Calvary Chapel of Jonesboro
 
The righteous is delivered from trouble, But the wicked takes his place. Proverbs 11:8

God's ability to deliver out of trouble is nothing short of amazing.  If we only knew all the times that God has delivered us from situations and problems - we would fall and worship at His feet.  As it is we will have to wait for that day when we see Him and know as fully as we are known.  But thankfully the Lord has put some of His glorious history in the Bible from which we can glean the wonders of His power to arrange providence according to His will.

We read here that the righteous is delivered from trouble, but that the wicked takes his place.  The first thing we need to state here is that God does not promise to deliver the righteous from ALL trouble.  There are times when God's purpose is served by the death of His martyrs.  But for every martyr it seems that there are also those times when God does glorious deliverances among His people.  There are two that are amazing because they mirror exactly what is said here in this passage - that the wicked take the place of the one who was delivered. 

We read of Mordecai who would not give worship to the wicked Haman.  Haman decided to do more than just kill Mordecai.  He got authorization from the king to kill the entire people of Mordecai - going after the entire Jewish nation.  As the Jews prayed earnestly for deliverance, God was engineering a wonderful array of providence to provide deliverance for them.  Esther was queen so she had access to the king - and was willing to go even though she was not requested - thus risking her own life.  As Haman proceeded to build a gallows like none other upon which to hang Mordecai - God was having the king experience a sleepless night in which he had court records read to him.  He learned of Mordecai speaking of a plot to kill him - and desired to honor him.  That event led to a glorious change of circumstances - in which Mordecai was delivered from the gallows - yet Haman was hung on them instead.  Instead of Mordecai's family being killed - the family of Haman was hung along with him upon the gallows he built for Mordecai.  Ah, the glories of my God and King - Who can work miracles of providence to accomplish His own will in history.

The second piece of Bible history involves Daniel and a lion's den.  A group of wicked advisors to the king were jealous of Daniel - and thus sought a reason to accuse him before the king.  Darius the King was a vain man so he fell for the trap laid for Daniel.  The advisors had him sign a law that no man could pray to anyone except him for a day - with the penalty being death by lion's den if they disobeyed.  Once signed - these wicked advisors awaited Daniel's godly choice to pray to God three times a day.  When he bowed to pray to Jehovah, they were ready to pounce.  They dragged him before the king and had him pass sentence even though he was loathe to do so.  Thus Daniel found himself being lowered into a den of ravenous lions - a trouble that seemed destined to have him consumed as soon as he reached the floor of the den in which the lions awaited his arrival with salivating mouths.  But God shut those mouths and delivered Daniel until morning.  As he was raised out of the den - the lions did not have to worry about going hungry.  The king, furious with their deceitfulness, had the wicked advisors thrown into the pit with the lions who more than obliged his offer of a second meal - crushing them as soon as they hit the ground. 

God is able to deliver to the uttermost.  We need to know that and trust Him to deliver us when we face trouble because we confess His name.  We also need to know that He is also able to bring the wicked to a most horrific end as well - even having them take our place as He delivers us.  Trust Him at all times, dear saints of God.  He is good and will do what is good in our lives.  Whether He offers an earthly deliverance or not - remember this one thing.  The most glorious deliverance that He offers is that which is bought and paid for with the blood of His own Son at Calvary's cross.  There He delivered us from His own wrath and judgment - not at the cost of the wicked - but at the cost of His own beloved Son.  May that ultimate deliverance from trouble drop us to our knees daily in worship, adoration, and praise!
 
 
The words of the wicked lie in wait for blood, But the mouth of the upright will deliver them. Proverbs 12:6

The person who said, "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me," never read this proverb.  We have before us here the full destructive power of someone's words - or at least the intent with which they speak them.  But thankfully, we also have the truth that the words of a godly man are also powerful. 

Those described as "wicked" in this passage are those who are guilty.  The word means someone in the wrong - who is guilty of an criminal offense.  In the context of Scripture this word most often refers to one guilty of breaking God's Law - and thus one who has no desire to obey Him or submit to His ways.  We read that the words of such a man "lie in wait for blood."  A wicked and sinful man's words are harmful to others.  It is so important to remember context here because just one verse earlier we were told that the counsels of the wicked are deceitful.  They are filled with lies.  The wicked seek to destroy people with their words.  And their counsel will be harmful if followed, since it is driven by the fallen nature of man. 

For just a moment I want to equate the words of the wicked with some more modern things.  It is one thing to see a wicked man whose words are like a scorching fire as they are spoken.  But it is another to consider the words of the wicked in other forms.  Ever consider the words of the wicked that are written down for a book or a script?  Far too many do not consider reading and going to see the words of the wicked portrayed on a big screen.  They are unaware of the worldview that is being portrayed for them.  They are unaware of the danger of this medium and how it lulls us to sleep when we should be alert and awake.  Here the words of the wicked do lie in wait for blood.  They come upon people unawwares because they do not ever consider how the ungodly seek to influence us through their various mediums of communication.  To be perfectly honest, these forms of getting their "words" out are more effective than just speaking because of how ignorant the church is to their real agenda.  A movie maker trying to go to a church and tell the people to be sexually immoral would be escorted out of the building quickly, but when he puts those ideas into a romantic comedy starring two unmarried people, the saints pay to go see it.  Either way he gets his message out - but how more effective it is when dressed in the garb of modern entertainment.  A man or woman would never think of going to a random house to peek through their bedroom window at their sex life, yet they think nothing of watching a love scene through the window of the local movie theater. 

The second part of this proverb tells us that the mouth of the upright will deliver them.  This could be taken one of two ways.  First it can mean that the righteous man - by speaking godly words - by speaking the Word of God - is delivered from the designs of the wicked.  It can also refer to others to whom the righteous man speaks.  He declares God's Word, and by doing so delivers those who are too easily duped by the words of the wicked.  This reminds us of how vital it is for us to "hear God's words" every day.  I say this not to encourage us to try to hear God's audible voice - but to remember that He has given us the Word of God - which are His words.  If we will take the time to get into the presence of the Lord each and every day - with the purpose of hearing God speak His Word to us as we read the Bible - we will find great deliverance through this.  Note here that we read that this is the mouth of the "upright."  This word is the Hebrew word "yashar" and it means to be straight, just, and right.  It refers to an ethical standard - and that standard is found in God's Word.  When we learn to speak the truth to ourselves and to others, we will also see that deliverance is provided as God works in us to remind us of the truth - to warn us of danger - and to call us to holiness of life. 

An interesting dichotomy is presented here for us.  The wicked want our blood - God our deliverance.  The godless have a plot against our lives by their decietful counsel and wicked words.  The upright speak what will deliver us.  May God give us wisdom to see these things for what they are - a warning to us to hear God's Word - not just once a week, but every day as we meet with the Lord.