The Lord Is At Your Side

Proverbs chapter 3, verses 13 to 35.

Proverbs 3:13–35

Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding.

For the gain from her is better than gain from silver, and her profit better than gold.

She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her.

Long life is in her right hand. In her left hand are riches and honor.

Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.

She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her.

Those who hold her fast are called blessed.

The Lord, by wisdom, founded the earth.

By understanding, he established the heavens.

By his knowledge, the deeps broke open, and the clouds dropped down the dew.

My son, do not lose sight of these.

Keep sound wisdom and discretion, and they will be life for your soul and adornment for your neck.

Then you will walk on your way securely, and your foot will not stumble.

If you lie down, you will not be afraid.

When you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.

Do not be afraid of sudden terror, or of the ruin of the wicked when it comes.

For the Lord will be your confidence, and will keep your foot from being caught.

Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it.

Do not say to your neighbor, go and come again.

Tomorrow I will give it, when you have it with you.

Do not plan evil against your neighbor, who dwells trustingly beside you.

Do not contend with a man for no reason, when he has done you no harm.

Do not envy a man of violence, and do not choose any of his ways.

For the devious person is an abomination to the Lord, but the upright are in his confidence.

The Lord's curse is on the house of the wicked, but he blesses the dwelling of the righteous.

Toward the scorners he is scornful, but to the humble he gives favor.

The wise will inherit honor, but fools get disgrace.

This is God's holy and authoritative word.

The main point of this passage, as I unpack it, you'll see is that we should humbly confide in God's grace,

rather than pridefully contend for self-advancement among our neighbors.

It's about cultivating trust in God that enables us to live as good neighbors, doing good works in our world.

First, in verses 13 to 26, it talks about the value of wisdom.

And then in the following verses, verses 27 to 35, it talks about the virtues of wisdom.

Why wisdom is necessary, and what wisdom looks like.

That's the first, the division of this passage.

Let's look at the value of wisdom to begin.

Verses 13 to 16 really is, well, 13 to 26 actually is an introduction to the lesson that comes in verses 27 to 35.

And here he talks about the value of wisdom to tell us to treasure it.

And it's further subdivided into three parts, so you can see it.

Verses 13 to 18, it tells us about the value of wisdom to man.

Verse 13 begins, blessed is the one who finds wisdom.

That's literally, blessed is the man who finds wisdom.

The Hebrew word for man that's used here is Adam.

That's where we get the name Adam.

Then verses 19 to 20 tell us about the value of wisdom to God.

Verse 19 says, the Lord by wisdom founded the earth.

Value of wisdom to man, value of wisdom to God.

And then finally in verses 21 to 26, it tells us about the value of wisdom to us.

It exhorts us to value wisdom and to cherish it and to keep it.

It says in verse 21, my son, do not lose sight of these.

Keep sound wisdom and discretion.

It's using the figure of the son to refer to all of God's people.

So first, it tells us the value of wisdom to man.

Verses 13 to 18.

This subsection begins and ends with the word blessed, as you can see.

Verse 13 says, blessed is the one who finds wisdom and the one who gets understanding.

And then verse 18 ends that subsection by saying, those who hold her fast are called blessed.

Those who walk in wisdom are blessed.

The word blessed means happy in Hebrew.

Those who walk according to the wisdom of God are happy.

Sometimes Christians say this kind of thing.

God wants you to be holy, not happy.

God's design for your marriage is holiness, not happiness.

How many of you guys have heard that?

It's a common phrase.

It's partly true, but it could be misleading.

Because yes, God wants you to be holy, but only a holy life is truly a happy life.

The 17th century English pastor, Thomas Brooks, wrote a book entitled, Holiness, The Only Way to Happiness.

And in it, he writes, quote, holiness differs nothing from happiness but in name.

Holiness is happiness in the bud, and happiness is holiness at the full.

Happiness is nothing but the quintessence of holiness.

That's the case because happiness, as defined not by the fleeting pleasures of this world,

but true happiness in the Lord, that comes from holiness.

God doesn't want your life to be a drudgery, to be boring, to be burdensome.

God wants you to be truly happy in him.

And if we believe that, then we would pursue holiness.

I think we'd be a little more excited and zealous in our pursuit of holiness,

because that's where we find true fulfillment.

That's when we are experiencing life to the full, when we're living optimally.

It's when we seek God and pursue his holiness, set apart for him.

Verses 14 to 15 tell us why the wise life is the happy life.

For the gain from her is better than gain from silver,

and her profit better than gold.

She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her.

The word gain refers to profitability,

and the word precious refers to rarity, to scarcity.

The wisdom of God is something that should be prized above all else,

because it's profitable and rare.

Whatever it is that you desire,

maybe your dream car, or a dream house,

or a dream job, or a dream spouse,

or a dream vacation,

nothing you desire can compare with God's wisdom.

Wisdom is better riches than having billions of dollars.

Wisdom is a rarer treasure than the rarest diamonds.

And that's why we should be consumed with finding it,

and keeping it.

Verses 16 to 17 continue this reason,

Long life is in her right hand,

in her left hand are riches and honor.

Her ways are ways of pleasantness,

and all her paths are peace.

We should seek wisdom because it grants long life on the one hand,

and riches and honor on the other.

It's important to note that this is the reward of wisdom.

It's the byproduct of living wisely.

It's not the goal of life.

It's not the end.

When Solomon, the primary author of Proverbs,

first became a king of Israel,

God asked him in 1 Kings 3, verses 5 to 14,

1 Kings 3:5–14

he appeared to Solomon in a dream,

and God asked him,

What do you want?

Ask me what I shall give you.

And then Solomon replied this way,

He said,

Give your servant an understanding mind

to govern your people,

that I may discern between good and evil,

for who is able to govern this,

your great people.

It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this,

and God said to him,

Because you have asked this,

and have not asked for yourself long life,

or riches,

or the life of your enemies,

but have asked for yourself understanding

to discern what is right,

behold, I now do according to your word.

Behold, I give you a wise and discerning mind.

I give you also what you have not asked,

both riches and honor.

And if you will walk in my ways,

keeping my statutes and my commandments,

as your father David walked,

then I will lengthen your days.

You guys see the parallel there.

Solomon is the author,

the principal author of Proverbs,

and he is writing about how

living according to God's will,

his wisdom grants long life,

and riches,

and honor.

But this is the general code

that God has embedded into our universe.

It generally produces long life,

riches, and honor,

as opposed to living a life of sin,

and crime,

and foolishness.

But Proverbs does admit exceptions,

because we live in a broken,

sinful, upside-down world

that frequently subverts

God's good purposes.

But this is the general promise.

But it's not something

that you should live for.

You shouldn't live to get rich.

You shouldn't live merely

for the sake of living longer.

That's foolishness.

And the Bible explicitly

challenges desiring to be rich.

1 Timothy 6, 9-10

tells us not to desire to be rich,

because that leads us

to ruin and destruction.

Rather, the long life

and the riches and honor

that's promised here

is the byproduct.

It's the reward of living wisely,

which is what we should seek,

regardless of the outcome.

But this wisdom of God

promises more than just health

and wealth in this life.

Verse 18 says,

She is a tree of life

to those who lay hold of her.

Those who hold her fast

are called blessed.

The tree of life

is a symbol of vitality and healing.

It's even a symbol

of eternal life in Scripture.

In Genesis 3,

Genesis 3:22–24

verse 22-24,

after Adam and Eve

sin against God

and by taking from

the tree of knowledge

of good and evil,

God expels them

from the Garden of Eden.

Lest they, it says,

take also of the tree of life

and eat and live forever.

And so,

in light of that,

the promise of long life

and riches and honor

in the Old Testament,

it gets transposed

to a higher key

in the New Testament.

It's the same song,

but it's in a new key

because the promise

of long life

gets transposed

to the promise

of eternal life

and the promise of riches

is transposed

to our heavenly riches

because those were,

in fact,

the ultimate realities

that our temporal blessings

like long life

and riches

were supposed to point to.

I'll elaborate on that,

how God promises

those things,

eternal life

and eternal heavenly riches

later.

But for now,

we see in verses 13-18,

this is why the wisdom

of God is valuable.

It's valuable to man.

It's valuable to humanity.

Next, in verses 19-20,

we see the value of wisdom

to God.

It says,

The Lord,

by wisdom,

founded the earth.

By understanding,

He established the heavens.

By His knowledge,

the deeps broke open

and the clouds

dropped down the dew.

We see two pairs

of merisms here.

Merism is a literary device

where you refer to

two extremities

of a spectrum

in order to refer

to the whole thing,

the whole range.

So, for example,

when we say,

Go search high and low,

we don't mean

just search the high places

and low places

and ignore everything

in the middle.

We mean search everything,

right?

Search high and low.

Similarly,

when we say,

everyone,

when we invite people

and say,

you know,

young and old

are both welcome,

we don't mean

only the old people

and children can come.

We mean everyone can come,

right?

That's Samarism.

So here,

it talks about that.

It says,

The Lord,

by wisdom,

founded the earth.

By understanding,

He established the heavens.

That means He created everything,

all of creation.

He created,

by what?

By this wisdom

that He is holding out

to us,

this wisdom of God.

Similarly,

when it's,

the next one

is also a kind of

merism,

because it says,

By His knowledge,

the deeps broke open

and the clouds

dropped down the dew.

The deeps

is a reference

to the primordial waters

that were there

at the beginning

of God's creation

when it was still,

the world was still

formless and empty.

Genesis 1, 2

describes it this way.

It says that

earth was without

form and void

and darkness

was over the face

of the deep

and the Spirit of God

was hovering over

the face of the waters.

This is before

He divides,

before He forms

and fills

the world,

there's this

watery chaos

that He's created.

And then,

now from that,

later in Genesis 1,

verse 68,

He separates the waters,

separating,

creating an expanse

with water above,

the clouds

and the water below,

the oceans.

He breaks open

the deep.

He separates it.

So that's kind of

what's in view.

How did God do that?

The water below,

water above,

all of it He established,

found it,

separated,

formed by His wisdom.

This wisdom

that the author

of Proverbs

is offering to us.

Physicists, right,

dream about

what it would be like

to pick the brains

of Isaac Newton

or Albert Einstein

if you could have

coffee with them.

Right?

People who study literature

dream about

getting coffee

with Shakespeare.

What would it be like

if I could talk to him?

But that's nothing

compared to

the glimpse

that we're getting here

into God's wisdom.

What if you could have

access

to the divine wisdom

by which God

founded the earth,

established the heavens,

and broke open

the deeps?

If we want to know

how we ought to live,

should we not learn

from the author

of life itself,

the source of all wisdom?

That's the value

of wisdom for God.

All the more

than we should recognize

the value of wisdom

for ourselves.

Verses 21 to 22

exhort us,

my son,

do not lose sight

of these.

Keep sound wisdom

and discretion

and they will be

life for your soul

and adornment

for your neck.

There is an escalation

or a progression

in the verbs

that I use

to describe

the urgent value

of wisdom.

So if you look

at verse 13,

it begins by using

verbs of discovery.

It says,

we ought to find wisdom

and get understanding.

Verse 18 uses verbs

of acquisition,

grabbing hold,

saying that we ought

to lay hold

of wisdom

and hold fast to it.

And now verse 21

uses verbs

of retention.

The phrase,

do not lose sight

in Hebrew

is literally,

keep wisdom

from departing

from your eyes.

It means,

keep it in front of you.

Don't lose sight of it.

Guard it and watch it

and hold on to it.

It's matched by the verb

keep.

Keep sound wisdom

and discretion.

The progression,

that's how we are

to seek and guard wisdom.

There is no passivity

in any stage.

Those who lack wisdom

should seek it earnestly.

Those who have found wisdom

should lay hold of it eagerly.

And those who have wisdom

should keep it jealously.

You don't find

precious jewels

just rolling about

on the street.

When you have

a precious jewel,

you don't wrap it

with a piece of use

napkin.

Keep it on the countertop.

You don't get lost

or stolen.

It doesn't just stay there.

Likewise,

the precious wisdom

must be found,

grasped,

and guarded

as we live our lives.

And when we do that,

it says in verse 22,

wisdom and discretion

will be life

for your soul

and adornment

for your neck.

The Hebrew word

that's translated here

as soul

also means neck.

It's a different word

for neck

than the one that's used

in the next phrase.

But it's,

nevertheless,

means neck.

The reason why

soul and neck

get kind of used

in the same way

is because

a lot of people,

the way commonly

you perceive it

is that there's life,

there's breath

in your neck,

in your throat.

If someone chokes,

they die.

And so,

that's why

that word is used,

neck is used figurative

to refer to soul.

And so,

with that in mind,

there's a tight parallelism

in that verse,

verse 22.

Wisdom and discretion

will be life

for your soul

and adornment

for your neck.

Wisdom both preserves

the life

inside your neck

and adorns

the outside

of your neck.

In chapter 1,

verse 9,

we are told

that the father's

instruction

and mother's teaching

are pendants

of your neck.

The adornment

of the neck

is often connected

in the ancient world

to status,

to investing

of authority.

It refers

to a position.

honor.

And so,

then,

wisdom being

life for our necks

and adornment

for our necks

is another way

of phrasing

verse 16,

which said,

long life

is in her right hand

and in her left hand

are riches

and honor.

These two things

come to those

who cherish wisdom.

If we find,

grasp,

and guard wisdom,

it will preserve

and adorn

our lives.

Then,

verses 23 to 24

continue,

you will walk

on your way

securely

and your foot

will not stumble.

If you lie down,

you will not be afraid.

When you lie down,

your sleep

will be sweet.

When you walk

and when you lie down

is another

merism.

It means whether

you are working

or resting,

whether you are

out and about

or you're staying

at home,

there will be

no need for you

to fear anything

because God's wisdom

will secure you,

keep you safe.

you can think

about it this way.

It's the people

who run red lights

that are always

nervously looking around

to make sure

there's no police

officers.

It's the people

who slander

or gossip

their friends

and neighbors

that are always

suspecting

their own friends

and neighbors

thinking,

oh man,

I think this person

is going to

backstab me

or talk about

me behind my back.

It's the people

who lie

and promote

a false image

of themselves

that are always

insecure

about themselves.

They live in fear

of being exposed.

Only people

who have integrity

live without fear.

Only people

with integrity

live fearlessly

and freely.

Only people

who walk in wisdom

live securely,

knowing that

their foot

will not stumble.

Only they

can lie down

and not be afraid

and sleep soundly

without fear

and worry.

Similar to what

God says,

what the psalmist

says in Psalm 4

Psalms 4:8

verse 8,

In peace

I will both

lie down

and sleep

for you alone,

oh Lord,

make me dwell

in safety.

The wise

walk securely

and sleep

soundly.

Verses 25

to 26

continue this theme.

Do not be afraid

of sudden terror

or of the ruin

of the wicked

when it comes.

For the Lord

will be your confidence

and will keep

your foot

from being caught.

Do not be afraid.

This is a command.

God commands

that we not be afraid

of a sudden terror

or of the ruin

of the wicked

thinking that,

oh man,

that's going to happen

to me too.

Why?

Because it says

God will be

your confidence.

Literally that phrase

is God will be

at your loin.

God will be

at your side

to keep your foot

from being caught.

The command

not to be afraid

is the flip side

of the command

to trust the Lord

in verse 5

earlier in this chapter

because if you live

according to the wisdom

of God,

then God is walking

by your side.

He has your back.

It's in some ways

insulting to his power

and authority

for us to be afraid.

My younger daughter

is terrified of dogs.

So when we're walking

through Twin City Plaza,

the park,

the Gold Star Mothers Park,

on our way to

our church meeting space,

there's almost always dogs.

And there's almost

always dogs

that are not leashed,

not following

the time guidelines

that are there.

And so what happens

when a dog

that's not well trained

and starts to approach

as is,

she will usually

grab hold of my leg

and hide behind me.

And usually I will

let her climb up

onto me

and I'll hold her

and I'll tell her,

you don't have to be afraid

because I'm with you.

Unless it's a really big dog

and I'm afraid.

That's essentially

what God our Father

does with us.

Do not be afraid.

Don't be afraid

of sudden terror

because it's not

sudden to me.

God is sovereign.

He sees everything.

Time is in His hands.

Do not be afraid.

Not a single person

in the universe

dies outside

of God's sovereign rule.

Even in the middle

of a pandemic.

And not a single Christian

should fear death

because it's a portal

to eternal life

at our Father's land.

in our home.

If we live

with faith in God,

we don't need to fear

ultimate,

eternal destruction

that will face

every wicked,

every wicked person

who rebels against God

without putting

their faith in Jesus.

We'll be saved

from that.

We'll not be met

with the faith

of the wicked.

So then are you

humbly

confiding in God?

Are you walking

in faith?

Are you trusting Him?

Or is your life

characterized by fear

and anxiety,

restlessness,

disturbed sleep?

Do you trust

in the Lord

or are you

leaning

on your own

understanding?

We should humbly

confide in God's grace,

His protection,

rather than

pridefully contending

for our

self-advancement,

for self-protection,

self-righteousness.

that's the value

of wisdom.

Having taught us

about the value

of wisdom,

the author transitions

to extolling the virtues

of wisdom in verses

27 to 35.

This is what wisdom

looks like.

And it looks like,

not at all surprisingly,

it looks like obeying

the greatest commandment.

The greatest commandment

Jesus gave in Matthew 22

Matthew 22:37–40

verses 37 to 40.

You shall love the Lord

your God with all your heart

and with all your soul

and with all your mind.

This is the great

and first commandment.

And the second is like it.

You shall love your neighbor

as yourself.

On these two commandments

depend all the law

and the prophets.

In the first 12 verses

of this chapter,

the sage exhorted us

to trust in the Lord

with all of our heart.

That's what it looks like

to love the Lord,

to pledge allegiance

to the Lord

with all of our heart.

And in the second half

of this chapter,

the sage exhorts us

to love our neighbor

as ourselves.

Our love for God

flows into our love

for neighbors.

Our trust in God

produces good works

toward our neighbors.

The two are

inseparably intertwined

because if we don't trust God

to attend to our good,

we will selfishly protect

and secure our own good

at the expense

of our neighbors.

It says in verses 27 to 28,

Do not withhold good

from those to whom

it is due

when it is in your power

to do it.

Do not say to your neighbor,

Go and come again tomorrow.

I will give it tomorrow.

When you have it with you.

Depending on which

English translation

of the Bible you are using,

you may or may not

have a footnote

at the end of the first clause

in verse 27.

In the ESV,

the English Standard Version,

there's a footnote

that says,

Hebrew,

Do not withhold good

from its owners.

That's the literal meaning

of the clause.

Do not withhold good

from those to whom

it is due.

This verse is speaking

of some kind of tangible good

that is owned by a person,

another person,

or due to that person.

You are not to withhold

such things from them.

So what exactly does that mean,

to withhold good

from its owners?

Why do I have it

if it's theirs?

Yes.

This prohibition

is a classic example.

It's the most common example

used to refer to

oppression or injustice,

social injustice in Scripture.

It's when you withhold wage

from a day laborer.

So for example,

in Leviticus chapter 19

Leviticus 19:9–18

verses 9 to 18,

which is the original context

in which this command

to love your neighbor

as yourself is given,

it gives you a list

of illustrations or examples

of how that should play out.

What your love

for your neighbor

should look like.

And one of those illustrations

is in verse 18

of Leviticus chapter 19.

Leviticus 19 · chapter mention

It says,

You shall not oppress

your neighbor

or rob him.

The wages of a hired worker

shall not remain with you

all night

until the morning.

The same issue

that James talks about

in the New Testament.

In the ancient world,

day laborers

were very common.

They belonged to

some of the poorest

class of people.

And what would they do?

They would get hired

for just the day of labor

to go and work the field

for the landowner.

And at the end of the day,

they will be compensated

for the work

that they did that day.

And for many of these people,

because they were poor,

that day's wage

was their daily bread.

They didn't get it.

They don't eat that day.

But they were also easy

to take advantage of.

It's easy for the landowner

to say,

Oh, well,

I don't think you did the work

in a satisfactory way.

I saw you taking a break

a little too many times.

Because they didn't pay it up front.

It was easy for the landowner

to say,

Well, you know,

I'm not sure where

I placed the money.

I will have this money

for you tomorrow.

hoping that maybe

they won't come back.

That's kind of how

rebates work, isn't it?

They bait you in saying,

Oh, here,

we'll give you this rebate

if you buy this thing.

Hope, knowing fully

that the vast majority of people

will never claim the rebate.

But that was very oppressive

because even if they have

these poor day laborers,

even if they had legal recourse,

that would come days later.

They go hungry.

They go hungry.

They go hungry.

And God harped on that,

said,

Don't ever withhold

the wage of a day laborer.

Give it to him.

And so don't say,

Go and come again.

Tomorrow I will give it.

He's talking about

that kind of thing.

So he's saying,

basically in general,

the principle is this.

Treat people fairly.

Don't defraud people.

Give people what is due to them.

What is owed to them.

Don't withhold good from them

if it is in your power to do it.

And I think this classic case,

because it is, I think,

representative of the kind of love

that we are to show to our neighbor.

And Jesus further illustrates that

in his command to love your neighbor

as yourself

with the parable of the Good Samaritan

that he tells us in Luke 10, 29 to 37.

And there he tells us that a neighbor

is whomever we come across

in our day-to-day life,

whomever we come across

that has a need

that we can meet.

Don't withhold that from that person.

Do you see someone with a stalled car?

Do you have the tools

and the skills to help?

Then do it.

Do you see someone who is hungry?

Do you have the means

to get food for that person?

Then do it.

Do you see someone who is cold?

Do you have clothes

with which you can clothe that person?

Then do it.

Does your neighbor need emergency child care?

Then take their child into your home.

Do you provide it for them?

Does your neighbor need to borrow a car?

Lend it.

Whomever you come across,

if they have a need

that you can meet,

meet it.

Do not withhold good

from those to whom it is due

when it is in your power

to do it.

The Bible never demands

that we give

what we do not have.

But if we are able

to meet a need today,

don't deny your neighbor

or defer for tomorrow.

Meet it.

Do it today.

Be ready for every good work.

Verses 29 to 30

continue this lesson.

Do not plan evil

against your neighbor

who dwells trustingly

beside you.

Do not contend

with the man

for no reason

when he has done you

no harm.

The phrase

is fascinating.

Literally,

do not plan evil

is literally

do not plow evil

against your neighbor

because plowing

is preparation

for sowing.

So it's used

figuratively

to refer to

any kind of preparation

or planning

that you do.

So he's not saying,

you know,

I mean,

because we may do

all kinds of accidental evil

to our neighbors.

I've done plenty of them,

for example,

by flooding my toilet

and getting water

down into my neighbor's ceiling

and ruining

the neighbor's ceiling.

Thankfully,

there's insurance

for those things.

But you might do

all kinds of accidental evil

to your neighbor,

but that's not what

this is talking about.

He's saying,

don't premeditate evil

against your neighbor.

Don't plan it.

Don't plot it.

Your neighbor

is dwelling trustingly

beside you.

What has he done to you?

Do not contend

with a man for no reason

when he has done you no harm.

The word contend

means to accuse.

For example,

when you file a complaint

about your neighbor

who has done

nothing wrong to you

or when you sue

your neighbor

for some monetary gain

or to gain some kind

of territorial advantage

or whatever it might be.

We are not to take advantage

of our neighbors.

The word evil

in verse 29

and the word harm

in verse 30

are the same words

in Hebrew.

So this demonstrates

the biblical principle

of eye for eye.

Your neighbor

hasn't done anything

evil to you

so don't plot evil

against him.

Don't plan to harm

your harmless neighbor.

Leviticus 24

19-21

codifies this principle.

It says,

If anyone injures

his neighbor

as he has done it

shall be done to him.

Fracture for fracture,

eye for eye,

tooth for tooth,

whatever injury

he has given a person

shall be given to him.

Whatever kills

an animal

shall make it good

and whoever kills

a person

shall be put to death.

In the New Testament,

this command

gets transmuted

to do not resist

the one who is evil,

Jesus says

in Matthew 5-38-42,

but if anyone

slaps you

on the right cheek,

turn to him

the other also.

The reason why

this gets transformed

in the New Testament

is because Jesus

dies as a suffering servant

for the sins

of the people

he's going to save.

He is killed,

he suffers

at the hands

of the people

he came to save

and so throughout

scripture in 1 Peter,

for example,

he tells believers,

you are to suffer

even when people

oppress you

and do evil to you

for the sake

of witnessing

to that person

about your suffering Savior

so that you might

have the opportunity

to love and serve

that person

in spite of the oppression

and evil

that you endure

for the sake

of that person's salvation.

That's why

in the New Testament

this gets transformed

but even in that context

refers to

non-retaliation

as a personal ethic.

It's not saying

there should be

non-retaliation

in the legal system,

in justice system.

In the justice system,

in the institutional justice,

eye for eye

is still the best

legal principle

for society

because what it means

is essentially

the severity

of the punishment

should match

the gravity

of the crime.

That's justice.

When someone

pokes your eye,

you don't go out

claiming,

calling for it,

off with his head.

That's unjust.

We have to be

just to our neighbors.

Verse 31 warns us,

Do not envy

a man of violence

and do not choose

any of his ways.

This is where

this Proverbs,

the author of Proverbs

anticipates

that there are

exceptions to this

because the landowner

who deprives

the day laborer

of their fair wages

might get richer,

might get greater honor.

The person

that falsely

accuses his neighbor

might successfully

smear his neighbor

and advance

his monetary

and social standing.

An evildoer

might fad himself

and live a long life.

But even then,

it says,

Do not envy

a man of violence

and do not

choose any of his ways.

Verses 32 to 35

give us a series

of reasons.

Four.

The devious person

is an abomination

to the Lord,

but the upright

are in his confidence.

The Lord's curse

is on the house

of the wicked,

but he blesses

the dwelling

of the righteous.

Toward the scorners,

he is scornful,

but to the humble,

he gives favor.

The wise will inherit honor,

but fool

gets disgrace.

The reason why

we ought to do that

is theological.

If man is all

there is in the world,

then injustice

makes perfect sense.

Injustice

is by far

the most successful

policy.

But man is not autonomous.

Man is not all

there is in the world.

There is a God.

And it says,

it invokes the name

of God,

the Lord,

three times

in verse 32,

33, and 35,

all to tell us

to live as a wise person.

A devious person

is an abomination

to the Lord.

Causes visceral offense

to God.

It turns his stomach

to see someone

defraud somebody else.

It's repulsive to him.

But the upright

are in his confidence

or in his most

intimate counsel.

It's repelled

by the devious,

but God draws near

the righteous

to his counsel.

The Lord curses

the house of the wicked,

but blesses

the dwelling

of the righteous.

The house represents

all that belongs

to the wicked person

as well.

Verses 34 to 35

fittingly conclude

this section this way.

Toward the scorners,

he is scornful,

but to the humble,

he gives favor.

The wise will inherit honor,

but fools get disgrace.

For this reason,

we should humbly confide

in God's grace

rather than prightfully

contending for self-advancement

among our neighbors.

Notice the contrast

of verbs in verse 35.

The wise will inherit honor,

but fools get disgrace.

The word get

is literally

exalt oneself.

To overreach.

To stretch out

in order to grab something

that doesn't belong to you.

Exalt yourself.

That's what the word means.

The fools get disgrace.

They overreach

for disgrace.

They exalt themselves

for disgrace.

The wise receive honor

as an inheritance,

not by reaching

and grasping for it,

fighting tooth and nail

for it,

but receiving it

from God

because they belong

to God as His children.

It is their rightful inheritance.

We receive that

freely from God.

In contrast,

the wicked,

they're always

providing for themselves,

securing for themselves,

grasping and fending

for themselves,

and in the end,

what they acquire

from themselves

is not riches and honor,

it's disgrace.

This is the principle

of salvation as well.

God opposes the proud

but gives grace

to the humble.

That's a quotation

in James 4, 6-8

and 1 Peter 5, 5-10

from this verse.

Proverbs 3, 3.

James and Peter

both refer to it

in order to tell us

to humble ourselves

before God

instead of seeking

to live in autonomy,

instead of seeking

to save ourselves,

instead of seeking

to fight this spiritual battle

in our own strength,

humble yourselves,

trust in God

instead of contending

for yourself.

The word favor

in verse 34

is a word that often

gets translated

as grace.

unmerited favor,

a bestowed gift.

That's what

ultimately salvation is.

That's what

eternal life is.

That's what

reconciliation

with God is.

It's not something

that we earn

but something

that we receive

from God

as a gift.

And how does God

give it to us?

Verses 18-19

promised us

wisdom is a tree

of life

to those who

lay hold of her.

Those who hold her fast

are called blessed.

The Lord by wisdom

founded the earth

by understanding

he established

the heavens.

Colossians 1-16

tell us

by what exactly

God founded the earth

and he tells us

that by Christ

all things

were created

in heaven

and earth.

Jesus Christ

is the word

of God.

Jesus Christ

is the wisdom

of God.

1 Corinthians 1

says that.

God the Father

founded the earth,

established the heavens,

and broke open

the deep

by Christ.

He is the wisdom

of God

and so he is

the tree of life

that imparts

eternal blessing,

eternal life.

Remember once again

Adam and Eve

how they sought

wisdom and understanding.

They did seek

wisdom and understanding.

Remember what the

tree that they were

not supposed to touch

was called.

It's the tree

of knowledge

of good and evil.

Doesn't that sound

like something

that you should know?

Something you should have?

Sounds like something

that a wise person

would eat from

and follow?

They were commanded

not to eat from it

because God

wanted them to know

they are not to be

morally autonomous,

independent,

sovereign beings

deciding for themselves

what is right and good

but rather they were

to take from God's word

from what he says

this is right

and this is wrong.

They were to cultivate

trust in him,

depend on him

and live with that

kind of faith in him.

That's what God

envisioned for people

but instead

Adam and Eve

overreach.

They exalt themselves

and they grasp hold

of the fruit of the tree

of knowledge of good

and evil,

eat it

and through that

they are cut off

from the garden of Eden

which possesses

the tree of life.

and so God sends Jesus

from paradise

to our wilderness

so that Jesus

might die on the cross

to pay the penalty

of our sins

that he might make way

for us

back to God

that he might teach us

how to humble ourselves

before God again.

He pays for our sins

on the cross

and he says

all who would believe

in me

all who would repent

of their sins

and believe in me

would be granted

eternal life

that they shall not perish

but live forever.

Revelation chapter 2

Revelation 2:7

verse 7

says

to the one who conquers

I will grant

to eat the tree of life

which is in the paradise

of God.

And how do you conquer?

How do you conquer evil?

How do you conquer Satan?

How do you conquer sin and death?

Revelation chapter 12

Revelation 12 · chapter mention

tells us in verses 10 to 12

by the blood of the Lamb

and by the word

of their testimony.

It is the blood of the Lamb

blood of Jesus Christ

and our persevering

faith in Him

and witness to Him

that enable us

to eat of the tree of life

and live forever.

Because we were sinners

cut off from God

this is the only way

for us

to return to God

and we must receive

receive that freely

as our heavenly inheritance

rather than

overreaching for it

trying to get

righteousness of our own

self-righteousness

trying to make ourselves

good enough

in God's eyes

instead we humbly

confide in God

and receive His grace.

It's only by doing that

that we become

good neighbors

because we trust Him

that we don't need

to fight and fend

for ourselves

against our neighbors.

Take a moment

to reflect on that truth

for some time

or just a few moments.

more.

Thank you.

Thank you.