Meditationen am Gnadenstuhl: Contrast Between the Righteous & the Wicked Proverbs 10:24-32

Friday, September 2, 2022

Proverbs 10:24–32

[24] What the wicked dreads will come upon him,

but the desire of the righteous will be granted.

[25] When the tempest passes, the wicked is no more,

but the righteous is established forever.

[26] Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes,

so is the sluggard to those who send him.

[27] The fear of the Lord prolongs life,

but the years of the wicked will be short.

[28] The hope of the righteous brings joy,

but the expectation of the wicked will perish.

[29] The way of the Lord is a stronghold to the blameless,

but destruction to evildoers.

[30] The righteous will never be removed,

but the wicked will not dwell in the land.

[31] The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom,

but the perverse tongue will be cut off.

[32] The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable,

but the mouth of the wicked, what is perverse. (ESV)

Contrast Between the Righteous and the Wicked

v.24 The Lord is the one who controls the outcome, but the righteous want what God wants. It is not as if God were saying, "I'll give you everything you want," but "I'll give you everything I want you to have – which is what you should be wanting." The wicked dread what God desires, punishment for their sins, which is what they will receive.

v.25 Compare this verse to Jesus' Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 7:24-27). The believer is the wise man who builds his house on the rock, which will withstand the tempest. The fool builds on sand, and his house is washed away. The rock is faith and trust in Christ crucified for your sins.

v.26 Vinegar and smoke are irritants. When vinegar first hits your tongue, or even the vapor hits your mouth, there is a reflexive little gag. Smoke irritates the eyes and makes them water. The lazy man is this kind of irritant to the ones who send him on a mission. In all cases, one seeks to rid himself of the source of irritation.

v.27 We can all think of examples of wicked people who have long lives and vice versa. Think of this proverb like this: A righteous person seeks to follow God's way, which leads to eternal life, and in so doing avoids behavior that endangers life, both temporal and eternal. The wicked, however, frequently engage in behavior that leads to a shortened mortal life and leads to the way of eternal death. The righteous seek to preserve life from conception to its natural end, while the wicked stand by and allow life to be terminated prematurely.

v.28 The righteous put their hope in Christ, and their joy is in the promises of God fulfilled in the person of the crucified and risen Christ (Romans 15:8-13; 1 Peter 1:3-9). The wicked have no such hope and, thus, separated from God will perish eternally.

v.29 The way of the Lord—the way which leads to eternal life—is a fortress to the righteous. Blameless means those who have been declared righteous for the sake of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Christ's righteousness is applied to them, not because of their own righteousness, which will always fall short. That way, they are assured of salvation—if God says it is so, it will be so. The way of the Lord is destruction to evildoers—those who do not believe—because they must rely on their own merits to achieve salvation, which can never be enough, and therefore they are without hope.

v.30 This verse is connected to the previous verse, restating the same theme differently. The wise person of integrity is justified—declared righteous before God—through faith in Christ (Genesis 15:6; Isaiah 53:11). "Destruction" from v.29 is defined as removal from the kingdom of God, saying they will "not dwell in the land."

v.31 The mouth of the righteous person repeats the Word of God they have received—words of Divine Wisdom. The perverse tongue brings forth foolishness and will be cut off just as an unfruitful branch is pruned from the tree. Compare this verse to Proverbs 3:18. Jesus speaks of this type of pruning in John 15:1-2 and Matthew 3:10; 7:17-19.

v.32 This final verse of the chapter is connected to the previous by the words "mouth" and "perverse." The mouth of a righteous person bears fruit. His lips: know what is acceptable," that is, they declare the grace of God, Who seeks to save all people from their sins. They refrain from speaking the sort of things the mouth of the wicked spews out.