This section of proverbs is now at a point where there are many proverbs that stand-alone. There is a common theme, and the one here is that wickedness will not stand in the long-term, but righteouesness will be established forever. But how do I go about writing about all these? I think I will take a few that stand out to me instead every verse.
1) “The LORD will not let the righteous go hungry” (Prov 10:3).
Is that immediately a problem? Because it does give me pause. There have been many righteous throughout history who have indeed gone hungry. Even died from hunger. So does this mean the atheists and unbelievers can wave this one on their flag?
Context is always king so let’s look at the context.
“but he denies the wicked what they crave” (Prov 10:3).
So if Solomon is talking just about food, physical food, does it mean that the wicked don’t get the desserts, sweets and treats they crave? That wouldn’t make much sense. It would indicate that there’s a deeper truth here than just physical food.
What is it that the wicked crave? They crave power, wealth without work, significant and more.
This fits in the context of ill-gotten gain (v. 2), laziness (v. 4) and more.
What the beginning of v. 3 is about is not physical food, but rather the food of the soul. That righteousness will yield its results but that wickedness will ultimately be denied. This is a theme throughout the chapter.
“The one who lives with integrity lives securely, but whoever perverts his ways will be found out” (Prov 10:8).
2) “A rich man’s wealth is his fortified city; the poverty of the poor is their destruction” (Prov 10:15).
It’s easy to see that a rich man’s wealth is his fortified city. Just today I read of wealth people who want a certain decision made, which is great for them, but takes in no consideration for those who do not have the essentials.
But what does it mean, the poverty of the poor is their destruction?
poverty is the ruin of the poor (NIV)
poverty is the ruin of the poor (KJV)
Perhaps he is talking about the previous verses where he talks about laziness leads to poverty (Prov 10:4,5).
Or perhaps he is talking about the sheer vulnerability of the poor which is a reality and doesn’t always depend on how hard someone works. There are a lot of factors in poverty.
I don’t know on that one. Contextually I’m inclined to say that it is talking about laziness, but not sure.
3) “The one who conceals hatred has lying lips, and whoever spreads slander is a fool” (Prov 10:18).
Guilty. Completely guilty. When you have hostility in your heart, you can control it all you want at the right time and the right place. But it will come out in slander. Guaranteed. There is more than one way that you can “kill” someone. The result is that it is we who become the fool, not the one we are angry at.
4) “The lips of the righteous feed man, but fools die for lack of sense” (Prov 10:21).
Wow. I’m seeing this so much in our leaders, in our media, and more. Just loose words that cause wars. Literally.
5) “The hope of the righteous is joy” (Prov 10:28).
Jesus is joy. I underestimate the high value of joy, both in the Old Testament and in the new. Deep, abiding joy is the fruit of the mature of God.