Proverbs 10:24-25, Deceitful Faith or Delightful Future?

May 1, Proverbs 10:24-25

Matt. 7:24-27; 2 Cor. 2:14-16; Rev. 22:11-14 “Be not high minded, but fear” (Rom. 11:20).

Deceitful Faith or Delightful Future?

The word fear in v.24 (megorah) is not the usual word, as in v.27 (yarah). Jeremiah (20:3-4) used it in his encounter with Pashur. The Lord hath not called thy name Pashur (meaning, security around or free) but Magor-missabib (terror on every side), a judgment against both Pashur and Jerusalem (Ps. 31:13)! Today’s verses state the hopes of the righteous and the fears of the wicked. The righteous have their share of fears as do the wicked, but the difference is in the outcome!

1. The Dread of the Wicked: Fear, terror – it (emphatic pronoun [v.22]) shall come upon him (v.24). As we saw, the sport of the fool may be a cover-up for those twinges of conscience that even come upon him from time to time. The fear of the wicked is not an emotion but the thing dreaded which, in their case, is God! The more he clings to his sins, the greater is his fight against God and right. What gives him the nerve to continue this awful course? It is the over-powering sinful desire, in this life, to indulge his lusts, and hope there is No God, No Judgment at the End! Will you gamble with your immortal soul? Does not the fear of the wicked remain throughout life? He claims to be certain that there is no God, but he must remain uncertain of the outcome of his gamble!

2. The Desire of the Righteous: Their desire shall be granted (v.24). Their desire is to know and serve God. Their fears will disappear, as will the darkness, with sunrise. Fears of falling, of being found wanting, of lacking holiness, of yielding to temptations, are all swept away when the Son of Righteousness arises with healing in His wings. God promises a heavenly inheritance and eternal security for His own through faith (1 Pet. 1:3-5). What does the righteous desire? Is it not God, to be accepted in Christ, the Beloved, to be washed in His Blood, to be conformed to His Image? Christ’s coming will be like a New Morning and usher in a New Eternity. Only the justified can desire anything so good!

3. The Destiny of Both: As the whirlwind passes, so is the wicked no more, but the righteous is an everlasting foundation. “In both, the same two fears operate now; at the final reckoning, one will be realised and the other disappointed. At the border of eternity the one will be relieved from all his fear, the other will be deprived of all his hope” (Arnot). When the whirlwind hits, with suddenness and severity (Pr. 1:27), the house built on sand collapses; so also the hopes of the wicked are dashed forever (Ps. 37:10). “The fear realised will be greater than the fear they feared!” Job, in his despair, cried, For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me (Job 3:25). Job must have begun to think that his comforters were right, but as events unfolded, God’s dealing with Job was to prove the exception to this rule (v.24). So it is for the righteous in the same whirlwind. Yet their house, founded on the Rock, remains unshaken. Thus their hopes stand sure. The righteous are set on an everlasting foundation (Ps. 17:15). Which destiny will be yours?

Thought: All’s well that ends well, eternally.

Prayer: Grant to me that godly fear and that hope secure.