Pro 23:18 | KingComments | STEP | These verses tell of a danger that threatens the young man that causes him to abandon wisdom, but they also tell of what enables him to hold on to it and what it brings him. When envy of sinners arises in his heart ( ), wisdom is driven out. Wisdom remains in the heart only if it always is focused on “the fear of the LORD”. There is no verb in the second line of verse – the word “live” is not there – so the thought of the first line of verse continues directly. The thought is that the first line of verse is warning the son not to envy sinners and the second line of verse is urging him to be envious of the fear of the LORD. It is the contrast is between wrong envy and right envy. The wrong envy is sin; the good envy is a spiritual exercise. Envy sinners results from a comparison between what they have and what he can accomplish or afford ( ). Such envy is opposed to trust and always stems from distrust of God. It is a lack of trust in God that He does not give you what you need. It involves doubting God and His love. That is why it is important to envy the fear of the LORD always. If you do that, if you focus on possessing that, you can joyfully accept your fate as something He gives you. You can then count on His blessing and rely on His promises and do that all day and all days. The word “surely” with which begins gives the reason for the foregoing. For sinners there is no future. Therefore, it is folly to envy them. There is a future for those who envy the fear of the LORD and remain in it. Those who live in relationship with Him need not envy anyone. How the future is faced depends on fearing God. He is the One Who gives hope. The Hebrew word for hope is tiqvah which literally means ‘cord’. This word is used for the cord that Rahab had to tie in the window ( ). This cord was the symbol of the hope she had that she would be spared when Jericho was captured. Hope is what connects us to the eternity of God. Therefore, it cannot be cut off, ever, whereas the hope of sinners is cut off, because that hope is based on something outside of God and therefore, by definition, without foundation.

‏ Proverbs 23:18

The Fear of the LORD Gives Hope

These verses tell of a danger that threatens the young man that causes him to abandon wisdom, but they also tell of what enables him to hold on to it and what it brings him. When envy of sinners arises in his heart (Pro 23:17), wisdom is driven out. Wisdom remains in the heart only if it always is focused on “the fear of the LORD”.

There is no verb in the second line of verse – the word “live” is not there – so the thought of the first line of verse continues directly. The thought is that the first line of verse is warning the son not to envy sinners and the second line of verse is urging him to be envious of the fear of the LORD. It is the contrast is between wrong envy and right envy. The wrong envy is sin; the good envy is a spiritual exercise.

Envy sinners results from a comparison between what they have and what he can accomplish or afford (Psa 73:3-5). Such envy is opposed to trust and always stems from distrust of God. It is a lack of trust in God that He does not give you what you need. It involves doubting God and His love. That is why it is important to envy the fear of the LORD always. If you do that, if you focus on possessing that, you can joyfully accept your fate as something He gives you. You can then count on His blessing and rely on His promises and do that all day and all days.

The word “surely” with which Pro 23:18 begins gives the reason for the foregoing. For sinners there is no future. Therefore, it is folly to envy them. There is a future for those who envy the fear of the LORD and remain in it. Those who live in relationship with Him need not envy anyone. How the future is faced depends on fearing God. He is the One Who gives hope.

The Hebrew word for hope is tiqvah which literally means ‘cord’. This word is used for the cord that Rahab had to tie in the window (Jos 2:17-18). This cord was the symbol of the hope she had that she would be spared when Jericho was captured. Hope is what connects us to the eternity of God. Therefore, it cannot be cut off, ever, whereas the hope of sinners is cut off, because that hope is based on something outside of God and therefore, by definition, without foundation.