Proverbs 11:27, For Good Or Evil

May 25, Proverbs 11:27

Matthew 25:31-46 “Ask, and ye shall receive; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you” (Mt. 7:7).

For Good Or Evil

Verse 27 repeats the familiar theme: You reap what you sow! Most commentators pass over it with barely a word. Yet its message comes with a force and freshness that makes it well worth our study. Three types are here described with three different verbs yet all meaning to seek, each with a special emphasis.

1. The Eager: He that diligently seeketh good (1:28, 7:15, 8:17) is like one watching for the dawn. It is thus that he goes after his chief goal. The angels were alert when the morning arose, the dawn, and hastened Lot out of the impending doom of Sodom. On the seventh day, the Israelites rose early about the dawning of the day to make their final assault on Jericho (Josh. 6:15). It describes that eager seeking that prayerfully and actively makes good one’s chief desire in life. Early risers gain the dew of the day; they feel the morning’s freshness. So “let us awake to the conscious responsibility of having the means of blessing our fellow-sinners in our own hands” (Bridges). Whatever we can do, whether little or much, let us be eager to do it. We should not make the excuse that because we can’t do everything, we will do nothing (2 Cor. 8:12; Rev. 3:8).

2. The Exceller: Procureth favour. Procureth is another verb to seek, but with the delightful thought that this seeking is all unconscious. It is sometimes used as a word for prayer, to beseech (Ezra 8:23). In seeking good, he procured favour with God (12:2) and man (16:7) as a bonus, a blessed by-product. And what is the highest good for human beings to seek? Jesus said, Seek ye first the Kingdom of God. We are to seek that first which is first. Is not God the First and Best of Beings? To seek God and be right with Him is the most important good in this life, and the best preparation for the life to come.

3. The Exploiter: He that seeketh mischief (evil): This is the third verb to seek. This likewise is no indifferent or casual seeking. It seeks with the sense of demand, either for good, as in if thou seek him with all thy heart (Deut. 4:29), or evil, as here. This seeker is vigorously pursuing evil. He bends all his powers to achieve his end. Even as the Exceller makes good his goal, so this Exploiter makes evil the object or goal of his life (11:19). Is this not the case with all of us? Matthew Henry put it aptly, “Those that are not doing good, are doing hurt,” but bear in mind, we do reap what we sow. Our verse declares, It shall come to him. Evil feeds on its victim! Satan himself found the mischief that he brought upon man come upon himself (Gen. 3:1-15), and so did Haman (Esth. 7:10), and many others. Evil men often become victims of their own delusions (2 Thes. 2:10-12). Even a society as immoral as ours has no love for the evil individual. Then, ultimately, there is the judgment of the court of Heaven (Ps. 7:14-16). What will be the judgment of Heaven’s Court on your seeking and mine? Will it be one of favour or disfavour?

Thought: “All who are ignorant of the purpose of life are madmen” (Calvin).

Prayer: To earnestly seek to be a workman unashamed at the end of the day.