Proverbs 11:8, Divine Retribution!

May 8, Proverbs 11:8

2 Cor. 4:17-18; Jas. 5:10-11 “O Lord, … thou hast loosed my bonds” (Ps. 116:15).

Divine Retribution!

This is a frightening word to some, but it is the imperative message of this verse. It refers to a retributive justice. There is need for some clarification of the second half of this verse. We might translate it, but the wicked are brought under or into his, that is, into the troubles of the righteous. This means that, in the providence of God, the deliverance He gives to one will result in the punishing of the other, and God makes no mistakes.

1. Released: The righteous is delivered out of trouble. Even God’s dear children do not escape troubles. The Bible is full of illustrations of this fact. One of the questions that still perplex many is this. Why do the righteous suffer while the ungodly seem to prosper (Job; Psalm 73)? Some even deny that there is a good God at all, or if good, not powerful enough to right the world’s injustices. The righteous suffer physical and mental anguish, moral blemishes, individual and social disrepute, and sometimes painful death. The promise of this proverb is that nevertheless, appearances to the contrary, they are being, and will yet be, delivered out of them all. They are emerging from the darkness to the light. Their day is growing “brighter unto that perfect day.” It may be only partially now, but a host of believers can testify to glad releases from severe troubles. How many stormy seas have been left behind! One Glorious Day that promised release will be complete. The troubles are all left behind on this side. The righteous now sing, “It will be worth it all, when we see Christ,” but on that Coming Day they will sing,

On Jordan’s stormy banks I stand, and cast a wistful eye
To Canaan’s fair and happy land, where my possessions lie.

2. Reversed: The wicked cometh in his stead. The righteous and the wicked reverse places. The wicked are in trouble now, and increasingly so at every step. They are forging fetters and preparing fires for themselves that they cannot escape. When Jesus spoke of that place where “their worm dieth not and the fires are not quenched” He was not referring to the present, but to future punishment, to the great reversal. Mark this difference between the righteous and the wicked. See Israel delivered out of troubles at the Red Sea, and the Egyptians come in their stead. Recall the switch between Mordecai and Haman. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came unhurt out of the burning fiery furnace, while those who cast them in were slain by the fierceness of the heat. Daniel was taken up alive and uninjured out of the lions’ den; while those who had accused him were cast into the same den, and the lions, which had not touched Daniel, break all their bones in pieces before they reached the bottom of the den (Dan. 3:22-27; 6:23-24). God, by a mysterious messenger, brought Peter out of prison, while his jailors were condemned. King Herod, his chief persecutor, died a horrible death, which his royal robes could not hide, nor his crown deliver him from the judgment of the King of Kings on that Day. The truth of God’s wrath is just as true as His grace. Because sin is man’s rebellion against God’s expressed will, He can never be complacent about sin and still be God.

Thought: “There is no sin so little as not to kindle an eternal fire” (Anon).

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for Thy unchangeable love.