Proverbs 16:25-26, The Wrong and Right of It!
November 2, Proverbs 16:25-26
John 3:19, 16:1-3; 2 Thes. 3:10-12 “Work for the Lord – the benefits are out of this world!”
The Wrong and Right of It!
1. Preconceptions may be Misconceptions. Repetition is necessary because we are sinners. Vs.25 is exactly the same as 14:12, and similar to 16:2 and 21:2. Why? We do not think, as some suggest, that these are mistakes in copying by a scribe. May it not be because they are so important, and God is so merciful and longsuffering! Is not the love of sin so strong that all the warnings can go unheeded? It won’t happen to me! This verse reminds us again of the danger that preconceptions may turn out to be misconceptions.
a. Preconceptions: Naaman, when told to go wash in Jordan, went away in a rage. Why? Naaman had a preconception in his mind. He wanted Elisha to do things his way. He cried, Behold, I thought that… (2 Kg. 5:11). Saul, testifying before Agrippa, said, I thought with myself that… (Acts 26:9). He, too, had a preconception of how God would bring in the Kingdom. Both, alas! fed on the ashes of self-delusion (Is. 44:20).
b. Misconceptions: But God gloriously intervened. Naaman was persuaded to obey the prophet and the healing came! Then, he returned to Elisha, crying, Now I know there is no God, but in Israel. Saul, now Paul, testified to the younger Timothy, I know whom I have believed… (2 Tm. 1:12). There is a way that seems right to man, but the end thereof are the ways of death, unless God, in mercy, turns I thought into Now I know!
2. Prosperings may be Perishings. Vs. 26 brings us face to face with one of the hard realities of life. Work or starve! Paul saw work both as necessary to provide for ones needs, for an honest testimony to those without (1 Thes. 4:11-12).
a. Labour for the loaves. Yes, man must labour for himself. Daily bread requires daily labour. That his mouth craves it of him is just another way to say his hunger impels or pressures him to work! Yet he is seldom satisfied. Solomon declared, All the labour of man is for his mouth, yet the appetite is not filled. Appetite is the soul here, and though hunger may drive man to labour, it can never satisfy if his work is only for the meat of this passing world that perishes (Jn. 6:27). The soul cannot be satisfied with worldly wealth, nor by bread alone!
b. Labour for the Lord. The people around Jesus that day asked, What must we do that we might work the works of God? Matthew Henry applies this text to soul-labour, to soul-prosperity, if you will. This is the one thing “absolutely needful,” and is the only labour that delivers such “unspeakable gain.” In this labour we know “on whose errand we go.” Truly, the labourer reaps fruit-eternal “for himself” (Ps. 126:5-6). “A little will serve to sustain us comfortably, and a great deal can do no more” (Henry). “Happy indeed for us, when the spiritual appetite is created, and our mouth craves this labour of us for satisfaction” (Bridges). When we set this as our priority, all other labour falls into proper place. It must be so, of necessity, that much of our strength and our time is in this world; but be sure your heart’s affections are fixed in Heaven (Col. 3:1-3).
Thought: “Hope and strive is God’s way to thrive.”
Prayer: “I must work… the night cometh when no man can work.”