Blessed Hope Bible-Presbyterian Church
500 Upper Bukit Timah Rd, Singapore 678106
Today’s verses encapsulate the stark contrast between how the righteous and the wicked act and live. Not one can call back a lost moment, much less a lost life! We would do well to heed this word of advice from an old sage, “Live so in time as thou would wish to live in eternity.” How are you living your life? Life in itself is neither good nor evil. It is man, sinner or saved, who makes it so.
This text proves true both from a temporal and a spiritual standpoint. Both parties have strong desires, but how differently they go about to fulfill them!
13:2-3 (12:14) is a familiar theme in Proverbs, but will we ever get the message that what we say can do as much harm as what we do? Let us follow the adage: “Look before you leap” with: “Think before you speak.” We get back what we deserve. “Keep a strong bridle on the tongue and a strong hand on the bridle.” In proportion as we bridle the little member the peace of God will rule the heart.
This verse recalls the opening chapter of Proverbs. A wise son heareth his father’s instruction, but a scorner heareth not rebuke. Instruction includes, if necessary, discipline and correction. The message here is clear. Are you a teachable son? Will you submit to wise and loving parental discipline? Teachable sons are wise and profit thereby, but sons who scorn rebuke lose everything.
But the substance of the diligent (sharp, decisive) man is precious. His substance is what is of worth, or enough to satisfy. This man is the opposite of the slothful. He enjoys the fruits of his efforts. He gets a rich return, but this means more than just money! His substance may not be great in the eyes of some, but to him it is precious. It is worth its weight in gold! Most precious of all, it comes to him with the blessing of God. There is a general principle that labour enhances the relative value of a man’s possessions. The opposite is also true, “What costs nothing is worth nothing! It is only a bag of moonshine.” Consider these two reasons why his substance is precious to the diligent.
The slothful man roasts not that which he took in hunting. Roast occurs only here in the Hebrew. This has led some to suggest other meanings hike start or set out. Aramaic and Arabic roots suggest scorch. Of the three Hebrew young men, in the fiery furnace of Nebuchadnezzar, it was observed, there was not an hair of their head singed (Dan. 3:27). Jewish tradition has roast, and so our KJV.
At the funeral of David Livingstone, a man who appeared to be a derelict of humanity was seen to be weeping bitterly. When someone asked if he was a near relative of the great missionary. “No,” he replied, “but we were in the same class at school and worked at the same loom in the mill in Blantyre. Only I took the wrong road, and have become a useless drunkard.”
2. The Supreme Way is the Trusted Way. In the way of righteousness is life; and in the pathway thereof there is no death (v.28). There are three Hebrew words in this verse each meaning way or path. We could say, “In the way of righteousness is life, and the route of that road is not death!” It does not, like the path of the wicked, lead astray. Jesus said to his disciples in those dark hours before Calvary: If it were not so I would have told you. David Livingstone, in a time of severe testing, claimed that verse as a promise made by Jesus, and then added in his diary: “This is the word of a gentleman of the most strict and sacred honour; and that’s an end of it.” The Way of the righteous may be rough at times, but it is always the right way, the supreme way, the well-secured way for God’s pilgrims.
Life is a journey, a pilgrimage, if you will. We are all travelling along some path or other. What path are you travelling on? At the end will it mean downfall or deliverance? These two Proverbs contrast the life and thinking of the righteous and the wicked. There are just two paths, the Way of the Righteous, and the Way of the Wicked. Everyone is travelling one or other of these. One sometimes hears the cry: “Is there really a true path in this life? If so, how can I be sure I’m on it?” If that’s your cry, please read on.
Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop, but a good word maketh it glad. This is the positive side of our proverb.