Consequences in Proverbs

Introduction

Tonight we’re going to be doing our next topical study of Proverbs, and this one is another subject that I think is pretty foundational for understanding a lot of other aspects of the teaching of Proverbs.

Tonight’s subject: consequences. Not consequences just in terms of punishment or discipline, but in terms of the outcome of behavior or way of life.

The lessons or us to learn about this subject from Proverbs are taught in part by direct statement, and in part by indirect inference/implication, because it’s a subject about which a lot is assumed in Proverbs. Which would be why I consider it foundational for understanding the book!

It’s also a subject that is so pervasive throughout Proverbs. And I think the best way to demonstrate that is to start by just reading all of Proverbs chapter 10.

As we read this chapter, count how many of the 32 proverbs in it (each verse is its own proverb in this chapter) speak in some way about consequences. As a hint, you might have an easier time counting how many do not.

Read Prov 10.

How many?

By my count 26 of 32 do have something to say about consequences! Needless to say, that your way of life has consequences, positive or negative, is a very important and very basic idea in Proverbs.

Why is it such a prevalent idea, and why should we pay careful attention to the way consequences are discussed in Proverbs?

To continue fulfilling the purpose of the first 9 chapters, because as powerful as those chapters were, we’re all so naturally inclined toward folly that we always need further convincing!

To impress upon us the seriousness of these things. Your choices between wisdom and folly matter!

Some of the more specific things we’ll discuss will help to drive that home.

General and Specific

Now, something you may already have noticed from reading chapter 10 is that the connection between wisdom/righteousness or folly/wickedness and their consequences is stated both in general and in specific terms.

That is to say, the consequences themselves may be either general or specific, but more importantly, the types of behavior that may lead to positive or negative consequences are not always specified.

To see what I mean, let’s read a few more verses.

Wisdom/folly in general:

Proverbs 10:1, “Solomon’s proverbs: A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish son, heartache to his mother.”

Proverbs 14:24, “The crown of the wise is their wealth, but the foolishness of fools produces foolishness.”

Proverbs 15:24, “For the prudent the path of life leads upward, so that he may avoid going down to Sheol.”

Proverbs 24:13–14, “Eat honey, my son, for it is good, and the honeycomb is sweet to your palate; realize that wisdom is the same for you. If you find it, you will have a future, and your hope will never fade.”

Righteousness/wickedness in general (especially common):

Proverbs 10:24, “What the wicked dreads will come to him, but what the righteous desire will be given to them.”

Proverbs 10:28, “The hope of the righteous is joy, but the expectation of the wicked will perish.”

Proverbs 21:18, “The wicked are a ransom for the righteous, and the treacherous, for the upright.”

Proverbs 29:6, “An evil person is caught by sin, but the righteous one sings and rejoices.”

Whether we’re talking in wise/foolish categories or righteous/wicked categories—which are very much overlapping categories in Proverbs, to the point of being nearly synonymous—it is a common thing in Proverbs, especially the earlier chapters of this section, to see wisdom and righteousness in general reaping rewards, and folly and wickedness in general causing pain.

What is the significance of that? Why so many generic connections between wisdom or folly and their consequences?

It’s about so much more than specific behaviors; it’s about a way of life.

Even more than that, it’s about who you are.

And especially about who you are and your overall course of life in relation to God.

Worth considering in any particular instance whether a decision is part of a wise or foolish path, because sometimes the consequences of one specific action may appear small enough that you’re willing to take the risk or absorb that cost.

Of course, Proverbs has plenty to say about specific consequences for specific behaviors, but that’s hardly a point that needs proof, and those are the sort of specifics we’ll dive into in future topical studies.

Sources of Consequences

Now, considering what we’ve already studies in the book of Proverbs, why do certain consequences follow certain patterns of behavior or ways of life? Why do wisdom and righteousness bring good things, while folly and wickedness bring bad things?

I think there’s more than one right way to answer this question!

I’ve identified three, though I would say that they’re not all explicitly stated, but they arise more just from the way that the connection between lifestyle or behaviors and their consequences is stated.

1. Natural outcomes

Rather than just state them, we’ll read a group of proverbs and see if we can tease it out.

Proverbs 11:5-6, “The righteousness of the blameless clears his path, but the wicked person will fall because of his wickedness. The righteousness of the upright rescues them, but the treacherous are trapped by their own desires.”

Proverbs 15:24, “For the prudent the path of life leads upward, so that he may avoid going down to Sheol.”

Proverbs 15:27, “The one who profits dishonestly troubles his household, but the one who hates bribes will live.”

Proverbs 24:30–34, “I went by the field of a slacker and by the vineyard of one lacking sense. Thistles had come up everywhere, weeds covered the ground, and the stone wall was ruined. I saw, and took it to heart; I looked, and received instruction: a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the arms to rest, and your poverty will come like a robber, and your need, like a bandit.”

Proverbs 29:23, “A person’s pride will humble him, but a humble spirit will gain honor.”

Obviously these passages are very different in terms of specifics, but I think they all portray more or less the same sort of connection between actions or lifestyles and their consequences.

How would you describe it? If you were to just look at these proverbs we’ve just read, what would you conclude about the link between actions and consequences?

They’re natural consequences.

Most proverbs that speak of the positive or negative consequences of various actions are of this sort.

It makes a lot of sense when you’re talking about the specific consequence of a specific action. Laziness leads to poverty and ruin, while diligence leads to prosperity. If you talk too much, you’re going to say something you shouldn’t and look foolish. If you answer harshly, you’re only going to create more conflict. And so on and so forth.

But it’s also stated in general terms: righteousness clears your path, but wickedness trips you up. The of wisdom is a path that leads to life. And so forth.

[finish this discussion]

We’ve already talked about this idea, but I mention it again because it’s such a major feature of the way Proverbs juxtaposes the path of wisdom and the path of folly. At one level, wisdom leads to life and good things, and folly leads to death and bad things, because that’s just the way the world works.

Of course, we know, and we’ve already discussed, that there’s a lot more that lies behind that, in terms of why the world works that way, and it’s always good to discuss that, but we’ll come back to it in a minute, after we discuss the other two ways that I see Proverbs making the connection between behaviors and consequences.

2. Impersonal recompense

For the second connection, we’ll do the same thing, read a few proverbs and then discuss.

Proverbs 10:16, “The reward of the righteous is life; the wages of the wicked is punishment.”

Proverbs 13:21, “Disaster pursues sinners, but good rewards the righteous.”

Proverbs 19:19, “A person with intense anger bears the penalty; if you rescue him, you’ll have to do it again.” (focus on the first half; the second half fits more with the previous point)

In these proverbs, what is the connection between wisdom/righteousness or folly/wickedness and the consequences that follow them?

Wages, reward, punishment, penalty.

What do all those things have in common?

They’re earned or deserved.

Can summarize them all with the word “recompense.”

Why is it significant that the consequences of wisdom and folly, or righteousness and wickedness, are earned?

It emphasizes that the consequences are just.

[if someone tries to talk about sola gratia at this point … we’re getting there!]

Do these verses say where the reward comes from?

No, though it’s obviously implied, given other teachings of Proverbs. And we’ll take a look at verses that do make it explicit in just a moment.

But I wanted to look at these proverbs first, apart from those, because I think the impersonal nature of these particular sayings helps to lay the emphasis on the justice/deservedness of the consequences.

3. Recompense from the LORD

That being said, now it’s time to consider the third connection between wisdom or folly and their consequences, which I pretty much just told you.

If we just dealt with consequences as a sort of impersonal recompense, what do you think comes next?

Recompense from the LORD!

That rewards and punishments for righteousness and wickedness come from God could be inferred from Proverbs even without a direct statement, but it is stated very directly, a lot.

Already looked at a few last week!

Saw a few when we read chapter 10, like right near the beginning, Proverbs 10:3, “The Lord will not let the righteous go hungry, but he denies the wicked what they crave.”

Few more, Proverbs 15:25, “The Lord tears apart the house of the proud, but he protects the widow’s territory.”

Proverbs 15:29, “The Lord is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous.”

And Proverbs 22:12, “The Lord’s eyes keep watch over knowledge, but he overthrows the words of the treacherous.”

As we talked about last week, the justice of God’s world is not merely natural, and not merely “just/fair” in some abstract sense like the Eastern concept of karma. The justice of God’s world is personal, because it’s about what God loves and hates, not just a quid pro quo system of reward and punishment.

That’s what separates biblical wisdom from all other wisdom traditions. It’s ultimately about living rightly before God, not just living a happy and comfortable and successful life.

And of course, that shapes the way you understand even the natural consequences: they’re natural because God built them into his creation to reward the righteous and punish the wicked. Hubbard: “The Lord (Hebrew Yahweh) has rigged the universe for righteousness.”

Questions and Application

Does all of this seem a little too … neat and simple? What have we said before about how to square that with the realities of life? Why would the proverbs be framed in this seemingly oversimplified manner?

The world is broken by sin and doesn’t work as it should.

Much that is not fulfilled in the way we’d hope/expect is fulfilled in heaven or at Jesus’s return.

But proverbs are not promises. I’ve seen an argument that they are promises based on future fulfillment in heaven, but I don’t think that’s a fully satisfactory answer when you consider proverbs like, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” Turning that into a promise places a huge burden of guilt on the shoulders of parents whose children die in unbelief, because it makes it their fault, because clearly they didn’t train them up right.

Where does grace enter into all this? Deserved punishments make good enough sense, but how can we talk about blessings as though they are earned by wise and righteous living if everything good that we have is a gracious gift from God, since all we deserve is death and hell?

Our blessings are earned—by Christ! He is the only true wise and righteous One!

That these are built into creation does mean that wisdom and righteous tend toward better outcomes than folly and wickedness.

Our wise/righteous works are still shot through with folly/wickedness, but our works are sanctified by Christ, and God graciously rewards them as though performed perfectly by Christ himself. Not truly earned by us in any real sense; it’s all grace! But God does give those rewards, in large part to encourage us toward wisdom and righteousness and to dissuade us from folly and evil.

In terms of application, what role should consequences play in influencing our behavior? Should we look to them for motivation?