Proverbs 19:28-29, Evil Incarnate

December 21, Proverbs 19:28-29

2 Corinthians 6:11-18 “Knowing, therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men.”

Evil Incarnate

Here, we are again confronted with ungodly witnesses, referred to as witnesses of Belial. Belial means worthlessness, destructiveness (Deut. 13:13). In the New Testament it became a name for the Devil (2 Cor. 6:15), who is the father of all such “evil qualities”! Thus today’s title is not so harsh, as it may appear.

1. Their Person: An ungodly witness scorns judgment (vs.28a), and life is one big lie! Here judgment and justice are one and the same. As children of their devilish-father they are consummate liars. They lie if and when it suits their purpose (Acts 6:11-13). Their object is to escape the law, even to mock it (Ps. 10:5-6,11). Under Satan’s control, they are quite happy doing his bidding. They are mockers of sin, of justice, and of judgment to come. They have no respect for anything sacred. They ridicule and scoff at death and eternity. They are irreverent and profane and have no regard for the justice of either God or man (Lk. 18:2-4). They scoff at everything, and their testimony is worthless. They have cast the law behind their backs, and have made a covenant with death (Isa. 28:15)! “When men generally lose their reverence for an oath, the bonds of society are broken, honesty becomes a prey, and ruin advances with hasty steps” (Lawson).

2. Their Passion: The mouth of the wicked devours inequity (28b). This goes beyond mere cynicism. It is a craving for the tainted, the perverted. To devour (bala) means to engulf but only in order to destroy. Evil is the meat and drink of these wicked witnesses. Without it they cannot long survive. What good is life without violence, sex, swearing, alcohol, and filthiness? They are described as those who devour iniquity greedily, feeding on it as though it was the choicest meats, the sweetest wine (Job 20:12-13). “The devil’s apple has a bitter core.” Beware of his tempting fruit (Hos. 4:8)! They sin without remorse, and drink iniquity like water (Job 15:16). They trade in deceit for gain or revenge, but they have swallowed the hook of Satan along with the bait. “Those are the worst sinners who are glad of an opportunity to sin” (Henry). Their unbridled passion is proof of their uneasy conscience.

3. Their Penalty: Read again verse 29. They are proud and think themselves secure from God’s justice. They laugh off any threat of Hell as “fear-mongering intended to control the weak.” Their laughter, however, will be turned to heaviness when they face that Judgment already prepared for them (Isa. 29:20; 2 Pt. 3:3-7). “God’s justice pays what our evil deeds deserve!” That full cup is awaiting all who scorn the judgments of God (Acts 13:40-41). “Our sin,” said Bishop Hall, “is our own, and the wages of sin is death.” No charge can be laid against God either for our sin or our judgment.

Thought: “Unbelief is the mother of sin, and misbelief the nurse of it” (Manton).

Prayer: “Thoughtless, careless-minded young persons, lay such words to heart!”