Proverbs 10

Read Proverbs 10

“The proverbs of Solomon.” Solomon recorded these proverbs two thousand years before the coming of the Christ. His divinely inspired observations about the human condition are still true today.

It is still true that godly fathers and mothers care deeply about the wisdom or folly of their sons. “A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish son is a sorrow to his mother.”

“Righteousness delivers from death.” Has anything changed in all the years since these words were written? Yes. The only Son of the Father has finally come, and He lived in the godliness of perfect wisdom. Jesus' righteousness has delivered us from death. Because of the astounding accomplishment of His perfect life, an entire world associated with Him will live life to the fullest forever in the kingdom of heaven.

As we wait for His return, we are learning to trust this one perfect Son of God, even with the lives of our children and grandchildren. We can read Solomon's proverbs with the greatest joy if we embrace the truth that Jesus has perfectly fulfilled the ancient sayings. We can read them with a confident expectation that will look beyond this current world of sin to the perfect fulfillment of the Kingdom of God.

Heaven is a place of godly living beyond the regrets and worries of broken relationships in a sin-sick world. It would not be a realm of perfect joy without the repair of strained relationships between one generation and the next that we experience here. In heaven we will live in full awareness that all of the citizens of that realm of life are sons of God through Jesus Christ, the perfect Son.

Have we mourned about the consequences of our own laziness or the lack of diligence that we see in those we love? “He who sleeps in harvest is a son who brings shame.” Have we felt the misery that comes from saying what we should not have said or hearing words that should not have been spoken? “A babbling fool will come to ruin.” There is a better world in reserve for us even now in the heavens, a world where Jesus' love has covered all our offenses.

Here we face all kinds of necessary discipline and the consequences that come to us from ungodly living. “A rod is for the back of him who lacks sense.” But in heaven, God Himself will wipe away every tear. We will rejoice in the perfect provision of the bountiful riches and wisdom of the Lord.

Until that day comes when Christ returns or when we go to be with Him, we have the precious gift of the Word of God. We and our children would do well to take it to heart and to receive the discipline of the Lord. “Whoever heeds instruction is on the path to life.” We feel the sorrows of life in a world that is under God's curse, but we can find joy when we remember the hope of the godly. “The hope of the righteous brings joy.” It is our Father's good pleasure to give us the kingdom.

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Our Father, we want to rejoice in You as we walk in the way of wisdom. By that path make us diligent and true. Prosper us in plans of integrity and goodness. Make us careful and gracious in our words. Help us to have real love in our hearts. Help us to see the goal of true life, and to continue on the path toward that good destination. Show us how to restrain our desires and our mouths. Grant us Your wise Spirit that we might have the mind of Christ. We want to dwell in the land of the righteous. Keep us from all that is perverse.