - and without Him, there will be no deliverance.  How poignently this speaks of our spiritual situation before God.  How perfectly represented is our sinful state before a Holy God and the corresponding reality that we need a Savior Who is far more than just a man. 

Man may mock now - but there will be a day when the tables are turned upon the mockers and those who now laugh at the Lord.  This is not a day that I look forward to or treasure in any way.  It is a day that should seriously sober every one of us and make us realize the absolute necessity of knowing that our sins are taken away because of what Jesus Christ has done for us at the cross.  May God give us the wisdom to tremble before a holy God - rather than to take the position of fools who mock at Someone Whose power they cannot even begin to grasp. 

Do not forsake your own friend or your father's friend, And do not go to your brother's house in the day of your calamity; Better is a neighbor who is near than a brother far away. Proverbs 27:10

Loyalty is an interesting thing - and something that is not as prevelant in our day.  Too often we don't really know who is living around us - and far too many of us don't have a group of "go-to" friends who will be there for us no matter what.  A wise man knows the value of true friends - and does not abandon them throughout all of life.

Here we see that Solomon tells his son to be a loyal friend.  Don't forsake your own friend - or even your father's friend.  There are blessings that come to us when we have long term friends.  They are there with us in the good and the bad in our lives.  The book of Ecclesiastes tells us that two are better than one - because they have a good return for their labor.  Two when laying down can keep each other warm - and when someone falls - it is always a blessing to have someone to help you to get up off the ground and back on your way.  But then Solomon says in Ecclesiastes, "But woe to the man who has no one to pick him up when he falls."  In closing we read that a cord of three strands is not quickly broken.  Here is why it is good to maintain a loyalty to your friends - and even the friends of your parents.  You need people in your life to help make it strong.  This is especially the case when you fall and have difficult times in your life. 

Having close friends is essential in a society where we don't stay close to family any longer.  The strand ot three cords often cannot include close family - because we don't live close to them any longer.  That is why Solomon tells us that a neighbor who is near is better than a brother who is far away.  When tragedy and trouble strike - they often do so without warning.  In those moments we need someone who can come quickly to our side and offer us comfort and encouragement.  That is the moment when you need the neighbor who is near.  But those kinds of relationships have to be cultivated over time - and that requires both effort and time.  The onset of the television, the internet, and the world where videos and games dominate our time - has led to the lack of skills that are necessary to build long-term friendships - and much necessary fellowship.  We may be able to get an awesome score on whatever Mario game is popular today - or on Halo with some guy from Europe who plays online with us as we attack our imaginary enemies - but we don't seem to be able to walk next door and invite a neighbor over for a meal.  As a result we have multitudes of acquaintenences - but very few close friends.  As a result, we have weak support systems.  We are not a strand of three cords.  Too often we are a single strand just making it in our everyday lives. 

Take the time to make - and keep - close friends.  You probably won't truly appreciate all that they can bring to your life until the moment when you need a neighbor close - rather than a brother far away.  I do not think Solomon is being disrespectful to family.  Family will always come to your aid - at least that was the way I was reared.  But . . . my closest family member is 6.5 hours away.  Therefore I need a neighbor who is near in times of trouble.  They have been there when I needed them.  And their value to me cannot be measured in dollars and cents.  But it can be measured in comfort and encouragement!