Blessing and Cursing

Brian D. Dykstra,  Teacher at Hope PR Christian School in Walker, MI

Proverbs 3:33: “The curse of the Lord is in the house of the wicked: but he blesseth the habitation of the just.”

Solomon wants us to consider the living accommodations of two men, the wicked and the just. This wicked man is one who does wrong. He is not blatantly evil. We would not find him keeping company with murderers and thieves. His name is not associated with some heinous crime. He is not infamous. The wrong which he commits will not result in his appearing before some judge awaiting a punishment to be declared against him. He simply does what is wrong, but not criminal. He knows how to make a business transaction turn more to his favour. He knows the little tricks of the trade which encourage a little extra money to find its way into his pocket rather than the one with whom he is doing business. These would be the little things of which it can be said, “Everybody does it. It’s no big deal. It’s all just part of doing business. In the end, it all just kind of balances out anyway.”

Solomon notes that this wicked man lives in a comfortable house. He is not living in a tent or some temporary shelter made of branches and palm fronds. Perhaps this house is a bit nicer than average since he seems to know how to make a dollar go just a little farther for him than most other people do. He is doing well for himself and is comfortable. From an earthly point of view, he has no complaints.

Despite these appearances, which might cause us to feel a touch of envy, God’s curse is there. Solomon writes that God’s curse is not just on the house of the wicked, this curse is in the house of the wicked. This curse is not just on this house as a thin film of oil which, once it is cleansed, leaves the interior just fine and none the worse for wear. God’s curse is in this house through and through. There is no little corner or closet where one could escape this curse. God’s curse permeates every room and possession there. God’s curse cannot be easily wiped away. This is just disgusting rottenness all the way through to the core.

Solomon contrasts this with the just. This man has not reached perfect obedience through a supreme effort of his own will. He would not be pointed out by others as a man who has never done any offence to another. He too has his faults. He is just in the eyes of God because God has cleansed him from his sin. The sins of which he is guilty have been taken away.

This just man, however, has only a habitation. It is a mere temporary shelter, more of a sheep-cote than a permanent house. He isn’t rich. What he does have and experience, however, is the blessing of his heavenly Father. He can live his life in spiritual joy, even when God brings him through times of hardship or sorrow. He knows the blessing of his Father is with him.

Think of Jezebel and Elijah during the days of dreadful famine in Israel. Jezebel does not strike us a one who would say, “My dear subjects are suffering and sliding into poverty. I should give up some of my luxuries to show my willingness to take up my part of this burden.” She would maintain her wealth and status if for no other purpose than to provide for Baal’s prophets and persecute God’s prophets. She was born a princess and is now a queen and would live her life as such. Her household, no matter how fine, was cursed by God through and through.

How was Elijah doing at this time? For a time he lived by the Brook Cherith. I don’t suppose he had what we would normally call a house. He certainly wasn’t living sumptuously. Yet, God blessed him for obediently doing His will and gave him his daily bread.

Then Elijah went to the widow of Zarephath. There was no fine living here either. Widows were not very often rich. When Elijah met her, she was down to her last handful of meal, a bit of oil and had a couple of sticks to prepare her last meal. Yet, the widow’s household knew the blessing of God. The barrel of meal did not fail. This barrel was not always full being refilled to the brim each time the widow took out the needed meal. She emptied it, only to find that when it was time to eat again, there was just enough at the bottom of the barrel once more. The same was true for the oil.

Yet, this poor widow and Elijah knew the blessing of the Lord. They shared the joy of knowing that some day God would send the Messiah to save His people from their sin. There is no middle ground. There is a curse and a blessing. God does not change either. Those who are under His curse, shall always be under God’s curse. Those whom God has justified, will always be blessed by Him.

Envy Not the Oppressor

Brian D. Dykstra, Teacher at Hope PR Christian School in Walker, MI

Proverbs 3:31-32: “Envy thou not the oppressor, and choose none of his ways. For the froward is abomination of the Lord: but his secret is with the righteous.”

As we Christians go through our day to day lives, we are to have our eyes open. We are to be aware of what is happening in the world around us. News events have a deeper meaning for us than simply being interesting topics of conversation. We see evidence of Christ’s return as we see events unfold. He warned us about what the last days would be like.

There is a danger for us, however, as we go through life this way. If we do not view the world with the proper perspective, we fall into sin. Christians can become envious of the wicked. Scripture contains many warnings about this, so the danger is more common and is a greater threat than we might first think. Job spoke about the prosperity of the wicked with the friends who came to comfort him. David warns us about this in Psalm 37, as does Asaph in Psalm 73. Although verses 31-32 come near the end of only the third chapter in Proverbs, Solomon has instructed us before on nearly the same topic.

Solomon introduces us to an oppressor. This oppressor is a man of violence. He takes things away from people. There were robbers in biblical times. Bands of robbers hid in the hills near highways. They would wait for a caravan of merchants, small groups of tradesmen or the lone traveller. They ambushed their victim and shared the spoils.

However, this violence does not have to be physical. Oppressors twist the law to take advantage of people. Christ was angry with those who did not honour their parents by supporting them if they needed help in their old age. These oppressors claimed the money they had was set aside for a gift. Therefore, they could not assist their parents and they could keep their money. Houses and property were stolen by deceit and corrupt judgment. Merchants used false balances or corrupt measures to cheat their customers by small degrees. Add together enough small thefts, and profits increased.

Why would we envy these people? They are dirty, rotten scoundrels! Does society really honour them? But, you see, they get away with it! They can live comfortably, perhaps even in luxury, but they haven’t really earned it. We can then become too earthly minded and envy what they have. We labour diligently, striving to treat the neighbour as we should, but what is there to show for it? We struggle, work hard and carefully manage what we have simply to try to make ends meet. Obedience does not profit! We may even begin to wonder how often we have been taken advantage of. How much of our hard-earned money goes into the velvet pockets of these crooks?

Solomon warns us not to choose any of his ways, not even one. Perhaps we thought we could try just a couple of the tricks which aren’t so dastardly. Such practices are fairly common, and could even be viewed as part of doing business. Do I have to be the only honest businessman here? Are these temptations greater given these challenging economic times? Wages decrease, are stagnant or rise at a snail’s pace. We begin to view the government’s taxation as legalized theft. Why not try one trick of the oppressor to even things out?

Solomon tells us God’s point of view and why we should not be envious or try any of their ways. We must have a long range view of what is happening. The oppressor, now called the froward, someone who is perverse and has twisted truth and right past recognition, is an abomination to the Lord.

What do we think about something that is an abomination us? Would we keep it close to us? Would we let it stay with us in the house? Would we hold it tenderly in our hands? Would we cherish it? Would we give everything we had to preserve it? The oppressors may prosper here but the day comes when they will fall into the hands of a God who is angry with them. Their end will not be prosperous. God drives them away and has no tender fellowship with them.

On the other hand, God will have His secret with the righteous. We share secrets with those who are dear to us and whom we trust, not strangers. A secret implies a level of friendship and fellowship. There is closeness as well. We don’t discuss secrets in crowded, noisy, public places. The righteous will have fellowship with God. He makes known to us His love for His church. He reveals the way of salvation and friendship with him in Jesus Christ.

These blessings are for the righteous. Our lives can be difficult. Obeying God means we will have to make sacrifices. We must keep in mind what God has in store for His people in the end.

Devise Not Evil

Brian D. Dykstra, Teacher at Hope PR Christian School in Walker, MI

Proverbs 3:29-30: “Devise not evil against thy neighbour, seeing he dwelleth securely by thee. Strive not with a man without cause, if he have done thee no harm.”

Solomon continues to instruct us about how we are to treat our neighbour, our Christian lives as related to the second table of the Law where we are told to love the neighbour as ourselves. Living in such a way serves as proof that the love of God is in our hearts and that we love our Creator. Although we could consider any commandment from the second table of the Law, the instruction not to do evil against the neighbour and not to strive with him deals more closely with the sixth commandment, “Thou shalt not kill,” than with the others.

God commands us to do much more than merely avoid taking somebody’s life through violence or negligence. God further forbids “envy, hatred, anger, and desire of revenge.” We are “to love our neighbour as ourselves; to show patience, peace, meekness, mercy, and all kindness, towards him, and prevent his hurt as much as in us lies; and that we do good, even to our enemies.”

We know that Christ has instructed us, especially in the parable of the Good Samaritan, that all men are our neighbours. However, here we have a neighbour who dwells securely by us. This would seem to be more than just a passing stranger. These are the people with whom we come into contact in our daily living. These people have become familiar to us. Perhaps we work with them. Perhaps they live near our houses and we know their names and speak with them from time to time. He is confident that he will be treated well. He does not think there is any risk to him because he has us for a neighbour. He has not been losing any sleep because he is worried about what we might do to him next.

They may or may not be fellow saints. It doesn’t really matter, but although these people might not know much about us, they have noticed that there is something different about the family routine on Sunday. They might not know much about our church affiliation, but they would be able to put us in the category of being Christians. How we treat them will influence their attitude about the Church and God’s people. Will we claim to be members of the Kingdom of God, then treat the neighbour, believer or unbeliever, in a way which even the ungodly would condemn?

We are not to devise evil against our neighbour. Devise means that the evil is intentional. There are times when evil is done to a neighbour with no deliberate intent. In my younger days, I’ve broken windows and done some damage to flower beds while playing in the neighbourhood. Solomon speaks here of someone who thinks of a way to do deliberate harm. He comes up with some plot, a new idea to do damage in some way. This might be some way to cheat the neighbour out of some money. Years ago I worked on muck farms. Sometimes we were paid according to how many crates we could fill of a certain vegetable when the crops were harvested. Some kids would sneak filled crates from other’s rows of crops and place them in their own row with the result that they were paid for work they did not do, while someone else was not paid for the work they performed.

Other examples could be pulling pranks for the thrill of doing some damage or seeing if one can get away with something rather bold and daring. We might remember Tom Sawyer and his buddies “lifting” pies or sweet meats to supply their pirating adventures. We might take something a neighbour has carelessly left outside, take something from his garden or let the air out of tires. These are not innocent pranks, as some might claim. Neighbours of Christians have every reason to expect to be treated well, that their neighbours are not greedy opportunists.

We are also told not to strive with someone if they have done us no harm. This “striving” refers to contending with them in a legal manner. If a neighbour has done us harm, justice must be served, but we must also forgive. We often hear of frivolous lawsuits in our court system. Lawyers and so called “victims” are looking for a rich payday so they take somebody to court and sue. Some want to profit at the expense of others or to get someone whom they regard as a nuisance out of their lives. Jezebel fabricated charges against Naboth to take property. Jeremiah was falsely accused of being on the side of the enemy, when the Babylonians held Jerusalem under siege, so God’s Word could be muted.

Students sometimes pull tricks on one another. Pencils are hidden. Sweets from lunches mysteriously disappear. It is fun to watch the owners try to locate their missing property. False accusations about others are brought to the teacher to get someone into trouble. False reports are spread from student to student to damage someone’s standing in the class. Children have their own style of courtroom trials and justice for their peers. It is part of the social dynamic, and we could give more examples.

God certainly is an example for us. He does not devise evil against us, but He is gracious. We may dwell securely not only by His house, but even in His house. God could strive with us before His throne of judgment for we have certainly done Him harm. Yet, because of the perfect obedience of Christ, which obedience has become ours through faith, we are treated as though we have never done any harm to our Lord.

Withhold Not Good

Brian D. Dykstra, Teacher at Hope PR Christian School in Walker, MI

Proverbs 3:27-28: “Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it. Say not unto thy neighbour, Go, and come again, and to morrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee.”

God commands us to love our neighbour as ourselves. Part of this is the command, “Thou shalt not steal.” As our catechism explains, this means more for us than not being thieves and robbers or dealing fraudulently in business. We are to promote the advantage of our neighbour in every instance we can or may. Solomon now gives us instruction in this.

In this instance, we have something in our possession to which our neighbour has a legitimate claim. It is “due” them. Perhaps we owe them money for some service which they have rendered to us or we have made some purchase on credit. We may not keep back from paying them. “Withhold not.” Not to pay what we owe—and here we are told that we do have the ability to pay—is to steal from our neighbour.

Solomon is not dealing exclusively with our monetary dealings with each other. We are not to keep back “good,” as he says. He is not speaking merely of gold, silver or some form of currency but “good.” This is the same word used to describe God’s judgment upon His handiwork throughout the creation week. We are dealing here with something that is favourable, attractive, suitable for a purpose and commendable. This is something that has benefit. We may not withhold something which is right, that has a positive quality from our neighbour who has a right to it.

Each of us has troubles and challenges in life. Some of our neighbours’ struggles we know and perhaps there are even more which we do not know. Economic times are tough and we might wish our government printed its currency on rubber or latex rather than on paper so that we could make each dollar stretch farther. However, the problems we have which can be solved just by spending some money are not the worst of our problems. There are plenty of problems which money cannot solve.

We each struggle with sin and our fallen natures. Because we love the city of God, we all work hard to make sure this is a Christian school more than just because the word is on the sign by the street. We see sin in ourselves and in the students. When a colleague comes seeking advice or just needs a listening ear, we are not to send them away, telling them to go live on their own little island. If we have the ability to help, we may not withhold that help but we must give what good we can. As brothers and sisters in Christ, we have a claim on one another. The closer that friendship or relationship is as given by God, the greater the extent of the neighbour’s claim to what good we can give.

Solomon also tells us about when to give good to the neighbour. When we have that good right now, we do not tell the neighbour to come back tomorrow and we will give then. God has placed that neighbour with that need on our path at that time. If God commands us to help and do good, even to our neighbours who are our spiritual enemies, how much more should we be willing to help those who live with us in the city of God. Good given when it is needed is much better and more valuable than good given when perhaps the storm has let up somewhat or has already passed.

There are times, however, when we cannot give to the neighbour. Solomon recognizes this as well. Sometimes it is not in our power to help. We do not have what the neighbour needs or we do not know what advice to give. The neighbour’s need can be greater than what we can supply or our wisdom may not be sufficient for the trouble he faces. We do what we can.

God deals with us this way. He does not keep back the good that is due to us. We do have a claim to His good. Our claim is not based upon our works, what we are of ourselves or the choices we have made in life. Having been raised in the Reformed faith, we all know this. Thus, we can confidently knock on the door of God’s house and ask for help because Christ has merited all blessings for His elect. Just as our sins have been taken from us and placed on Him, so His perfect obedience has been placed on us. It is also certainly in God’s power to do good for us as well. As the Almighty Father, He is both willing and able to give His children every good thing.

However, from our point of view, it does often appear that God makes us wait for good. It seems God does wait, sometimes many days, to give us good. We bring our needs to Him in prayer, and the granting of our petitions does not seem to come as swiftly as we would desire. God makes us wait and He is under no compulsion to tell us why. Then we must humbly remember that His wisdom is vastly superior to ours. As the Creator, He may do whatever He wishes. His delays are based on his wisdom and love for His elect. He will give us His good as soon as He pleases.

Students can learn to give good to each other. Some are more sensitive than others to their neighbour’s needs and situation. This godliness needs to be encouraged and prayed for. Helping one another is one of the beauties of our schools where covenant children are learning to be part of the life of the church.