Proverbs 26:10 ¶ The great God that formed all things both
rewardeth the fool, and rewardeth transgressors.
There is a lot of conflict in the commentators I
have read on the meaning of this verse. I think, though, that it goes well with
other verses in the Bible which show that there are certain benefits that the
people of God share with fools, certain facts of existence that might disturb
the most self-righteous of us. For instance, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus
says;
Matthew 5:43 ¶ Ye have heard that it hath
been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. 44 But I say
unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that
hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; 45
That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh
his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and
on the unjust. 46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do
not even the publicans the same? 47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what
do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? 48 Be ye therefore
perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
One of God’s character traits is that He gives
the chance of life to the evil and the good, to fools and wise men. Fools, too,
enjoy the pleasures of life, the possibilities. They dream, they hope, and they
have access to the little joys that make life pleasurable. God rewards fools
and those who have transgressed against Him, sometimes with long life and the
enjoyments pursuant to it. The Bible and our experience make it clear that evil
people just don’t usually drop over dead because they are evil or burst into
flames. Not only are our prisons filled with evil people who disregard God, His
statutes, and Laws, and His love and sacrifice but also our businesses,
schools, government, and, yes, even our churches. God settles accounts in His
own time and gives unrepentant men a long, long time to repent and turn to Him
before He visits them with what they deserve.
Job complained;
Job 21:7 ¶ Wherefore (Why) do the wicked
live, become old, yea, are mighty in power? 8 Their seed is established in
their sight with them, and their offspring before their eyes. 9 Their houses
are safe from fear, neither is the rod of God upon them. 10 Their bull
gendereth, and faileth not; their cow calveth, and casteth not her calf. 11
They send forth their little ones like a flock, and their children dance. 12
They take the timbrel and harp, and rejoice at the sound of the organ. 13 They
spend their days in wealth, and in a moment go down to the grave. 14 Therefore
they say unto God, Depart from us; for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways.
15 What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? and what profit should we
have, if we pray unto him?
Jeremiah, too, complained;
Jeremiah 12:1 Righteous art thou, O LORD,
when I plead with thee: yet let me talk with thee of thy judgments: Wherefore
doth the way of the wicked prosper? wherefore are all they happy that deal very
treacherously?
Jesus statement in Matthew, chapter
5, shows us that, for the Christian, God’s forbearance, His mercy on those who
regard Him not, is an example for us to follow in treating those who hate us.
If He can be patient and longsuffering, then so can we. The time of the fool
and the transgressor is coming but don’t be angry that it is not yet. After
all, aren’t you glad He had patience with you and didn’t terminate your life
before the light of the truth dawned on you?
No comments:
Post a Comment