Thought I’d give a Proverb a day another whirl. Today, we’re obviously going through Proverbs 11.
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.
Proverbs 11:2-3
We talk a lot about God’s wrath and judgment, but we ought to remember the actions themselves have their own effect and impact. In this case, pride precedes disgrace, and the treacherous (untrustworthy, inconsistent) are destroyed by their own crookedness. Personally, I find it humbling to take note of this, even if you call yourself a follower or believer in Christ. I mean, sure, the judgment and wrath of God has already been taken for all our sin (as Christ became sin and died in our stead)… but while we’re still in this reality and in this existence there will always be an equal impact to everything that we do here.
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.
Proverbs 11:4-8
I’m led to believe that it is by our Christ-bought righteousness that we are able to have integrity, and keep it; And it’s not the other way around – We don’t have and keep integrity before we are called righteous. It’s only by our right-standing with God that we can even hope to have integrity – and, yes, an integrity that delivers us, whether we have riches in abundance, or we have nothing. The so-called blessings of this world are by no means an indication of our righteousness – no, through Christ’s finished work and by the power of the Holy Spirit, we project how blameless and upright we are no matter where we are in the way we walk, or whether or not we are in need of deliverance; Our righteousness shines when the rest of the world that rejects Christ continues to fall by their own wickedness, and are captured by their own lusts. The hope we have serves as an anchor for our souls forever, and beyond our existence here – however, the wicked who reject Christ continually will eventually fall, with all his or her ‘hopes’.
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.
Proverbs 11:10-11
By the righteousness we have in Christ, we are natural blessings to the communities we reside with. We rejoice with our neighbors as they rejoice – and they, in turn, rejoice when we ourselves find cause to rejoice. As we are blessed, we speak blessing to our communities, and they are ‘exalted‘. It is not so with those who are quite intentional with (1) their rejection of Christ, and (2) the glorifying of their own names – I mean, there will still be rejoicing, but only when they pass away, or only when they flee – it could be possible that this is so only because their neighbors hear their mouths only speak of curses and cursing.
Y’know, I’ll admit that I’m going through all of this as an attempt to (1) unload and empty my mind, and (2) to get more words in to hit more than 365000 words this 2025… And as I’m going through it, I’m not liking what I’m seeing on the surface, what I’m scribbling down here – It is precisely as Solomon would have composed it: We read of what happens to the righteous, and what happens to the wicked.
Being written before the New Covenant, I suppose there was no better way for Solomon to let out the wisdom given to him by the Lord. And, isn’t that something – if we follow the Chronicles we see how Solomon had this famous encounter with the Lord, the night after he offered ‘a thousand burnt offerings‘ (see 2 Chronicles 1). On the other hand, through the finished work of Christ, we have been made new creations, which also means that we have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16).
One guy in the Old Testament had enough resources at his disposal to sacrifice a thousand bulls, before asking for wisdom from God, to pass on through his Proverbs.
Jesus established the New Covenant, and by the sacrifice He offered by His death, we died; by His resurrection, we rose again, not only with wisdom, but with the mind of Christ, with the Word of God dwelling fully within us.
And with all this being said, I believe I still could go on with a Proverb a day, but I really should remember to read all of it in the light of the New Covenant: After all, Christ paid the greatest price for me to be saved – that is, for me to have the mind of Christ, and to enjoy the Word alive in my own Life (as it holds true for each and every one of my other brothers and sisters who have come to believe in Him).
Now with all this said, I suppose I could keep going with Proverb 11…
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.
Proverbs 11:12-14
Less talk, less mistake. In fact, talk less and listen more. Accumulate counselors more than words. Prioritize listening over speaking.
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.
Proverbs 11:23-24
We have a new mind, as in the mind of Christ, and this also means that we have new desires, that naturally lead us away from wrath. Just as the path of the righteous grows brighter and brighter unto the new day (Proverbs 4:18), so we are led more and more into Life, as we have Christ as our Life with us in all things. We become more and more natural in our care and love for each other, and in the process, we prosper. The more we give, the more we receive.
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.
Proverbs 11:25-26
In Christ, we bless as we have been blessed, and in so doing, we become blessed even more.
I think I’ll go ahead and end it here for now. Not sure if I achieved anything huge here… but it’s just good to go through His Word, you know? You may not ‘feel’ any sort of improvement or progress, but the Truth remains – any time spent with the Word is never time wasted.
What do you think? I pray that we would always remember we have the mind of Christ whenever we consult the Word… and, also, as we look through the Word, may we always be brought back to Christ, our Savior.
He deserves all the glory and praise.
Until the next post (hopefully coming soon), may the Lord continue to bless us all – greatly, abundantly, that we would be ready to bless – also, greatly and abundantly. Amen.
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