Pro 10:6 | KingComments | STEP | “The righteous” and “blessings” belong together ( ). On the head of the righteous are blessings from God (cf. ; ), no matter what people may do to him or say about him. God speaks His blessing over the righteous and blesses him with temporal and spiritual blessings. Here again we may think first and foremost of the Lord Jesus Who is the Blessed One. Opposite the head of the righteous is “the mouth of the wicked”. His mouth conceals “violence”. That can mean that his mouth is forcibly gagged. For him there is no blessing, but he is harshly silenced (cf. ). It can also mean that violence lies like a covering over his mouth, that out of his mouth only violence comes. Every word of blessing for another is foreign to him. What has characterized the life of the righteous and the wicked is continued after death ( ). How blessed is the memory of the Righteous One par excellence, Christ Jesus ( ), and how terrifying is the name of Judas. Reflecting on righteous people who have lived before us is an activity from which blessing flows for us ( ). We experience this when we read biographies of committed believers. Such believers we hold in grateful memory. “The name of wicked” works the opposite. Thinking about it or mentioning it evokes disgust. We will not give our children the name of a wicked person. No blessing emanates from such a name, but that name “will rot”, indicating a rotting process. The name of King Jeroboam is such a name. He is referred to after his death as the king “who made Israel sin” ( ; ). The question before us is how we want to be remembered. At funerals, often only the good things are mentioned, when sometimes the person was known to be quite different. But the aroma of the life someone lived remains after death, no matter what words may have been spoken at the funeral. Will we leave behind a pleasant aroma or stench? Will our name be mentioned with gratitude or with disgust?

‏ Proverbs 10:6

Blessing or Rotting Away

“The righteous” and “blessings” belong together (Pro 10:6). On the head of the righteous are blessings from God (cf. Gen 49:26; Deu 33:16), no matter what people may do to him or say about him. God speaks His blessing over the righteous and blesses him with temporal and spiritual blessings. Here again we may think first and foremost of the Lord Jesus Who is the Blessed One.

Opposite the head of the righteous is “the mouth of the wicked”. His mouth conceals “violence”. That can mean that his mouth is forcibly gagged. For him there is no blessing, but he is harshly silenced (cf. Psa 107:42). It can also mean that violence lies like a covering over his mouth, that out of his mouth only violence comes. Every word of blessing for another is foreign to him.

What has characterized the life of the righteous and the wicked is continued after death (Pro 10:7). How blessed is the memory of the Righteous One par excellence, Christ Jesus (Psa 112:6b), and how terrifying is the name of Judas. Reflecting on righteous people who have lived before us is an activity from which blessing flows for us (Heb 11:1-40). We experience this when we read biographies of committed believers. Such believers we hold in grateful memory.

“The name of wicked” works the opposite. Thinking about it or mentioning it evokes disgust. We will not give our children the name of a wicked person. No blessing emanates from such a name, but that name “will rot”, indicating a rotting process. The name of King Jeroboam is such a name. He is referred to after his death as the king “who made Israel sin” (1Kgs 14:16 ; 1Kgs 15:30 ; 1Kgs 22:53; 2Kgs 3:3 ; 2Kgs 10:29 ; 31 ; 2Kgs 13:2 ; 6 ; 11 ; 2Kgs 14:24 ; 2Kgs 15:18 ; 24 ; 28 ; 2Kgs 23:15).

The question before us is how we want to be remembered. At funerals, often only the good things are mentioned, when sometimes the person was known to be quite different. But the aroma of the life someone lived remains after death, no matter what words may have been spoken at the funeral. Will we leave behind a pleasant aroma or stench? Will our name be mentioned with gratitude or with disgust?