Proverbs 11

Proverbs 11

1 A false balance is an abomination to the Lord, but a just weight is his delight. 2 When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom. 3 The integrity of the upright guides them, but the crookedness of the treacherous destroys them. 4 Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death. 5 The righteousness of the blameless keeps his way straight, but the wicked falls by his own wickedness. 6 The righteousness of the upright delivers them, but the treacherous are taken captive by their lust. 7 When the wicked dies, his hope will perish, and the expectation of wealth perishes too. 8 The righteous is delivered from trouble, and the wicked walks into it instead. 9 With his mouth the godless man would destroy his neighbor, but by knowledge the righteous are delivered. 10 When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices, and when the wicked perish there are shouts of gladness. 11 By the blessing of the upright a city is exalted, but by the mouth of the wicked it is overthrown. 12 Whoever belittles his neighbor lacks sense, but a man of understanding remains silent. 13 Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets, but he who is trustworthy in spirit keeps a thing covered. 14 Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety. 15 Whoever puts up security for a stranger will surely suffer harm, but he who hates striking hands in pledge is secure. 16 A gracious woman gets honor, and violent men get riches. 17 A man who is kind benefits himself, but a cruel man hurts himself. 18 The wicked earns deceptive wages, but one who sows righteousness gets a sure reward. 19 Whoever is steadfast in righteousness will live, but he who pursues evil will die. 20 Those of crooked heart are an abomination to the Lord, but those of blameless ways are his delight. 21 Be assured, an evil person will not go unpunished, but the offspring of the righteous will be delivered. 22 Like a gold ring in a pig's snout is a beautiful woman without discretion. 23 The desire of the righteous ends only in good, the expectation of the wicked in wrath. 24 One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want. 25 Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered. 26 The people curse him who holds back grain, but a blessing is on the head of him who sells it. 27 Whoever diligently seeks good seeks favor, but evil comes to him who searches for it. 28 Whoever trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like a green leaf. 29 Whoever troubles his own household will inherit the wind, and the fool will be servant to the wise of heart. 30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and whoever captures souls is wise. 31 If the righteous is repaid on earth, how much more the wicked and the sinner!

Devotional

Introduction

I wonder if you have ever seen sin take a dangerous turn? As Christians, we might all know that sin is bad. However, I often forget that not only does sin not work out for my eternal benefit, but it has negative implications for my life right now.

For example, if you are told not to jump on the bed - and you do so with your brother - you might not only receive a harsh word from your parents, but your brother may also have to pay for the broken wooden beam of your bed frame (sorry Tyler!). You may think that stealing only a few dollars from your Dad's youth group offering in his office at church for the school canteen that week would be harmless, but you didn't think you'd have such overwhelming guilt and tears when reading a kid's devotional book condemning stealing. (Don't worry, I was young, and was forgiven). Let's just say, I am pretty grateful for the Holy Spirit.

I may have been a Christian from childhood, but I still messed up. In today's passage we see the turn for the worse for the wicked...but sometimes, even for the righteous.

Study

1) The Righteous are guided properly... (vs.3)

"The integrity of the upright guides them,  but the crookedness of the treacherous destroys them. (Proverbs 11:3)

In my study, I was pointed to Genesis 39:6-12. It is the story of Potiphar's wife and her interactions with Joseph. Unfortunately, Joseph received the rotten end of the deal, when Potiphar's wife accused him of trying to lie with him, even though it happened the other way around. When she asked him he told her "How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?".

You know what is interesting about that? Joseph is wise in not only committing the act, but he has such fear and love of the Lord, that he does not wish to sin against him. He is wise and he is fearing the Lord. They go hand in hand, as the book of Proverbs explains. We are wise when we fear the Lord and in turn, we receive more wisdom.

And it is even because of this wisdom that he is guided to do many other things in his life. He is able to interpret the dreams over Pharoah's apparent "wise men" (Genesis 41). He knows how to interact with his brothers, who sold him to Egyptians.

I am not praising Joseph, he too was a sinner. But we must see the righteous are guided by God because he grants them such wisdom. And the wicked are messed up and destroyed by their own craftiness which God does notice (refer to Luke 20:23). The wicked destroy themselves. Just like my sin in stealing, I had deep guilt over my actions.

2) ...and the Righteous are blessed and are praised... (vs.10-11)

"When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices,  and when the wicked perish there are shouts of gladness. By the blessing of the upright a city is exalted,  but by the mouth of the wicked it is overthrown." (Proverbs 11:10-11)

I love these verses. They are such pleasant images of how righteousness is praised. The danger in interpretation of these verses is to see them as praising the creature rather than the creator. Righteousness can only come from God, and in that a "city rejoices" (vs.10).

But there can be no denial that righteousness is not to be celebrated. Righteousness is to be right with God. It is in Jesus we are made righteous. It is to be celebrated.

And notice how when the righteous are blessed, the whole city is in turn blessed or "exalted" (vs.11). But by the words of the "wicked" that same city can be destroyed. Wickedness causes deep pain for those around us. My sin in jumping on the bed, meant that my brother would have to pay a cost for me.

3)...but the righteous mess up as well...(vs.31)

"If the righteous is repaid on earth,  how much more the wicked and the sinner!" (Proverbs 11:31)

I hope you've noticed in my application of these examples that I too am just as wicked, and cannot properly be considered righteous. I am just like the wicked. But verse 31 is a total gemstone in this chapter. It is so subtle, you might not even have noticed it.

The righteous on earth are disciplined too.

WHAT?!

This whole time, Solomon has been talking about how the righteous will be blessed, the righteous are on path to life, the righteous will succeed. Why the sudden turn?

Romans 3:23 says:

"...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God"

Romans 3:10 says

“None is righteous, no, not one"

Scary, huh? Here we are talking about the righteous, and none of them are righteous. So how are they righteous? 2 Corinthians 5:21 says:

"For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."

It was all through the blood of the lamb: Jesus Christ. In his death, he took on all our sin and shame. He rose again, defeated death and we are made knew through the saving work of the Holy Spirit. We are transforming day by day into the image of the son. We are still sinful now, which is why the righteous - those who are legitimately right with God through faith in the Son -

are "repaid on earth" (vs.31). However the verse points out that the wicked are still worse off.

Think about it, if you have been made righteous in the sight of God, you are going to live with him in eternity. If you have not, you will not. You will be in a far worse place, full of God's wrath.

God is merciful and just, something we discussed yesterday. In all of these, we see our failures and even our victories tainted with sin. However, we can praise God that we are guided, that we are blessed, that our salvation can bring God the glory. We can thank him that in spite of all of our flaws, we are right before him. I may have stolen, I may have disobeyed my parents, I may have had great shame and caused pain for others around me. But because of Jesus' blood I am right before God.

And there is no greater hope I can have.