Proverbs 14:32. The wicked is overthrown through his evildoing, but the righteous finds refuge in his death.
What today’s proverb puts in front of us is the same future options that Jesus and the Apostles put in front of us – you can end your life in ruin (overthrown), or you can find in death a refuge. What makes the difference? For Solomon it was wickedness v. righteousness.
Solomon’s understanding of wickedness and righteousness is likely not too far removed from Christ’s and the Apostles. For Solomon the wicked one is the person who has rejected the fear of the Lord. Wickedness is not only about wicked deeds (evildoing), but also about the heart that is behind the evildoing. Wicked here is a state of being. Wicked is what this person IS. Of course wicked is as wicked does – evil. And over time evil deeds will catch up with the wicked person until they are eventually overthrown by their own life choices.
But it is the second refrain in this proverb that is truly amazing – the righteous finds a refuge in his death. It is rare indeed to find a verse in the Old Testament that not only hints at eternal life, but says it as straightforward as this verse does. For the ancient Hebrew, after death came Sheol. The grave. Hades. Which typically was not thought of as a refuge. After Sheol came the judgment. The great and terrible Day of the Lord, when one’s life’s work is put on trial before God. Again, not very refuge-like.
Did Solomon understand what Paul would teach us years later? That righteousness is an imputed gift that comes through faith? Did he know and understand Genesis 15:6 – “And Abraham believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.”? Did Solomon understand justification by faith alone? Did he trust in a righteousness that comes apart from the law, but rather through faith? I’d like to think so.
His Father David understood it.
Psalm 32:1-2. 1Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. 2Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
Psalm 32:10-11. 10Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord. 11Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!
Forgiveness. Atonement. Righteousness. Trust. Faith. Steadfast love. Upright heart. Joy! Not only in this life, but in the next as well.
Do you believe this? Will death be a refuge for you? It can be in Christ. Union with Christ and his righteousness is what transforms your death from an overthrowing of a wicked person, to the rescue of a righteous person. If you are in Christ, then at the cross your wickedness was already overthrown, and if you are in Christ, then at the resurrection your life was hidden in Christ’s life, in God. Now that’s what I call a refuge!
You: Do you ever think about death? Will your death be a refuge or an overthrowing?
You in Christ: How does trusting our union with Christ allow us to face death without fear?
Christ in you: How might you live from the refuge of Christ today rather than living in fear or confusion?
Pray: Father, you have already overthrown my wickedness and placed me into the refuge of Christ’s eternal life. Help me to not fear death and not fear life as I daily run to the refuge of Jesus. Amen.
To Live is Christ 