Posted on 12/13/2019 6:36:10 AM PST by Pilgrim's Progress
“Evil pursueth sinners: but to the righteous good shall be repayed” (Proverbs 13:21).
“Evil pursueth sinners,” God brings evil upon a sinner, over and over again, in the Bible.
“Be sure your sin will find you out” (Numbers 32:23).
“Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting” (Galatians 6:7-8).
Moses’ interceded for the children of Israel in light of this truth: “Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people” (Exodus 32:12).
God would have destroyed Israel for making that golden calf, but Moses stood between God’s wrath and the people’s ignorance—just as Jesus Christ stands between the Law demanding judgment on the sinner and the angry God that invoked it. Jesus Christ beseeches the guilty, offending sinner to find solace and forgiveness through Him and then stands as a shield between God’s wrath. Being unable to see our sin, that wrath is appeased, and God is pleased to call us His redeemed children.
We need always recall that the Book of Proverbs is written primarily to Old Testament men dealing with the Old Testament Law and Old Testament promises and our interpretation of the Book must always bear that in mind. However, in an eternal sense it has application to the believer of any age so that the promises have a ring of truth unto all generations and all saved people.
“. . . but to the righteous good shall be repayed,” in the Old Testament, if a man did right God blessed him, his home, his home, his wealth, his land, etc. God sent blessings, while He withheld blessings from those that were not righteous.
“. . . but to the righteous good shall be repayed,” in the New Testament, much is said of the Christian’s rewards at the judgment seat of Jesus Christ. The amazing truth is that it is God which “worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13) so that the desire to live for and to serve God originates from Him, but then He rewards us as though it were our idea from the beginning. We serve a wonderful God!
Let’s read a chapter of Proverbs a day and see what God might have for us. As the Lord leads, share with us what God has shown you in a special way and by His grace let us build up a devotional repository. Let’s keep our knives and forks handy for some daily bread!
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