Study Audio

“Behold, the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth:
much more the wicked and the sinner” Part III

(Pro 11:24-31)

Lord willing we will be about our Father’s business in this life, as Christ was (Jas 4:12-15, Luk 2:49, 1Jn 4:17), and it is in this labour of love that God makes possible through Him (Php 2:12-15), that we will be “recompensed in the earth: much more the wicked and the sinner” of (Pro 11:31).

By God’s grace we overcome “the wicked and the sinner” within ourselves via the process of judgement [3] that is upon our “earth”, the church (Jer 22:29). It is that cleansing process throughout our entire life which makes it possible for the elect to inherit the earth (Mat 5:5), as we become zealous for the things of God, seeking His kingdom first and his righteousness so that all these things can be added unto us of (Mat 6:33). The city we are seeking in this section of James (Jas 4:13), where we will be ‘one year buying and selling and getting gain’, represents the city, the church, Jerusalem above (Gal 4:26), which we will find if we seek for her with all our hearts (Mat 6:33, Jas 4:12-15, Jer 29:11-14)

Mat 5:5  Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

Jer 29:11  For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
Jer 29:12  Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.
Jer 29:13  And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.(Mat 6:33)
Jer 29:14  And I will be found of you, saith the LORD: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the LORD; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive.

The liberality we have in Christ (Gal 5:13), and the abundant life that God gives us through him, are being considered in these last few verses we’re looking at today (Pro 11:24-31), and encourage us to trust that we are His workmanship that was ordained to be so from the foundation of the world (Eph 2:8-10).

Eph 2:8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Eph 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Pro 11:24 There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty.

This opening two-sided proverb shows two ways of life, one that will bring great increase in our lives and the other that will lead to poverty. The subject at hand is spiritual prosperity verses spiritual poverty, which must both be experienced in the lives of believers whose productivity and spiritual increase are a gift of God (Rom 8:14-16) that will tend to the needs of the body of Christ and all men that the Lord calls us to serve in this life as we have opportunity (1Co 3:6-7, Gal 6:10).

Gal 6:10 As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.

These verses which we read in (2Co 9:1-15) also demonstrate this principle in the church (“There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty”).

2Co 9:2 For I know the forwardness of your mind, for which I boast of you to them of Macedonia, that Achaia was ready a year ago; and your zeal hath provoked very many. [“There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth”]
2Co 9:3 Yet have I sent the brethren, lest our boasting of you should be in vain in this behalf; that, as I said, ye may be ready:
2Co 9:4 Lest haply if they of Macedonia come with me, and find you unprepared, we (that we say not, ye) should be ashamed in this same confident boasting.
2Co 9:5 Therefore I thought it necessary to exhort the brethren, that they would go before unto you, and make up beforehand your bounty, whereof ye had notice before, that the same might be ready, as a matter of bounty, and not as of covetousness.
2Co 9:6 But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. [“There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty”]
2Co 9:7 Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.
2Co 9:8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:
2Co 9:9 (As it is written, He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor: his righteousness remaineth for ever.
2Co 9:10 Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness;)
2Co 9:11 Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God.
2Co 9:12 For the administration of this service not only supplieth the want of the saints, but is abundant also by many thanksgivings unto God; [Heb 13:15]
2Co 9:13 Whiles by the experiment of this ministration they glorify God for your professed subjection unto the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal distribution unto them, and unto all men;
2Co 9:14 And by their prayer for you, which long after you for the exceeding grace of God in you.
2Co 9:15 Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.[Php 1:19]

Php 1:19 For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,

In the story with Ananias and Sapphira, we learn that when we withhold “the price of the land”, we are withholding our life [the land] in Christ from one another, and that will lead to spiritual poverty as was the case with this couple (Act 5:1-6).

Act 5:1 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession,
Act 5:2 And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
Act 5:3 But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?
Act 5:4 Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.
Act 5:5 And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things.
Act 5:6 And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him.

This is the ultimate example of “and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty” leading to physical and spiritual death in this instance. Ananias and Sapphira were sacrificed for the elect’s sake, and remind us to fear God, and not withhold “the price of the land”, which represents our bodies. We are commanded to bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, the tithe representing our whole life (Act 5:5, Luk 12:5, Mal 3:8-12).

Luk 12:5 But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.

Mal 3:8 Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.
Mal 3:9 Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.
Mal 3:10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
Mal 3:11 And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts.
Mal 3:12 And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the LORD of hosts.

Pro 11:25 The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself.

God will provide for those who He has given to seek the kingdom of God first (Mat 6:33) and His righteousness and this is how “The liberal soul shall be made fat”, as He adds all things that we need in this life, supplying our every need through Christ (Php 4:19).

As those needs are met by the Lord as a result of our seeking the kingdom of God first, we will learn the way of life God has called us unto, and we will be richly rewarded for putting others first, both physically and spiritually as we bring our whole life into the temple that belongs to God, and Christ (1Co 6:20, Gal 3:13, Heb 10:29, Rev 12:11), and to each other (Gen 4:9).

1Co 6:20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body [Eph 5:30], and in your spirit, which are God’s.

Gal 3:13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:

Heb 10:29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?

Rev 12:11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

The second part of this verse, “he that watereth shall be watered also himself”, reminds us that we’ve been called unto a way of life where we can believe that God will give us increase in our lives when we look not just to our own needs, but to the needs of others as well, “he that watereth shall be watered also himself”(1Co 3:6-8, Php 2:4-8).

1Co 3:6 I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.
1Co 3:7 So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.
1Co 3:8 Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.

Php 2:4 Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.
Php 2:5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
Php 2:6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
Php 2:7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
Php 2:8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.(Heb 5:8)

Pro 11:26 He that withholdeth corn, the people shall curse him: but blessing shall be upon the head of him that selleth it.

Going back to the example of Ananias and Sapphira, it is clear that Satan was used of God to bring them to withhold or keep back a part of the land, and that is exactly what the devil is always trying to do with God’s little flock as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour, by telling us that we don’t need to wholeheartedly obey God and keep His commandments (1Pe 5:7-8, Gen 3:1-5).

1Pe 5:7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you
1Pe 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

Gen 3:1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman [the church], Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

Thanks be to God we’ve been given to be more than conquerors through Christ (Rom 8:37) who tells us that yes, the devil will try to sift us like wheat, but Christ has prayed for us so that we will not fail in God’s service (Luk 22:31-32).

Rom 8:37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

Luk 22:31 And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:
Luk 22:32 But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.

It is His blessing, His unction upon our heads, that gives us the mind of Christ that blesses the body of Christ as we freely receive His corn, and give it (Mat 10:8) to those who God causes to have a hunger and thirst for it, “but blessing shall be upon the head of him that selleth it.” (Mat 5:6, Mat 24:45-46).

Mat 10:8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.

Mat 5:6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

Mat 24:45 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?
Mat 24:46 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.

Pro 11:27 He that diligently seeketh good procureth favour: but he that seeketh mischief, it shall come unto him.

God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Heb 11:6, Mal 3:10), “He that diligently seeketh good procureth favour”, and if we do not cleave to God and we do not resist the devil (Jas 4:7-10) our natural fleshly tendency will be to “seeketh mischief”, and the devil will be used of God to see to it that “it shall come unto him”.

Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Jas 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Jas 4:8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
Jas 4:9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.
Jas 4:10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

Pro 11:28 He that trusteth in his riches shall fall: but the righteous shall flourish as a branch.

This proverb, “He that trusteth in his riches shall fall”, reminds us of (Rev 3:17) which reads, “Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked”. The only way to become “the righteous shall flourish as a branch” is then explained in the next verse (Rev 3:18), which describes the pruning process which we must go through in order to “flourish as a branch”(Joh 15:2-4).

Rev 3:18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.

Joh 15:2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
Joh 15:3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
Joh 15:4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

Pro 11:29 He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind: and the fool shall be servant to the wise of heart.

We’ve all troubled our own house and inherited the wind like the Corinthian fornicator, however if God is working with us, that experience of evil and the buffeting process of Satan will be used to chasten and scourge us and bring us back. We need to realize that we are the fool at first who was made this way so that we could one day be a “servant to the wise of heart”, who represents Christ and his Christ and those prodigal sons that God mercifully drags to His son to be presented as a living sacrifice (Luk 15:17-21, Joh 6:44, Rom 12:1).

Luk 15:17 And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! “He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind”
Luk 15:18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee,
Luk 15:19 And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. [the fool being acknowledge who is now blessed to be “servant to the wise of heart”]
Luk 15:20 And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.
Luk 15:21 And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.

Pro 11:30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.

Our fruit in this life is dependent upon our being connected to the “tree of life” (Joh 15:4-14) and abiding in that relationship so that we will be able to save ourselves and those who hear us (1Ti 4:16).

Joh 15:4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
Joh 15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
Joh 15:6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
Joh 15:7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
Joh 15:8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.
Joh 15:9 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.
Joh 15:10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.
Joh 15:11 These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.
Joh 15:12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
Joh 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
Joh 15:14 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.

1Ti 4:13 Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.
1Ti 4:14 Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery.
1Ti 4:15 Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all.
1Ti 4:16 Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.

Pro 11:31 Behold, the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth: much more the wicked and the sinner.

Our last verse is what the majority of all these proverbs in chapter eleven have been pointing to, and that is the simple fact that by abiding in Christ’s truth and continuing in it “the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth: much more the wicked and the sinner” (Joh 8:31-32, 1Jn 2:24-25)

Joh 8:31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
Joh 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

1Jn 2:24 Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father.
1Jn 2:25 And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life.