If the righteous will be rewarded in the earth, How much more the wicked and the sinner! Proverbs 11:31
One thing that is absolutely certain in life is that there will be a judgment once our life is over. Some may deny this truth - but their denial will not keep it from happening. This chapter of Proverbs that has often contrasted the righteous and the wicked, will do it one last time before closing. But the contrast here is in the reward or recompense that they will receive. The proverb begins with a sure statement. The righteous will be rewarded in the earth! There will be a reward for God's people for their faithfulness to following and obeying Him. Over and over God has given us promises that if we will do something, He will reward us for doing it. Those deeds are characterized for us by the fact that God says the reward here is for "the righteous." Therefore if we value as right what God says is right - there will be great blessing in store for us. There is reward for doing right. The flip side of this blessing and reward is punishment and recompense. If the righteous is rewarded for his doing of what is right - how much more will we not also see the wicked and the sinner recompensed for their opposite behavior. The Hebraism that is being used here is one that says - the right will be rewarded right, therefore of course the wicked and evil will be rewarded evil as well. In a very Hebrew way the text is saying that we will reap what we sow. One last comment comes from the reading of the Septuagint, Syrian, and Arabic versions of the Bible. They translate this verse as follows: "And if the righteous scarecely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?" This is what Peter quoted in 1 Peter 4:18 - and many Hebrew scholars believe he quoted it from Proverbs 11:31. Judgment is coming . . . and the wise man will prepare for it over a lifetime. He does so by turning his heart to the Lord. We know from the New Testament that the only way a favorable judgment can be rendered to us is by receiving the forgiveness and grace offered through Jesus Christ. That grace though, will change us so that we will embrace righteousness as a lifestyle. That is what John tells us in 1 John when he writes, "By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God . . . " (1 John 3:10) We practice righteousness because we have been transformed by God's grace. But is it that righteousness that we embrace and practice that proves that we are truly His. The wise man will embrace this righteousness and receive a sure reward. All that will be left for the wicked and the sinner is the surety of a terrifying end before a holy and just God.
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The desire of the righteous is only good, But the expectation of the wicked is wrath.
Proverbs 11:23 What do you want? That is a pretty general question - but it is the one that is addressed in today's proverb. The thing is that we are looking at what people want from the perspective of God, not just what people or the "market" wants. From God's standpoint we are oing to watch Him put boh the righteous and the wicked man into the balances, weigh them and their choices, and state what each deserves. First we see that God places the righteous into the scales. He says that the righteous man's desires are only good. This coincides with what Jesus says in the Beattitudes. In Matthew chapter 5, we read the following, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied." God not only is pleased with those who hunger and thirst for what He says is right - He promises wonderful levels of satisfaction for those who do. There is also another statement made in the Psalms that when we delight ourselves in the Lord, He will give us the desires of our heart. It is so important to know that when we are living for righteousness and pursuing what is right - God cuts us loose to enjoy as much as we want. That is why He says here that these kind of desires are "only good." The wicked, though, have no sch guarantee. We read that the expectation of the wicked in wrath. It is helpful for us to see that word "expectation" here. The reason it is so important is because often what the wicked desire will give them an immediate positive feeling. The person who abuses alcoholic drinks has an immediate positive response as he feels better and is much more free in his expression of himself. But he can expect problems later. Having been a drunkard before I was saved I can concur with God's statement here. The expectation of the drunkard is only wrath and bad consequences. There is the hangover that comes in the morning. There is also the realization that the supposed freedom that you felt the night before took away your natural defenses against saying something stupid. Can't tell you how many times a Friday night bender led to a whole week of consequences with friends and aquaintences. Another area I want to address here is that of sexual immorality. The person who is sexually immmoral loves the immediate pleasure provided by it. Unfortunately, the crisis pregnancy, the positive STD test, and the broken relationships are not so pleasurable. The pornography may give us a temporary high feeling and sense of thrill as we look at it, but later the bondage that results, the pull into deeper perversion, and the way it leads people to treat the opposite sex as an object can be devastating. The Word of God speaks of God's "judgments." These are things that God has said concerning certain behaviors in life. When we choose to disobey God and embrace our lfleshly lusts we do so because of the promise of pleasure and immediate satisfaction. The problem is that God has said what His response will be to such things. These are His judgments. He says that problems will result - disasters are on the horizon - and blessing will be forfeited. These judgments WILL COME upon those who choose to disobey regardless of what God says. They can expect the wrath of God when they rebel. God has made this very clear when He said in Romans chapter 1, "The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness ofmen who suppress the truth with their unrighteousness." God's attitude and actions toward ungodliness and unrigteousness have been settled from eternity past. Those who reject Him and His Word need to know that He has amply published the results of such behavior - and it has never been good. Therefore the truly wise man knows that blessings await those who embrace righteousness - but for those who chose a wicked lifestyle - only wrath awaits them. The wicked earns deceptive wages, But he who sows righteousness gets a true reward. Proverbs 11:18
There are those who spend their entire lives chasing money and riches. They think that they are receiving good wages for their work and their pursuit. The sad thing that many do not realize until it is too late is that they are living their lives for something that will disappear the moment they die. As Proverbs 11:18 warns us, they are earning deceptive wages. They are placing their hope in something that moth and rust will corrupt, and thieves can break in and steal. If they were wise, they would seek to sow and reap in a way that would bring them a real return for their labor and their efforts. We read in today's proverb that the wicked earn deceptive wages. It is imperative that we recognize immediately that we are dealing with the wicked here. There are many godly men who are working hard, earning money, and providing for their families whose wages are true and real. But the wicked are those who reject God - who reject His moral compass - and who reject any authority except their own. They do not work to bring glory to God - they work to bring glory to themselves. The wicked play by their own set of rules - and those rules often mock the moral standards that God calls us to follow. They tend to be ruthless in business. They cheat and steal and use what God calls, false scales, that deceive those who buy their wares or use their services. We are told that the wicked is earning deceptive wages. These men think they are getting rich, but they are actually going in greater and greater debt every day. Their money and wealth is an illusion. Their bank account may look wonderful outwardly - but since money is worthless at the judgment seat of Christ - all that remains is the "way" they got it. That trail is filled with lying, cheating, and the strewn corpses of all those they trampled upon as they clawed and scratched their way to the top. Unfortuantely for them the view from the pinacle of their success is the view of hell. They have received their "reward" on earth in the things of this world and the praise of men. They have not stored up treasures in heaven - and all those they had on earth are gone in that moment. Their money has deceived them - and their wages are now being paid in full as they learn the horrible truth that they shall stand before God miserable, blind, naked, and poor. The second man revealed to us in this proverb is the righteous. A wonderful picture is painted for us of this man's activities. He is a man who "sows" righteousness. He was not looking for a "quick fix" or a wage that would add to his riches. He knew that the "wages" of sin is death. Therefore he knew he needed to "sow" as unto the Lord. Sowing refers to planting things. Sowing involves taking what you have and letting it die as you place it into the ground. But when you do this, it will grow over time into a plant. You wait and look forward to the time of harvest where you will reap 30, 60, 100 fold what you planted. The righteous man knows that life is a distance run and not a sprint. He knows that every day you need to sow according to God's Word. You sow godly choices and a godly lifestyle that is defined by God's Law - and lived out by Christ's presence and power within. When you do this you plant in such a way as to harvest for God's glory and honor. You do not sow to the flesh and the world. You sow righteousness - and you reap the fruit of the Spirit as God works in and through you. The man who does this received a "true" reward. The word "true" here is the Hebrew word "emet" which means true, faithful - and is frequently connected with the idea of lovingkindness. This is important because the word lovingkindness refers to God's covenant love. This man is wanting the reward that comes from knowing and loving God. He wants the reward that is promised by God in His covenant with us. He is investing in a relationship with God - sowing obedience and submission to Him. That is why he receives exactly what he has sown. It is a true reward. It is a covenant reward. It is a Scriptural reward. It is God's reward to the ones who live for righteousness and - for His glory. The lips of the righteous bring forth what is acceptable, But the mouth of the wicked what is perverted. Proverbs 10:32
Our culture is coarsening. I see it every day in the way that we talk. The use of perverted language has grown a hundred fold in the last 20 years - and unfortunately - it looks like things are getting worse. It would be one thing to see this among the lost because - well let's just admit it - they are lost. But what I am seeing is that there is also a coarsening in how Christians speak. Things that would have horrified us just 25 years ago - are now becoming more common in everyday conversation. Before you think that I am taking the place of the ultra-righteous who is shocked at all the wicked sinners - I have noticed a coarsening of my own language - and have begun a concerted effort to speak in an acceptable manner before a holy God. The righteous bring forth what is acceptable with their lips. That means the things they say are acceptable. At this point is would be good to define the word, acceptable. Acceptable to Whom? That is the question we need to answer. Our society seems to think that acceptable to the current standards of society is the rule of the day. By saying this I am not saying that their language equals that of the world, but rather that we set our idea of what is acceptable by a comparison with the world. Let me give you an example of what I am saying. I want to put a disclaimer here - because I will have to use a word that is not acceptable to many to help illustrate my point. The world's language is completely out of control. The amount of foul language allowed on prime time television and movies is astounding. When you consider that Rhett Butler's, "Frankly Scarlett, I don't give a "expletive," was met with shock and horror in the theaters of the day, you can see that we are out of control. Frank Butler's remarks might not even merit a drop to a PG rating in our day. Certainly his remarks would be shrugged off, even by Christians, in our day. Yet, the sensibilities of that day were horrified by the outrageous language used. Fast forward to today and we learn that men who are considered conservative Christian preachers are using worse language than Frank Butler from our pulpits. Words I would have been reprimanded for saying out loud - are now widely accepted by Christian circles. That is why we need to realize that having our lips bring forth what is acceptable means bringing forth what is acceptable to God. We should note that in just two verses God says that He is greatly offended by things which are perverse. Here we read that while the godly man speaks what is acceptable - the wicked man says things that are perverse. The idea of being perverted is not just a reference to those who speak sexually perverted things. It goes further to include any way that God's ways are perverted - which means to twist or make them something that they are not. To say that we can come to God based on our own works is to pervert the gospel. To say that God is too loving to judge the wicked is perverting His holiness. So we see that there are ways to pervert the truth God has reveled to us. The wicked speak these things - and thus perversity comes out of their mouths. That is why we not only need to address the foul language that comes from Christians with this verse, but we also need to address the ways people pervert the truth to make the gospel more palatable to the wicked. May God help us each day to have our language pleasing and acceptable to Him. I will admit that the only reason I began to adopt some words and ways of expressing myself that were unacceptable was to look cool to younger people. This is a horrible reason to let how you speak be coarsened. We should seek to be holy as God is holy. We should have a heart that desires to honor God in every conversation that we have with others. As the Psalmist said, "May the words of our mouth and the meditations of our heart be acceptable to the Lord." Then and only then can we know that what our mouths bring forth is godly and acceptable to God Himself. The righteous will never be shaken, But the wicked will not dwell in the land. Proverbs 10:30
My brother was a missionary to the Philippines where he experienced his first earthquake, which came in unison with the eruption of Mount Pinatubo. We grew up outside Chicago, so earthquakes were something we knew nothing about. Wind we knew, snow we really knew - but earthquakes were foreign to us. My brother's explanation was amazing to me. When the earthquake hit, he thought the house was collapsing, and that was what was causing the shaking. But when he ran outside, the ground there was shaking and rolling too. For him and his family, this was a very disturbing thing. They took for granted that the ground was firm. Now it was shaking, and that was very disconcerting to them. What they thought was stable, was being shaken. This describes the hearts of many who are relying on things that can be shaken - as if they could not be shaken. When the shaking starts, everything that they thought they could rely on became "shake-able." But this is not the only thing shaken in these circumstances. When it seems that everything can be shaken, your confidence in anything and everything is shaken as well. Is there anything in this world that cannot be shaken? That is what today's proverb is going to address. What we are told as wisdom is that the righteous will never be shaken. Now, this promise does not speak of being exempt from earthquakes or other natural occurances where the earth around us is shaken. What it does address is an even more wonderful promise - and that is an inner spiritual stability that cannot be shaken by anything - either earthly or unearthly. Note that the group who will not be shaken is the righteous. These are those who stand before God and are viewed as righteous in His sight. That cannot happen biblically except by faith. There is no man who can ever stand before God as righteous on the basis of his own works. Our works reveal us not as righteous, but as sinful and fallen. If we are righteous, it is by faith in what God has done for us. This He did through Jesus Christ at the cross. But when we put our faith in Jesus Christ - God declares us righteous. These are the ones who cannot be shaken. This is something we need to grasp - spiritually. The Bible presents the physical world as shadows - with the reality being the spiritual. Therefore, the ultimate shaking will be when we face our ultimate spiritual test - the judgment at the end of the age. It is in this moment that many will learn that althought they thought they were unshakable in life - in death they will truly be shaken. The word for shaken in Proverbs 10:30 is the word "mot" which means to be removed or to fall. It was used often in the Old Testament to refer to the shaking and removing of things previously thought to be unshakable. What shook them was the fierce judgments of Almighty God. This shaking is promised for the wicked and the ungodly. This is the term that is used when it is said that God will remove the mountains - and also of Him removing the entire earth. Indeed there will be a shaking of eternal proportions that will come to the earth. But after the earth is destroyed by fire, there is an even more terrifying event to come. All mankind will stand before the judgment bar of God Himself. This is the ultimate accounting - and the sole basis upon which our entire eternity will be based. Oh what a shaking will come for all philosophies, all worldviews, and all religious beliefs. They will be tested - and all but a faith in Jesus Christ will be found wanting. The righteous do not have to fear in that day - for the righteousness given to them by God on the basis of faith will stand. It will not be shaken for it rests on the person of Jesus Christ as well as His death, burial, and resurrection. It was the blood of Jesus that paid the debt of sin and paved the way for God to make us righteous by faith. But for every other religious or non-religious view - this will be a day of horror. It will be a day to be terrified as they learn that their self-made, man-made, or demonically-inspired religious and philosophical views will not remain. We are promised that the wicked will not dwell in the land. They will not stand, nor will they know an eternity in God's presence. They will be judged and eventually cast into the lake of fire. This will be their ignoble end - for they held an ignoble faith. Their beliefs did not honor God or give Him thanks. Their view saw god as something or someone they could manage by their own thoughts and philosophical positions. Thus the land God is preparing for us will not be where they will dwell. They will dwell in the outer darkness where there will be weeping and knashing of teeth. They will dwell in a place where the smoke of their torment will go up forever and ever. Let me the thoughts for today with a quote from the book of Hebrews. There we read of this day of shaking with the following description. "See to it that you do not refuse Him who is speaking. For if those did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape who turn away from Him who warns from heaven. And His voice shook the earth then, but now He has promised, saying, 'YET ONCE MORE I WILL SHAKE NOT ONLY THE EARTH, BUT ALSO THE HEAVEN.' This expression, "Yet once more," denotes the removing of those things which can be shaken, as of created things, so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; for our God is a consuming fire." (Hebrews 12:25-29) There is a shaking coming and it will shake anything and everything which can be shaken. Heaven and earth will be shaken on that day. But there will be a kingdom on this day that cannot be shaken. The context of this shaking is the judgment of God. God warns of this day from heaven. He also works that anything created will be shaken, and even more than shaken, they will be destroyed. Therefore we are urged to prepare for a shaking that will also involve standing before God, Who in that day, will be a consuming fire. Are you ready for that day? Do you have something, beyond things in this life and this world, that will not be shaken when they all are shaken? Are you ready to stand before God as a consuming fire - and have what it will take to make it through the shaking and through the fire? There is only one thing that will stand in that day - it is what God has given to us through His Son, Jesus Christ. On that day only a righteousness gained by faith in Jesus will stand. May both you and me prepare for THAT DAY, so that when it comes - we will not be shaken. The hope of the righteous is gladness, But the expectation of the wicked perishes. Proverbs 10:28
The word "hope," as used in the Scriptures, means to have a confident expectation of something. The way the concept of hope is used in the rest of the world has nothing to do with Biblical hope. Worldly hope has to do with wishing for something and hoping that you get it. Biblical hope is not vain wishing - it is a confidence in something or someone that lets you know that you WILL be receiving something. With this definition in mind let us look at today's proverb. The hope of the righteous is gladness. What is the "hope of the righteous?" That hope is that God, Who has spoken and revealed Himself and His ways in the Scriptures, will be true to His Word. The first and foremost area where this is true is in our salvation and the confident expectation that we have of being able to stand before God in the judgment. God has done what is necessary to pay for our sins. In the time of the Old Testament this was through the covenant promise that God made to Abraham. Abraham was made righteous before God by faith - as He believed God. This is what Paul presents to us in both Galatians and Romans. Those promises were further defined as the sacrificial system was put into place under Moses. The blood of those bulls, goats, and lambs were a sign of a more perfect sacrifice to come. Jesus Christ fulfilled that sacrifice when He died on the cross and paid the price for sin - forever! As a result of what God has done - the confident expectation of the righteous (those made rightreous by faith) is gladness! We are overjoyed at God's grace given to us in Jesus Christ. We are delighted at the salvation God has given to us in Him. The second half of this proverb reminds us of the wicked - and their ignoble end. The expectation of the wicked perishes. Two things we should see here. First the wicked does not hope, the expect things. Their expectation is based on what they think they have earned. The wicked rely on their works or their religious system - which will be based on a false understanding of God. They feel that they have worked hard for their salvation - and therefore they deserve something for it. But their expectation will fade and die. There is nothing to it - and nothing they will gain from it. This is the second thing we need to see here. Their expectation perishes. That is because their expectation is in themselves. They will perish - becasue what they have done will never stand before a holy God. It is a sad reality - but it is a sure one. What are you relying on for your eternity? Are you looking to yourself and your own religious works? If you are - both your works and you will perish. There is no hope for such a person, because they remain in their wickedness. All they will see in the day when they stand before God's judgment is His wrath. The wise man finds his righteousness not in himself - but by faith in Jesus Christ. That person will know a gladness that will never end. Hope in Jesus Christ - for that is a hope that will never disappoint. The fear of the Lord prolongs life, But the years of the wicked will be shortened. Proverbs 10:27
Among the things that help people have a long life, my guess is that fearing God is not listed very often, yet that is what we learn today from our proverb of the day. The fear of the Lord prolongs life is what we are told by Solomon. This means that we have great respect and honor for God Himself and for His Word. Therefore this man chooses to obey God and do what His Word says. If we only looked at this from a medical perspective, it is true. The Old Testament dietary and cleanliness commands present the healthiest way to live possible. These laws protected the people of Israel from disease and from a host of illnesses that are related to how people eat. They also protected them by keeping them from a myriad of bacterial, viral, and commuicable diseases. They were not just advanced for their day, they were advanced even for our day. We continue to learn of the wisdom of God through these dietary and public health guidelines. If one were simply to follow these commands, they would be blessed with a long life. They would also not have the usual diseases that shorten life for many in today's world. The opposite is also stated here - that the wicked will have their years shortened. Again, as was said earlier, there are a number of diseases that an ungodly way of life brings. Abuses in how one eats, drinks, and lives sexually - will greatly shorten someone's life. There are also studies that have looked at how a peaceful heart also will lengthen a person's life. When stress levels are high - all kinds of problems develop both physically and mentally. Some, who otherwise would have lived long lives, did not because of what excessive stress did to them. Of all the areas where these truths apply, our choices in sexuality are the clearest ones of all. When a wicked person ignores God's call to abstinence before marriage and faithfulness in a monogamous, heterosexual marriage, there are multiple problems that develop. First there are sexually transmitted diseases. These abound in a sexually promiscuous society. They shorten lives of millions - and also greatly reduce the quality of a person's life as well. When we factor in the diseases that are rampant in the homosexual community we see that ignoring God and not fearing and respecting His Word shortens the lives of too many. Let me close by dispelling a bad attitude some have toward the whole idea of fearing God. The reason so many do not like this idea is because they treasure their own independence from God. They do not want to have an all powerful, all wise God who knows the truth and tells us what it is. But the reason we should fear God is BECAUSE He knows the truth. When He tells us something and warns us of adverse consequences - He is right. These things WILL HAPPEN to us - and will cause untold grief and, in the case of today's proverb, sometimes even early death. 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?” Doing wickedness is like sport to a fool, and so is wisdom to a man of understanding.
Proverbs 10:23 One of the things I find funny is that Christians try to convince people who are lost that they can still have fun and be a Christian. It is as if they think that people will come to Christ if we can convince them they still will have a blast once they come to repentance and faith. It reduces the problem of the human condition to what can provide the most fun while on earth. If that were the case, the biggest denomination in the world would be Six-Flagsists, Disneyists, and Xboxians. The truth is that for a man who is ungodly - doing wickedness is joy and laughter - and the same is true for the discerning man and his view of wisdom. We are not that accustom to the word, "sport" as it is used here. The word comes from the Hebrew word "sehoq" which means laughter. But this is a laughter of derision and ridicule. It is a laughter used to make fun of someone or something. What we are speaking of here is how the wicked do their evil - and laugh and deride God and His law. They laugh at righteousness and joke about it. They make fun of those who have standards and whose desire is to do what is godly and righteous. Let me give a few examples of this. When the abstinence movement came out, the wicked mocked it mercilessly. They mocked virgins - and decided that anyone who was still a virgin at 18 to 20 years of age must have something wrong with them. They mocked the idea of waiting for sex until marriage. They argued that a person should be able to test drive a car before buying it - referring to the consummation of marriage in crassest of terms, as if you were buying a car, not choosing a life-mate. They defended an immoral president in the 1990's by saying that everyone does what he did – and - they also lie about it when caught. They mocked the idea of a child needing a father and a mother when a TV character in the 1990's decided to get pregnant and have a baby without a father. They mock everything that is holy - and deride anyone who stands in the way of their immoral agenda for our nation and especially its children. We need to remind ourselves that the people who do these things are fools. They have no understanding. They are ignorant and oblivious to a holy God and His judgments. They may mock the morals that we have - but when society continues to fall apart - and when the statistics come in as to why it is falling apart - their actions will be seen those of fools with no understandings against the backdrop of failure and disfunction that they engender. The man of understanding takes an equal delight and joy in wisdom. As the fool celebrates wickedness and mocks holiness - so the man who has discernment delights in God's wisdom. The man of understanding is the man who has discernment. The idea here is of a man who looks at something and determines its end and consequences. Seeing this, he turns away from wickedness and makes his decisions on the basis of God's wisdom. His discernment comes from the Scriptures. This guides him into wise decisions. It also tells him to shun and even mock those decisions that embrace what God has judged on the cross - and will judge at the end of the age. This man allows discernment to turn him to the right and true way. He sees the reward - and delights in it. As I close the thoughts on today's proverb, let me re-visit my first comments of today. Too many do try to make the gospel more palatable by saying that we can have as much fun as the wicked. This is based on a faulty understanding of the nature of man. The wicked delight in their wickedness - because they are still wicked. Christians delight in holiness because they have been born again. Having had their hearts changed by the gospel - they now delight in things that delight the heart of God. It is impossible for an unsaved man to truly delight in these things. His heart is captive to his sin. Until He is saved, he will not truly value righteousness. This proverb ultimately is about salvation – not the lifestyle that is the most fun on earth. Paul said it best when he said that if we only have this life to hope in Christ - we are to be pitied most of all men. If Jesus is not Who He says He is - then we should eat, drink, and party because tomorrow we die. The reason we embrace Christ is not for a superior life here on earth - but because there IS a judgment coming. Without Christ that judgment WILL BE HORRIFIC! We embrace Christ because we have sinned and, without the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ to pay for our sin, we will be judged and sent to hell. All the rest happens WHEN we are saved. We enjoy different things because our heart is different. We enjoy righteousness because we are fundamentally different because of God's grace. The wicked will always delight in their sin - and the discerning will delight in godliness. The difference comes not in which is more fun - but rather in whether a man's heart has been redeemed and changed by God's grace. May we be among those discerning. May we be among those with understanding. May we be among those transformed by grace - and given a whole different outlook on what is fun - what is enjoyable - and mostly, on what is better in eternity. The tongue of the righteous is as choice silver, The heart of the wicked is worth little.
Proverbs 10:20 We are living in a time when people wonder what has any worth? Recently there was a downgrade of our nation's ability to borrow money. In addition to this we watch currencies worldwide go through something akin to a rollercoaster ride as they rise and fall. So again we ask, "What is it that has any true worth?" We are told in today's proverb that the tongue of the righteous is like choice silver. What a wonderfully wealthy thing a godly tongue is to those who hear it. This man or woman speaks what is right. That is why he or she is called "righteous." They know what is right and speak what is right because they fill their mind with what is right. They know the Scriptures and speak what they say as their advice. What is this worth? It is worth choice silver. The phrase used here describes silver that has been refined many times over so that it is free from any impurities. That describes the words that come forth from the tongue of the righteous. They are trustworthy words. They are ideas and counsel that has been tried in the furnace of affliction and tested over many years. Therefore they are also words that will stand in any situation. When we speak of choice silver we need to relate it to situations in today's currency market. The commodities of gold and silver are skyrocketing in value because they are what is called solid assets. They are gaining value because of the unsteadiness of paper currency today. Money printed on paper is called "fiat" money. It is not worth anything intrinsically. Unless the government that prints it has sound financial principles as well as true assets to back the paper money, it is not worthy the paper on which it is printed. Thus, when governments do foolish things like sinking themselves in an endless ocean of debt - their paper money becomes worthless. It is in times like these that silver and gold will show its true value. It will stand when all the paper money fails. So is the speech of the godly, righteous tongue. Their words will stand when all the theories and ideas of man come crashing to the ground. Let's look at why other words are worthless. The proverb tells us that the tongue of the righteous is as choice silver, but the heart of the wicked is worthy little. The words of some are worthless because they come from a wicked heart. This is the heart of one who shuns the grace of God and the gospel of Jesus Christ. They choose instead to trust themselves. There is only one problem with this scenario - the heart of the fallen is wicked. If left to themselves the unsaved will eventually come up with answers to our problems. Their answers will not involve God - but will turn increasingly to the flesh and the world system for their deliverance. They will call evil good and good evil in their quest for a self-oriented salvation. That salvation will only be an empty cistern of powerless promises. Oh that God would raise up many in the church who will hold fast to the Scriptures and to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Then and only then will she be able to send into this world an army of silver-tongued saints who can offer this world what it truly needs. They need the truth. They need the facts about their sin. They need the only way a man can stand righteous before a holy God. They need the gospel of Jesus Christ - and the pure preaching and teaching of the Word of God. May God turn us from wicked hearts captivated by sin - to the foundry of God where, forged in the daily study of the Word of God under the tutelage of the Holy Spirit, we can watch God grant to us "tongues of choice silver." |
Proverb a DayEach day, we'll take a look at a verse from the chapter of Proverbs for the day. Our hope is to gain wisdom each day - and from that wisdom - to have understanding to make godly decisions in the throes of everyday life. Thank you for visiting our website! Everything on this site is offered for free. If, however, you would like to make a donation to help pay for its continued presence on the internet, you can do that by clicking here. The only thing we ask is that you give first to the local church you attend. Thank you!
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