Today is October 10th. Therefore, as is my custom, part of my devotional reading for the day is from Proverbs 10. Reading one chapter of the Proverbs every day has been a habit of mine pretty much since my conversion, and I would strongly encourage the reader to give reading a chapter of Proverbs each day a 'test drive.'
In fact, I would be so bold as to say that to do so is even more beneficial than eating an apple a day, which, at best, can only keep the doctor away. As Proverbs 1 makes abundantly clear, those who acquire and appropriate and apply wisdom will be delivered from a multitude of follies and calamitous circumstances that are common to life "under the sun." My life bears testimony to this.
Not surprisingly, the working out of this principle - namely, being delivered from a wasted, foolish life through the application of wise counsel - is seen in chapter 10. Those who heed Solomon's wise sayings will not only be spared the consequences of folly, but will be richly rewarded for walking in wisdom.
As we read the chapter, we note that there is an intentional structure that Solomon uses, comparing and contrasting the "ways" of the wise/righteous versus the foolish/wicked. Perhaps breaking each of the verses in the immediate context will help us to better understand and interpret what the Holy Spirit, through Solomon, is trying to communicate to us in this section:
10:1 - A wise son makes a glad father
10:2 - Righteousness delivers from death
10:3 - The LORD does not let the righteous go hungry
10:4 - The hand of the diligent makes rich
10:5 - He who gathers in the summer is a prudent son
10:6 - Blessings are on the head of the righteous
It was not until one realizes this structure that a verse like 10:3 is properly understood. It is a maxim (that is, a general rule of thumb) that the LORD does not let the righteous go hungry. But when we see it aright in its original context, we also see the means of how the LORD sovereignly brings this provision of food about: those who are righteous are are also wise, diligent, and prudent. That is, as a general rule, the righteous do not go hungry because they are diligent workers who gather their food with prudence and wisdom. Having sufficient food is, at least in this context, one of the clearest and most obvious "blessings" on the heads of the righteous (v.6).
On the contrary, Solomon says that the LORD will thwart the craving of the wicked. The reasons are seen when we look at the context of the verses in the negative:
10:1 - A foolish son is a sorrow to his mother
10:2 - Treasures gained by wickedness do not profit
10:3 - [The LORD] thwarts the craving of the wicked
10:4 - A slack hand causes poverty
10:5 - He who sleeps in harvest is a son who brings shame
10:6 - The mouth of the wicked conceals violence
What causes poverty? In a word, folly (v.1). Instead of being wise and doing what is "right" (v.2) - as God commanded Adam in the garden before sin entered the picture - the fool tries to gain his treasures in an ungodly way. Ironically, the insatiable desires of the wicked are never satiated (v.3), since they are contravening the very creation order God instituted in the beginning. Instead of working hard as to the LORD, the fool's hand is "slack" - he is a lazy sluggard (v.4). Instead of making the best use of his time when the fields are white unto harvest, he decides a short siesta is in order (v.5). Rather than eating of the fruit of his labors, his mouth is filled with treachery and violence (v.6).
To put a spiritual spin on this concept of eating versus staving, as even Jesus was wont to do (see John 4, 6, etc.), we may say that the reason many of us languish spiritually is because we are not walking wisely and redeeming the time (cf. Ephesians 5:15-17). Those whom the LORD is letting go hungry have chosen to go hungry: we choose sleep over study, laziness over diligently harvesting the field of God's Word, entertainment over prayer.
We tell others that we truly crave to be nearer to God. But unfortunately, our intentions remain just that (read James 1:22-25). Instead of feeding our souls with the living manna, we fill it with the unsatisfying lies of the world, which in our day and age, is basically entertainment and technology (read: watching way too much T.V., playing way too much video games, spending way too much time on FaceBook, checking our emails way too much, and wasting way too much precious time watching braincell-killing YouTube clips that have absolutely no relevance to our lives).
Reader, are you a wise son or daughter that makes your Father glad by how you use the time He has allotted you on this earth? Are you making "righteous" decisions that deliver you from spiritual death? Is the LORD letting you go hungry? Is your hand diligent in spiritual matters? Are you prudently gathering the bounty of God's Word while it is yet summer time? Is the blessing of the LORD on your head?
May God, in His lovingkindness, draw us back to Himself in cords of love, enabling us (by the Holy Spirit) to look carefully how we live - not as unwise, but as wise. May we, who are the new creation in Christ, live in a manner worthy of the calling to which we have been called, and make the best use of the time, for the days are evil.
Let us simply take God at His Word, and make it our goal to return to the LORD afresh, for as the prophet reminds us, "in returning [i.e. repentance] and rest you shall be delivered" (Isa. 30:15). May we not be like foolish Israel, who were unwilling to yield to God's loving reproof, and said "No" (30:16).
Remember, the blessing of the LORD makes rich, and He adds no sorrow with it (10:22). How different from all the 'blessings' the world offer us, which so often become like gravel in our mouth when we foolishly and blindly partake of them!
May the blessing of Christ be lavished upon each one of our heads, to the glory and honor of our loving Father, whom we simply want to make glad in all that we say and do. Amen.
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