Be sure of this: The wicked will not go unpunished,
but those who are righteous will go free.
Summary: Solomon again leads us into a discussion of wickedness and righteousness. Somehow it never gets old.
Over and over again, Solomon returns to this theme of the wicked and the righteous. Why is this so important to him? Why does he harp on this theme again and again?
The answer has something to do with the nature of man’s heart. Are you wicked or righteous?
Some will say that all men are wicked, and no doubt there is a rebellious streak in all of us. Yet I can’t escape the feeling that Solomon would not be wasting time on this topic unless he thought that there was hope that his words could make a difference in someone’s life.
Why is he doing this after all? Let’s go back to the beginning:
1 The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel:
2 for gaining wisdom and instruction;
for understanding words of insight;
3 for receiving instruction in prudent behavior,
doing what is right and just and fair;
4 for giving prudence to those who are simple,
knowledge and discretion to the young—
5 let the wise listen and add to their learning,
and let the discerning get guidance—
6 for understanding proverbs and parables,
the sayings and riddles of the wise.
7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,
but fools despise wisdom and instruction. (Proverbs 1: 1-7)
The whole point of writing all these words down is to guide the reader into a life that pleases God. If there were no hope for us readers, surely someone as wise as Solomon is supposed to have been would not have bothered wasting his time writing these sayings.
The point of Proverbs is that we have some choice in this life. We can choose to be wicked or we can choose to be righteous.
Yes, I know… there is that word “righteous” again. In the back of my mind, Paul’s diatribe against all of us being unrighteous (Romans 3:10) sings its weary song. We are all losers after a fashion and without Jesus, we have no hope. This is true. Yet, every day, every minute of every day, we choose what kind of person we are going to be. In God’s eyes, this is important.
If you and I choose to be wicked and perverse, that is, to reject God’s ways and pursue our own ends regardless of who else gets hurt, God sees our hearts and knows what we are doing. If we are wicked and perverse, we don’t care!
If we choose to try to please God, he understands we are flawed human beings still in need of a Savior. Yet he sees that our heart is in the right place and that we desire to try to please him. In the lingo of Solomon’s proverbs, God thinks of this as being righteous. Not righteous enough to avoid the need for Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross; understood. But righteous in that we desire to serve God and seek his Son’s favor.
Application: Fear the Lord and seek his knowledge.
Food for Thought: Explain how a God who knows that Jesus will one day hang on the cross for our sins could have Solomon write “those who are righteous will go free.”
The righteous will go free (in the context I see this as free from punishment, wrath, judgment) due to Jesus’ work on the cross which atones for sin even previously committed (Romans 3: 21 – 26). The righteous lived by faith and are justified by faith (See also Romans 1: 16 – 17). We depend on the work of the cross by faith – no matter which side of the cross we are on (John 8: 56). Those in Christ have a choice to live by the flesh or live by the Spirit. We are told to walk in the Spirit and live by the Spirit (Galatians 5: 16 – 26). It is a decision I need to make moment by moment today. Luke 9: 23.
Thank you, Rich.
Nicely said. I appreciate your clear statement of Jesus’ power to save “no matter which side of the cross we are on.” I also appreciate the connection you point out between our decisions and how we are viewed by our God.
I will put a link to all of your passage references here.
Nice R and a little sooner than I could have commented. I was going to say the route of free this world free in Spirit Galatians.
Romans 6:18 could be another reference.
Thank you. Good stuff T
Romans 6: 18 is a great verse for this topic.
Tim,
Great reference! That is a nice twist on the concept of being righteous. 🙂
06-19-2022, Proverbs 11:21, Explain how a God who knows that Jesus will one day hang on the cross for our sins could have Solomon write “those who are righteous will go free.”
“How is allowing Jesus to be put to death on the cross, allowing the righteous to go free?”
1. God is all knowing.
2. All mankind are born with a sinful nature.
3. Our sins separate us from God.
4. God sent Is Son to give His life, pay the price for our sins.
5. All who believe shall become righteous before God.
6. The righteous are free from spiritual death, eternal separation from God.
1 John 3:20, Mark 7:21, John 3:36, 3:16, Romans 6:23
Jesus Christ who knew no sin, gave His life for our sins, so we could become righteous before God.
A spiritually righteous person, true believer, follower of God through faith in Jesus Christ, is not promised a life on earth where they will be free of all physical trials, persecution and/or physical pain, which produce spiritual growth.
In truth, from examples of Jesus and those listed below, we can see the exact opposite is true.
Ezekiel 14:14 and 14:20 repeat God saying that Noah, Daniel, and Job are the most righteous men at that time. The New Testament presents Jesus Christ the most righteous man of ALL time.
Matthew 11:11 Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has risen no one greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
The righteous grow in suffering and are examples to all as we continue to exist in this world.
Ron,
I really like your statement that Jesus is the most righteous person of “all time.” That brings to mind the fact that God’s perception of time is very different than ours (Psalm 90:4). You also point out that sometimes the test of righteousness is suffering as we pull apart from the world and grow into our spiritual relationship with God.
Thank you!
Thank you Ron I too liked “The righteous grow in suffering and are examples to all as we continue to exist in this world.”
Yesterday was a day where the beautiful A got to see me deal with a lot of unpleasant issues of this world and multiple sinful problems. She saw how I responded, how I was already dealing with a……. emotional rollercoaster called life in this world that is full of unbelievers including hurtful ones that you love called family ( or for short WAR ) lack of sleep, lack of nutrition, and trying to do my best for those I can. She saw spiritual growth and my choice of weapon in my battle against evil.
T,
My heart goes out to you in your “battle.” I have seen so much change in you over time as the Lord has worked in your heart, mind and life. I pray that His work continues and bears much fruit in the coming years.