A rich man and the righteous man
[Proverbs 18:10-11]
This Monday, I read a news article under the headline ‘The Korean men in their 40s are not safe zones for prostatic hypertrophy’ (Internet). The main point of this article is that the average prostate size of Korean men was found to be 23.5% larger on average compared to five years ago. In the case of men in their 40s, the average prostate size was 16.7g 5 years ago, which was in the safe zone from prostatic hyperplasia. But in 2011, the average prostate increased to 20.9g at the level at which the diagnosis of enlarged prostate is possible. According to one study, a typical Western diet, low intake of fruits and vegetables and high intake of animal fat, has been reported to increase the risk of an enlarged prostate (Internet). The reason I became interested in this article is t because I am now in my mid forties, but I think I was compelled to pay attention because I said, ‘It is not a safe zone for prostatic hyperplasia, even for men in their 40s in Korea.’ And actually, like this article says, I'm not in my safe zone right now. Therefore, the content of this article applies to me. How about you? Is your health in a safe zone? Are your children and grandchildren in their safe zone? How about your spiritual life? Are you spiritually in a safety zone or in a danger zone?
In Psalms 12:5, the Bible says, “Because of the devastation of the afflicted, because of the groaning of the needy, Now I will arise," says the LORD; "I will set him in the safety for which he longs.’” It cannot be but a word of God's promise that is truly comforting. What a great strength and comfort is that God is now rising and saying that He will protect us and set us in the safety which we want. Our true safety is Jesus Christ. Although we are living in this wicked world, which is the danger zone, our safe zone is Jesus Christ. We must always run to Him and take refuge in Him. Only the Lord will keep us safe.
If we look at Proverbs 18:10-11, the Bible says, “The name of the LORD is a strong tower; The righteous runs into it and is safe. A rich man's wealth is his strong city, And like a high wall in his own imagination.” Focusing on this passage, I would like to receive a lesson from God by thinking about the two classes of people under the title of “A rich man and the righteous man”.
The first class of people is rich who depend on their own wealth
Look at Proverbs 18:11 – “A rich man's wealth is his strong city, And like a high wall in his own imagination.” King Solomon says that the wealth of a rich man is his strong city. That means that the rich man sees his wealth as his strong city. In other words, the rich man depends on his wealth. And he regards his wealth as a high wall, which means that the rich man believes that wealth is the strongest way to protect himself (Internet). King Solomon already said in the first half of Proverbs 10:15, “The rich man's wealth is his fortress.” Then he went to the next verse, the second half of verse 16, and said, “The income of the wicked, punishment.” In other words, the wicked's income is rather (punishment) for him. The reason is because God will reject the craving of the wicked (v. 3). Why does God resist the craving of the wicked? The reason is because the income of the wicked doesn’t profit and it is ill-gotten wealth (v. 2). What is the ill-gotten wealth? It is the wealth obtained from covetousness (cf. 1:19; 28:16) unfairly (cf. 16:8), especially through theft and deception or deceit (Walvoord). King Solomon says that the rich man who lives by relying on this ill-gotten wealth is using his wealth as the strongest way to protect him.
What do you think of the rich who depend on ill-gotten wealth? Pastor Dong-ho Kim’s book ‘The Clean Rich Man’ says as follow: ‘Money is a gift, not a blessing. If you believe in Jesus, everyone will receive blessing, but not everyone will receive this gift. And the gift is given to you so that you can use for the Lord.’ ‘True wealth is not in possessions, but in sharing.’ ‘Be a rich person whom God can trust and entrust” (Internet). Even if you become rich, shouldn't you be rich man or woman whom God can trust and entrust? Proverbs 11:28 says: “He who trusts in his riches will fall, But the righteous will flourish like the green leaf.” The Bible clearly says that those who rely on their wealth rather than God will fall. However, it is said that the righteous who are attached to the Lord who is the vine will flourish like the green leaf. In other words, the righteous man who lives by relying on only God will produce abundant fruit. We should never be reliant on wealth. Rather, we must rely on God.
The second and last class of people is the righteous who depend on God.
Look at Proverbs 18:10 – “The name of the LORD is a strong tower; The righteous runs into it and is safe.” King Solomon contrasts with the rich man who depends on his wealth and the righteous man who depend on God in Proverbs 18:10, 11. In particular, he uses the words “a strong tower” in verse 10 and “their fortified city” in verse 11, and says that the rich man regards his wealth as his fortified city whereas the righteous man regards the name of the Lord as his strong tower. To say that the righteous man regards the name of the Lord as his strong tower means that it is the best way to rely on God to protect himself. In contrast, the rich man makes his life the best way to rely on his wealth to protect himself, so he lives on wealth. In this way, King Solomon's purpose in contrasting the righteous man who relies on God and the rich man who relies on his wealth is to give a lesson that the Israelites, we, and the only righteous man, must live by faith in God (Hab 2:4). ; Rom. 1:17; Heb. 10:38; Gal. 3:11). King Solomon teaches us that this is the wisdom of the righteous and the life of fearing God. And he is advising us to never become rich fools who depend on wealth.
This is what King Solomon says in Proverbs 29:25 – “The fear of man brings a snare, But he who trusts in the LORD will be exalted.” What does it mean? It means that if we don’t fear God but fear people, it is not safe. Rather, it means that we should not fear people but fear God and rely on Him. Then we will be safe. Look at Exodus 15:1-3: “Then Moses and the sons of Israel sang this song to the LORD, and said, "I will sing to the LORD, for He is highly exalted; The horse and its rider He has hurled into the sea. The LORD is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation; This is my God, and I will praise Him; My father's God, and I will extol Him. The LORD is a warrior; The LORD is His name.” When they escaped from Egypt and met the Red Sea in the wilderness, the Israelites were terrified when they saw Pharaoh king of Egypt and his army coming from behind (14:10). So in fear they blamed Moses (vv. 11-12). But Moses was not afraid of Pharaoh and his army. Rather, he looked to God and cried out to Him (v. 16). What was the result? Pharaoh and his army were annihilated in the Red Sea, and Moses and the Israelites were saved. Therefore, Moses and the Israelites sang songs to God, and the song began in Exodus 15:1-3: “… I will sing to the LORD, for He is highly exalted; The horse and its rider He has hurled into the sea. The LORD is my strength ….”
Those who don’t fear man but fear God, and trust in Him look to God even in the most disturbing and fearful situations. And they cry out to God. They are able to go forward in obedience by faith because they are enjoying safety in the Lord. Then they experience the saving power of God upon which they fully rely. They enjoy the grace of God’s answering their prayers. Therefore, they praise God. This is what Psalms 27:5 says: “For in the day of trouble He will conceal me in His tabernacle; In the secret place of His tent He will hide me; He will lift me up on a rock.” Our God is the God who guards and hides us and places us on a high rock. Our God is the God who protects us and makes us safe. Therefore, we who are righteous who believe in Jesus must rely solely on God and run into the bosom of God even in distress, hardship, or emergency (Prov. 18:10). We must run to God, who is our strong tower, and enjoy the security He gives us.
As the years go by, we Christians who recognize our weaknesses must rely on God more and more. We who have received Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord through God's grace and have been saved, and who have been called righteous by God, must run to God, who is our strong tower. It is only the Lord who gives us real security. The wealth of the rich man can never give us real security. Therefore, we must run to the cross of Jesus. We must run forward to Jesus Christ who was crucified, and lay down all our burdens. And we must rely on Him alone. When we rely on Him alone, He will protect us. The Lord, the strong tower, will put us on the high rock.