Proverbs 12:2-3, Life has Consequences!

June 3, Proverbs 12:2-3

Luke 6:38-49 “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid” (Isa. 12:2).

Life has Consequences!

These two proverbs deal with the consequences of goodness or wisdom. This is the last verse in Proverbs to refer directly to the Lord for some time to come. The proverbs concentrate on the practical issues of life here. All moral duties proceed from the Creator alone, and the foundation of wisdom is over and over again stated to be in the fear of the Lord. Moral teachers have failed because they try to persuade men to act right. This, however, sinful men cannot do until first his heart is made right with his Creator.

1. To Be Approved or Condemned: The good obtain God’s favour, but the evil breed their own condemnation (12:2). This is not limited to a future life. God’s approval or condemnation is evident even here. Sometimes it takes faith to see that the prosperity of the wicked is only apparent. Such is the deception of sin. Who would not prefer God’s favour (Eph. 1:6) to His rebuke? It should be the highest object of every life; it was for the Apostle Paul (2 Cor. 5:9). The good man does experience God’s favour in many ways (Ps. 5:12; 18:35), and he also knows it is always wrong to do wrong (Pr. 13:15). His goodness goes to the very depths of his being. He is not only good himself, but also he works for the good and happiness of others, and does all he can to promote that goodness. Even as goodness motivates the good man, so evil dominates the wicked. The wicked can only merit God’s disapproval, for a man of wicked devices will he condemn. The man of wicked devices actually lives in them and lives by them; his mind is continually taken up with them. He follows them as his passion and pleasure. “The frown of eternal justice shadows the path of the wicked” (Thomas). In reality he is already under divine condemnation (Jn. 3:19-20). A good man obtains favour of the Lord. It is a simple fact, “Only from a pure fountain can there flow pure streams.” Are your hands clean? Is your heart pure? That they can be is an evidence of God’s saving grace in your life (Ps. 24:3-4).

2. To Be Established or Demolished: A man shall not be established by wickedness; but the root of the righteous shall not be moved (12:3). The good are approved by men, while evil men are not. This may seem inconsistent in a sinful world, yet so it is. Even the bad respect the good and may sometimes secretly envy them. Stability is one of the marks of the good person. His root is in God and he is therefore on the solid rock. He may bend in the wind, and his branches tremble, but, rooted in God, he survives all that the storms can throw at him (Ps. 62:1-2). On the other hand, almost daily reports reach us of the crash of the careers of the rich and powerful (10:25). Their imposing houses, after all, were built of straw, and had a foundations of sand. In one-hour their hopes will all be swept away. “A man may with more reason hope to build himself a sure house upon pillars of ice, than to establish his fortunes upon an accursed ground” (Lawson). The blessed man in Psalm 1 is likened to a tree with strong roots and plentiful greenery because planted by rivers of water. The ungodly have none of these blessings, but are like the chaff that is good for nothing but blowing in the wind.

Thought: “Goodness is the only investment that never fails” (H. D. Thoreau).

Prayer: Let me demonstrate Thy saving grace in my life.