Pro 10:2 | KingComments | STEP | The next saying is about life and death ( ). The wicked one lives for the here and now and tries to get as many treasures as possible in this life. He does so in his own wicked way. All those treasures are “ill-gotten gains”, literally “treasures of wickedness”, treasures characterized by wickedness. This may be because of the wicked way they were obtained or because of the way they are dealt with. With these treasures marked by wickedness, he thinks he can live a pleasant life. But these treasures do not benefit him when he dies. In the words of a well-known proverb: Ill-gotten gains never benefit anyone. What benefit did Ahab derive from appropriating the vineyard of Naboth ( )? What benefit did the thirty pieces of silver give Judas for surrendering the Lord Jesus ( )? Both perished in their sins. Only “righteousness delivers from death”. In the government of God, doing righteousness will not bring us into death, but will preserve us from it. We do righteousness if we give each one what he is entitled to, both God and a human being. This can only be fulfilled by one who possesses the righteousness of God in Christ. Such a person possesses a treasure of inestimable value. That treasure is separate from all earthly treasures. One who possesses that treasure can face death without fear, for death has been robbed of its terror for him. Christ has conquered death. Righteousness is of far greater value than earthly prosperity especially if it has also been obtained dishonestly. Thereby prosperity can only be enjoyed for a limited time, at its longest during the short stay on earth, while righteousness passes through death to be enjoyed even afterward. The LORD sees to it that a righteous person lacks nothing ( ). The Lord Jesus points His disciples to the birds of heaven for which He cares. Then He says that His own are far beyond those birds ( ). Those who live in fellowship with Him receive from Him what they need. Even if he has want, yet his soul will not hunger, because in his soul he has fellowship with God. Habakkuk can therefore sing even though he has lack of everything ( ). Wicked people get nothing from God. Nor have they ever asked anything of Him, but steal their possessions from others and above all from God. Their craving He rejects. A wicked person is never satisfied; he never says he has enough, but always wants more. His cravings are also evil cravings, cravings that he wants to satisfy at the expense of others. Sometimes he succeeds, but God will take it all away from him. He will have to live forever with unfulfilled cravings. It is one of the torments of hell that the wicked will never get what they desire because they never desired God when He offered them Christ.

‏ Proverbs 10:2

Righteousness Is Life

The next saying is about life and death (Pro 10:2). The wicked one lives for the here and now and tries to get as many treasures as possible in this life. He does so in his own wicked way. All those treasures are “ill-gotten gains”, literally “treasures of wickedness”, treasures characterized by wickedness. This may be because of the wicked way they were obtained or because of the way they are dealt with. With these treasures marked by wickedness, he thinks he can live a pleasant life.

But these treasures do not benefit him when he dies. In the words of a well-known proverb: Ill-gotten gains never benefit anyone. What benefit did Ahab derive from appropriating the vineyard of Naboth (1Kgs 21:4-24 ; 1Kgs 22:39)? What benefit did the thirty pieces of silver give Judas for surrendering the Lord Jesus (Mt 27:5)? Both perished in their sins.

Only “righteousness delivers from death”. In the government of God, doing righteousness will not bring us into death, but will preserve us from it. We do righteousness if we give each one what he is entitled to, both God and a human being. This can only be fulfilled by one who possesses the righteousness of God in Christ. Such a person possesses a treasure of inestimable value. That treasure is separate from all earthly treasures. One who possesses that treasure can face death without fear, for death has been robbed of its terror for him. Christ has conquered death.

Righteousness is of far greater value than earthly prosperity especially if it has also been obtained dishonestly. Thereby prosperity can only be enjoyed for a limited time, at its longest during the short stay on earth, while righteousness passes through death to be enjoyed even afterward.

The LORD sees to it that a righteous person lacks nothing (Pro 10:3). The Lord Jesus points His disciples to the birds of heaven for which He cares. Then He says that His own are far beyond those birds (Mt 6:25-26). Those who live in fellowship with Him receive from Him what they need. Even if he has want, yet his soul will not hunger, because in his soul he has fellowship with God. Habakkuk can therefore sing even though he has lack of everything (Hab 3:17-19).

Wicked people get nothing from God. Nor have they ever asked anything of Him, but steal their possessions from others and above all from God. Their craving He rejects. A wicked person is never satisfied; he never says he has enough, but always wants more. His cravings are also evil cravings, cravings that he wants to satisfy at the expense of others. Sometimes he succeeds, but God will take it all away from him. He will have to live forever with unfulfilled cravings. It is one of the torments of hell that the wicked will never get what they desire because they never desired God when He offered them Christ.