D. Scott Meadows

An Exposition of Proverbs 22.3

3. Two Consequences: Reward and Punishment

The future consequences in view are called here “the evil” of being “punished.” In this passage, “the evil” has the sense of trouble and catastrophe, of being ruined. This is the potential consequence that is foreseen and avoided in some cases, and not in others. The nature of this catastrophe is being “punished,” mentioned in line two. The original word has the connotation of being condemned and punished by having to pay a fine (ESL). It also carries the sense of coming to grief on account of that punishment. This corresponds to the frequent biblical metaphor of becoming guilty as incurring a debt owed to God, with “hell to pay” for it, literally. In the famous Sermon on the Mount, Jesus warns about the dire consequences of sinning, even if that sin is no more than being sinfully angry with someone, being resentful toward them in your heart, even if you don’t do anything to hurt them, or if you just call them a spiteful name. Our Lord’s counsel is, “agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny” (Matt 5.25, 26). He is speaking about “hell fire” (v. 22) in earthly terms, like going to debtors’ prison to repay every last cent. And the biblical testimony is that we can never, ever fully pay the debt of our sins committed against our infinitely majestic God. Only God Himself could satisfy our boundless debt, and He has done that in the sacrificial suffering of Jesus Christ on the cross for all His chosen people, the only atonement that actually and fully appeases the holy wrath of God, and satisfies the demands of His justice and honor.

So the prudent man in the proverb, while it is implied that he was guilty, is forgiven and never has to be punished, while many others remain guilty and are punished in themselves. It is strongly implied that the prudent man who takes measures against being punished is positively rewarded instead. He is the blessed man, while the rest are under the divine curse. This bifurcation of all humanity into two groups, the wise and the foolish, is characteristic of the biblical wisdom literature, and Proverbs in particular. The same division into two and only two groups is found throughout the Bible, and most strikingly in Jesus’ teaching and the entire New Testament.

For example, consider John 5.28, 29. Our Lord says, “the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear [Christ’s] voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good to the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.” According to this passage and others in Scripture, there will be a literal, physical resurrection of all people on the Day of Judgment, that day when Jesus Christ returns to this world according to His promise.

On that Day, all the people who remain guilty in God’s sight, that is, “those who have done evil,” will be raised from the dead and stand before Christ to hear their sentence. Their sentence will be “damnation.” Jesus will pronounce them guilty as charged, assess the degree of eternal, conscious suffering justified by their sins, no more and no less, and then command His mighty angels to hurl them, like the human garbage they will have become, into the lake of fire, which is the second death. They will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation, and be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb, the Lord Jesus Christ. And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, since they worship the beast with all the ungodly from the beginning of the world (Rev 14.10, 11).

The rest of mankind, those God counts as righteous because He has forgiven their sins and given Christ to them as their justifying righteousness, these are the ones Jesus calls “those who have done good,” that is, those “in Christ” who are also His true and faithful persevering disciples. They will also be raised up, either from their graves or, if they are still alive when Christ returns, they will be caught up together with their resurrected brethren in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air (1 Thess 4.15–17). They will stand before Christ for their judgment. He will declare His ownership of them and commend their faith and good works as His faithful servants. They will all have been forgiven by the grace of God and renewed inside and out by His gracious power, and finally be made like Him, when they see Him as He is. On that great Day, when millions and millions of others perish, they will escape hell!

How can this wonderful thing happen to them? How can God remain just while He refuses to punish them for their sins? How can He reward them as those who are perfectly righteous when they have personally failed so often to keep His commandments as they should? The answer is bound up with the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Righteous One who forfeited the reward for His own righteousness, so that we, the guilty, might be rewarded instead. He is the Innocent One who suffered God’s righteous wrath for our sins, so that we would not have to suffer them, if He has graciously chosen us for salvation.

Believe and Be Saved

Beloved, this is the wonderful gospel message: Jesus shelters sinners vulnerable to hell! Jesus has died on the cross in the place of many sinners who deserved hell, and He was raised from the grave on the third day, proving that God accepted Him and His sacrifice.

Now if you want to escape hell, you cannot ignore this good news of Jesus Christ, or you are just another simple-minded fool bound for punishment. The same righteous God who threatens is also the loving and merciful God who calls you back to Himself, who pardons the guilty, restores the fallen, and rescues the helpless. If He plans to save you, He will make you spiritually prudent by His Word and Spirit. He will give you the faith to foresee the danger of hell’s mouth wide open for you. And He will move you to rush into the only safe shelter for sinners, the welcoming arms of our Lord Jesus Christ. By faith you will hide in Him from the coming volcanic eruption of God’s fiery wrath on Judgment Day.

So I urge and exhort you, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ! “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are protected” (Prov 18.10). “A sensible person sees danger and takes cover, but the inexperienced keep going and are punished” (Prov 22.3 CSB). To think you’re good enough in yourself to escape hell is like hoping to swim through a sea of molten lava. If we could have saved ourselves by being good and doing good, Christ was punished for nothing! Perish the thought!

Instead, take heed to God’s call in Scripture: “Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. For behold, the Lord cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain” (Isa 26.20, 21). The Lord have mercy upon us all before the dreadful end comes! Amen.

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