GOD’S WISDOM FOR YOU
PROVERBS 28:25-28
25 A greedy man stirs up conflict,
but he who trusts in the LORD will prosper.
26 He who trusts in himself is a fool,
but he who walks in wisdom will be rescued.
These two proverbs can be taken separately, but since they are placed together, we see a warning that builds from one to the next. Surely a greedy man stirs the pot wherever he is (or she). This might be the kind of person who is not in the least interested in true friendship but who twists words around to draw out anger or resentment wherever they go. Or it might be a person who uses every situation to puff himself up, to take advantage, to “skim a handful off the top.” But from the moment such a person makes their mischief, they are going to be pursued, whether by someone they’ve wronged, or the police, or their own guilt, and certainly by God’s judgment. They will not rest easy.
Trust is equivalent to faith. The one with faith in the Lord will prosper. Faith receives the blessings of Christ’s redemption: “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31). Faith is given to us through baptism (Titus 3:5,7), and faith prepares us for receiving the Lord’ Supper (1 Corinthians 11:27-29). But whoever doesn’t trust in the Lord but puts his faith in himself is a fool, because sinful man has no power to save himself at all. Solomon’s word “wisdom” in the second line of verse 26 is another equivalent to faith. All who walk in faith will be saved (Romans 4:12-13).
27 He who gives to the poor will lack nothing,
but he who closes his eyes to them will get many curses.
Giving to the poor is one of the most important of all the good works we do as we respond to God’s love and our forgiveness. When a rich man asked Jesus what was missing from his life, Jesus said, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven” (Matthew 19:21). He was probably a very nice man, I’m sure his parents were proud of him. But he didn’t trust in God, he trusted in himself.
Closing one’s eyes to the poor is not the same as giving them nothing. A man can give something to a poor person and think nothing of their plight or their problems. To become involved in the life of a poor person will lead to a spiritual talk, and you might find that the poor man has something to teach you; something valuable that you could not have learned anyplace else. On the other hand, shutting your ears, your eyes, and your life to the poor will bring on many curses. Don’t think that Solomon only means curses from the poor. True curses condemn a person to hell; this is the nature of a curse, to wish evil on someone. But when this curse is one’s judgment from God, there is no reprieve. The final verse of the Old Testament is the curse that will follow anyone who does not believe in the coming Savior: “He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, or else I will come and strike the land with a curse” (Malachi 4:6).
There is, however, the time of grace each of us has. If anyone feels guilt over the way they have behaved toward the poor, there is repentance and forgiveness, and the forgiveness of God turns aside the judgment of God and sets the invitation to heaven in its place. This is faith in Christ, who gave everything to the spiritually poor, and who lacks nothing at all, but gives life and every blessing to each of us. “For there the Lord bestows his blessing, even life forevermore” (Psalm 133:3).
28 When the wicked rise to power, people go into hiding;
but when the wicked perish, the righteous thrive.
This is similar to verse 12. When the wicked rampage like monsters throughout the world, they drive the faithful into hiding. “This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of the saints” (Revelation 13:10). But the wicked will perish. Their end will be the ultimate end, and like the devil and his servants, they will drink the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full into their cups (Revelation 14:9). But the righteous will survive, thrive, and live forever.
The promise of heaven and eternal life there with Christ is ours only through faith. The righteousness God sees in us is the righteousness of Jesus. That completely perfect life of his is like a paragraph in your computer, copied from him and pasted into you, so that everything he had and did is laid into and on top of your account, and that is what God the Father sees in you and in me. Through Christ, each of us is “the image and glory of God” (1 Corinthians 11:7), made ours through the gospel which is “the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Corinthians 4:4). Treasure this gift and thank God for it. Find a way, perhaps in this chapter of Proverbs, to say thank you with your life.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
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Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, New Ulm, Minnesota
God’s Wisdom for You – Proverbs 28:25-28 Rich, poor, wicked, saved