10 The proverbs of Solomon.
A wise son makes a glad father,
but a foolish son is a sorrow to his mother.
2 Treasures gained by wickedness do not profit,
but righteousness delivers from death.
3 The Lord does not let the righteous go hungry,
but he thwarts the craving of the wicked.
In the contrast between wisdom and folly that is presented in this chapter it is impressive to see the down-to-earth ethical content of true spiritual life. This is a notable emphasis, and something desperately needing to be remembered today. One sees the connection between what is said in 1 and much of the earlier teaching. In Wednesday's Note, we quoted Kidner on 9:12, 'Your character is the one thing you cannot borrow, lend or escape, for it is you'. But here in 1 we have the other side of the coin: for no one lives unto himself. Our wisdom, or folly, will inevitably affect others, especially those nearest to us in natural relationships. It is the parents who stand to suffer most acutely and distressingly through the folly of their son. One commentator suggests that each proverb almost can be illustrated from other parts of Scripture from character studies, and in 1 he instances Solomon, and the wisdom that his father David coveted for him (cf 1 Chronicles 22:11,13a, 2 Chronicles 1:7-12).The folly in 1b is surely exemplified in the story of Esau (Genesis 26:34, 35, 27:46). Also, there may be more than the recognised Hebrew parallelism in the two halves of the verse, for is it not the mother who is likely to feel most agonisingly and deeply the foolishness of her son? Both wisdom and foolishness bring their own reward (2, 3). The judgment of God in both its aspects, that of recompense and that of punishment, operates not only at the end of history, but also at all points in its course. As Paul puts it in Romans 1, God's wrath 'is being revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men', and in 1 Timothy 4:8 'godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come'.