Pro 24:15 | KingComments | STEP | The wicked, possibly the wickedly behaving son, is commanded “not to lie in wait ... against the dwelling of the righteous” ( ). The purpose of lying in wait is to watch for an opportunity to break in and steal, for example, when the righteous leaves his dwelling. He may even want to cause so much mischief that he wants to destroy the “resting place” of the righteous. The word for “resting place” is also used for the stable of the sheep, where they go to lie down. It draws the righteous as a sheep that is defenseless and innocent. He who lies in wait against that resting place and sets out to break in and destroy the resting place is a wolf, a symbol of the devil. It is senseless and also works its own destruction, to mistreat anyone of God’s people, for he always survives ( ). The wicked, on the other hand, perish in the mischief they do. To attack a righteous person is to attack God, and it will always prove impossible to overcome Him (cf. ). A righteous man may fall a number of times, he will rise again ( ; ; ). Conversely, the wicked will not survive. Without God, they have no power to survive misfortune. In the end, the righteous will triumph and those against them will stumble in their calamity. “Seven times” means a rounded number. God allows the righteous to experience as much discipline as He sees fit. Those disciplinary actions serve to his purification, not his ruin. The righteous overcomes even a severe fall, while the wicked merely stumble, after which it is over and done with them. Peter fell many times, but rose again and again. Judas stumbled in calamity and remained down.

‏ Proverbs 24:15

A Righteous Man Falls, but Rises Again

The wicked, possibly the wickedly behaving son, is commanded “not to lie in wait ... against the dwelling of the righteous” (Pro 24:15). The purpose of lying in wait is to watch for an opportunity to break in and steal, for example, when the righteous leaves his dwelling. He may even want to cause so much mischief that he wants to destroy the “resting place” of the righteous. The word for “resting place” is also used for the stable of the sheep, where they go to lie down. It draws the righteous as a sheep that is defenseless and innocent. He who lies in wait against that resting place and sets out to break in and destroy the resting place is a wolf, a symbol of the devil.

It is senseless and also works its own destruction, to mistreat anyone of God’s people, for he always survives (Pro 24:16). The wicked, on the other hand, perish in the mischief they do. To attack a righteous person is to attack God, and it will always prove impossible to overcome Him (cf. Mt 16:18). A righteous man may fall a number of times, he will rise again (Psa 37:24; Mic 7:8; Job 5:19). Conversely, the wicked will not survive. Without God, they have no power to survive misfortune. In the end, the righteous will triumph and those against them will stumble in their calamity.

“Seven times” means a rounded number. God allows the righteous to experience as much discipline as He sees fit. Those disciplinary actions serve to his purification, not his ruin. The righteous overcomes even a severe fall, while the wicked merely stumble, after which it is over and done with them. Peter fell many times, but rose again and again. Judas stumbled in calamity and remained down.