Saturday, October 3, 2009

More Said with Fewer Words (Proverbs 10:6)

In chapter ten of the book of Proverbs is where we begin to see the one verse proverb. This in no way weakens the proverbs, in my estimation it actually strengthens the proverbs. A lot can be said in a few words.

"Blessings are upon the head of the [uncompromisingly] righteous - the upright, in right standing with God; but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence." Proverbs 10:6, Amplified

It is no secret that when good is done a reward is received. This is a practice in any secular institution as well as with Christians. I am going through the same thing with my son right now. We are having such a hard time potty training him, but when he has those victorious days, and even nights, we praise him and give him "treasures" for the accomplishment. Now the Lord rewards us in a similar fashion; of course it is not through a treasure box for not messing our pants. The rewards that we receive from the Lord for a righteous life are the benefits of a righteous life. Let me explain a little further. Lets just say that you have been pursuing a particular job for a while and you have lifted it up to the Lord in prayer because you want it to be within His will. But let us say that for the sake of argument that you do not receive the job. That is a blessing from the Lord. You have no way of knowing if that was the right job for you or what would have happened to your walk if you had received that job. However, in that denial, what if a better opportunity arises that you would not have seen if you had gotten that particular job. That is a blessing from the Lord. Every event in the Christian life, who is actually walking righteously, is a blessing from the Lord.
The wicked, however, is another story. Their mouth conceals violence. What does this mean? it is interesting to see that blessings are on the head of the righteous because the head directs the body. But the head of the wicked is not so blessed. Within the mouth of the wicked rests violence. The New King James Version of the Bible actually translates the verse like this, "But violence covers the mouth of the wicked." (Proverbs 10:6b, NKJV) When I think of a covering, I think of a sealing effect. A cover is designed to either keep something in or out. Taking the two translation into account we may be able to come up with a unique interpretation. This violence is both concealed within and covers the mouth of the wicked. I would think of it like a reverse filter. It is something that is not always seen by the user, but the effects are readily distinguishable. Drinking a bottle of Evian tastes a lot different that drinking Sparklettes because the filtration that both waters undergo is different. This violence is not seen by anyone at the onset of introduction but when the wicked opens his mouth his wickedness is made known to all.
This concealment should never be mistaken for camouflage for the wickedness in man will always be found out. Too many times in the New Testament do we see the separation of the righteous from the wicked such as in the kingdom parables found in Matthew 13. These parables distinguish the blessings of the righteous as well as the doom of the wicked. The Sower speaks of four different soils wherein only one in four is blessed. As for the Wheat and the Tares, the Lord of the harvest waits until harvest time to separate the wheat from the tares. We have a compare and contrast with the mustard seed and the little bit of yeast. And finally the dragnet speaks of separation of good fish from bad fish. Concealment can only last for so long.

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