What the wicked fears will come upon him, But the desire of the righteous will be granted. When the whirlwind passes, the wicked is no more, But the righteous has an everlasting foundation.   Proverbs 10:24-25

There is a fear that the wicked have at the end of their lives - and it is a fear that will come upon them.  Though they spend their days mocking God and living as they choose, they come to the end of their lives facing the same reality anyone does.  That reality is that they are going to die - just like anyone else.  They forget this during their youth and even in their adult years - but then sickness and the day of their death comes near.  It is in these moments that we see that even the most strident atheist or agnostic have to face their fears concerning death.  We read of the wicked, that what they fear WILL come upon them.  They are going to die - and there is a fear of what is on the other side of death.

This begs the question, "What is on the other side of death?"  For the wicked man, he is hoping either that God is as immoral as He is or that God does not exist at all.  For the tolerance-god the hope is that whatever god there may be that he or she has no standards.  This god usually only has one intolerance - and that is for anyone to have intolerance.  Everyone makes it into the afterlife.  The other option is that there is no god - and that when we die - we just die.  There is nothing after death.  We just cease to exist.  If either of these scenarios are true - the wicked man has nothing to fear.  But we read that what he fears comes upon him.  What is he fearing?  The wicked man fears that there is a God - a holy God like the one presented by the Scriptures.  He fears that the urgings of his conscience were right - that there are standards he is breaking.  His ultimate fear is that there is indeed a recompense for these wrongs.

These fears will be realized.  That is what our proverb today tells us.  Later in the next verse we read that when the whirlwind passes - the wicked is no more.  The whirlwind is a testing.  What it is testing is what foundation a person has.  We would call a whirlwind a tornado in Arkansas.  When this whirlwind comes - the foundation of the wicked man will reveal that he cannot stand that testing - that judgment if you will accept it.

This passage has a counterpart in Scripture - and in all honesty it is one that is terrifying when you realize it.  In the book of Job a conversation was going on between Job and three of his friends.  They said that Job was wicked and that was why his troubles came upon him.  Job held fast to his righteousness - but made the mistake of questioning God's wisdom in what was happening to him.  In the end, God Himself came to address Job personally.  When God did this guess how He chose to reveal Himself?  If you guessed in a whirlwind, you guessed right.  God came to a moment of truth with Job by coming in a whirlwind.  He then questioned Job extensively about the whole idea of wisdom.  When it was over Job withdrew all of his comments and repented in dust and ashes.  God then blessed Job for his faithfulness - and called his friends to account for their rash and improper words about Job.  Now, let us bring this event into focus on our proverb today.  When the whirlwind comes - the wicked are no more.  The judgment will reveal their faulty foundation - and they will be swept away in judgment.  If a godly Job could not stand when the whirlwind came with God's presence and His withering questioning - what hope do the wicked have of being able to stand in that day.

The proverb for today leaves a wonderful hope for the righteous though.  Their desire will be granted - and their foundation will stand.  This begs another question.  What is that desire?  What is that foundation?  Biblically the only man who will be righteous is the one who gets this way by faith.  Righteousness is not given to a man by his works.  The only way a man can be righteous before God is by faith in what God will provide, from an OT view, and what God has provided, from a NT one.  God's promise in the Old Testament was that Messiah would come.  He would come first as a suffering servant - as the lamb slain for sin.  In the New Testament we meet Messiah.  He is Jesus Christ, Who came to pay for our sins to make us righteous in God's sight.  The hope of the righteous is that God will fulfill His promise.  The desire of the righteous will be realized as his foundation stands firm.  As the sand foundations of this world crumble – the foundation of Jesus Christ, crucified, buried, and resurrected from the dead will stand.  So the final question for today is simply this, “Are you resting on that foundation?”

Do not be afraid of sudden fear Nor of the onslaught of the wicked when it comes; for the LORD will be your confidence And will keep your foot from being caught. Proverbs 3:25-26

Sudden fear, dread, terror that comes suddenly - all these are things that wisdom will protect us from in our lives.  Now please do not misunderstand that this passage is not saying that bad things will never happen to good people.  We all know that we've grieved over godly people who have been killed in car accidents and in other disasters.  But what is promised here is that the godly - those who build their lives on wisdom - who are guided by the north star of God's Word - will not have the "onslaught of the wicked" when they are punished for their wickedness. 

Let me quote several passages of Scripture to help us grasp this concept of the Word.  Psalm 121 tells us of the protective care of the Lord.  Verses three and four are especially comforting to us.  "He will not allow your foot to slip; He who keeps you will not slumber.  Behold, He who keeps Israel Will neither slumber nor sleep."  (Psalm 121:3-4)  God promises great peace and protection to those whose lives are guided by His wisdom.  But for the wicked God promises that this thing called, sudden terror and sudden fear will come upon them.  Proverbs 1:26-27 speaks of a "dread" that comes upon the wicked.  It says that dread, calamity, and distress will come like a storm and like a whirlwind.  Then again in Psalm 49 we read of the foolish and those who approve their foolish words this terrifying statement made by the Lord, "As sheep they are appointed for Sheol; Death shall be their shepherd; And the upright shall rule over them in the morning, And their form shall be for Sheol to consume So that they have no habitation." (Psalm 49:14) 

The above passages instruct us as to the end of the foolish who ignore and mock God's wisdom and Word.  They will have a sudden end that will overtake them.  In Psalm 73 David struggled with why the wicked often seem to have it so good in their lives here on the earth.  He came to the point of almost losing his faith and betraying others who followed God with all their hearts.  Then he said that he came into the sanctuary and saw the latter end of these who walk in wickedness and foolishness.  He spoke of how suddenly they fall and are destroyed.  No matter how good anyone has it here on the earth, they will one day face God in the judgment.  No matter how awesome they have it now - there is a latter end for them when all their deeds will follow them to that place of ultimate payback or reward.  The wicked who will not turn from their sinful ways will face this ultimate dread - but the godly who order their ways according to God's wisdom will not have this happen to them. 

We are told in verse 26 that Jehovah will be our "confidence."  The Hebrew word for "confidence" here is fascinating because of what is points to spiritually.  The word is "kesel" and it means a sense of confidence and security.  It also points to an area of the body - the midsection or specifically the area where our kidneys are located.  The reason this is fascinating is because in Leviticus 3:4,10,15; Leviticus 4:9 and Leviticus 7:4 this exact same word is used of sacrifices that were made before God.  In Leviticus 3 it is used of the peace offering that was made before God.  In Leviticus 4 it was the sin offering and in chapter 7 it spoke of the guilt offering.  When we consider this word and its usage it paints a beautiful picture for us of what Christ does for us.  These were all pictures of how these sacrifices would take care of sin and promise peace to those who confessed their sin and brought them to God for a payment for that sin.  They were all precursors of what Jesus Christ would do through His death and resurrection.  Thus the idea here is that our confidence is not in ourselves but rather in our Lord.  That is exactly what this verse says - that Jehovah will be our confidence. 

We are also told that our foot will not be caught in the snares of the wicked - in the things which their lifestyles bring upon them.  Our foot will be firmly planted on a rock - the Rock Christ Jesus.  We will have our lives firmly planted in the Word of God - which is the rock upon which the house that did not fall was built.  The sand of the world system and its shifting views of truth and godliness will not stand in that day.  Instead they will face the sudden fear and sudden onslaught of God's judgment in the end.  But for those of us who love the Lord and live according to His wisdom, our ultimate fears are gone - taken away by the grace of God and the "kidneys of Jesus Christ" which were offered on our behalf as a peace offering, a guilt offering, and a sin offering which brings us into God's favor and protection.  Learn to delight, not in yourself and your own strength, but rather in God who freely has given us forgiveness and grace in Christ Jesus our Lord!

When you lie down, you will not be afraid; When you lie down, your sleep will be sweet. Proverbs 3:24

If you have ever lost a night's sleep due to fear or worry, you know what a blessing it is to have a sense of security and peace as you go to bed.  That is what God promises to those who base their lives upon His wisdom.  So today as we look at our proverb of the day, we will look at how wisdom grants us that peace and ability to lie down and have a great night's sleep. 

The first thing we see here is that there is a promise given to us that we will not be afraid as we lie down at night.  Why would we fear though?  How does God's Word and Wisdom keep us from having fear in our hearts?  According to first John 4:18 fear has to do with punishment.  The one who lives according to God's wisdom does not have to fear punishment becasue he knows that God's grace has removed it from us.  This as true in the Old Testament in the sacrificial system, and in the New through the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God slain for the sins of the world.  Therefore we know that the worst case scenario has been solved by the work of Jesus Christ. 

There are other ways in which we know God's wisdom will watch over us.  Much of the wisdom that we read of in the book of Proverbs deals with making wise decisions and staying away from things that are harmful to us.  We are warned again and again in Proverbs that certain choices and certain paths will not be blessed.  They may look good at first - and even bring pleasure initially, but in the end they are very harmful and dangerous.  That is why when we give ourselves to walking in the wisdom of God that we will be able to lie down and not be afraid.  We will be able to lie down and have sleep that is sweet.  Basing our lives upon the Word of God - especially taking the advice and counsel of the proverbs that God has given to us truly will yield a peaceful life filled with His blessing. 

I'll close today's post with a quote from the book of James, "Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom.  But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace."  (James 3:13-18)  There it is for us in full view.  When we live our lives by the wisdom that God gives to us - we will live a life that will be filled with the "peaceable" fruit that such wisdom brings to our lives.