Commentary - Proverbs 10:3

Bird's-eye view

This proverb sets before us a foundational principle of God's moral government of the world. It is a sharp, two-edged statement that establishes a great antithesis between the righteous and the wicked, and it grounds their respective fates in the direct action of Yahweh Himself. On the one hand, God is a provider and sustainer for His people. He takes personal responsibility for the deepest needs of the righteous. On the other hand, He is an active opponent of the wicked, working to frustrate their disordered and avaricious desires. This is not a promise that the righteous will never feel a hunger pang, nor is it a guarantee of earthly riches. Rather, it is a statement of covenantal reality. God's economy is ordered toward life for the righteous and frustration for the wicked. The soul's true hunger is for righteousness, and God will always satisfy that. The wicked crave what is not rightfully theirs, and God will ultimately dash that cup from their hands.

In short, this proverb teaches us about the personal, providential care of God. He is not a distant, deistic clockmaker. He is intimately involved in the lives of His creatures, and He discriminates. He feeds one and shoves away the other. This is a truth that should bring immense comfort to the believer and a stark warning to the ungodly. God's world works in a certain way, and this verse is a concise summary of how that works.

Outline

Context In Proverbs

Proverbs 10:1 marks a significant shift in the book. The first nine chapters consist of longer, thematic discourses, like a father's extended lectures to his son. But starting with chapter 10, we enter into the thick of the proverbial statements themselves, specifically "The Proverbs of Solomon." These are, for the most part, short, pithy, two-clause couplets that set up a contrast or a comparison. Verse 3 fits perfectly into this pattern, establishing the sharp antithesis between the righteous and the wicked that is a dominant theme throughout this entire section. This verse sets a theological baseline for the many proverbs that follow concerning wealth, poverty, diligence, and laziness. It reminds us that behind all the practical wisdom about hard work and its results, the ultimate actor is God Himself. He is the one who ensures the world is tilted in favor of righteousness, however things may appear in the short term.

Key Issues

The Lord's Personal Attention

We must begin by understanding how proverbs work. They are not like axioms in geometry, true in every conceivable instance without exception. They are statements of general truth, descriptions of how the world is designed to run. They describe the grain of the wood in God's created order. A man who works with the grain will generally have a much easier time of it than the man who insists on working against it. So when we read a proverb like this, we are not to take it as a flat promise that no genuinely righteous person will ever be poor or hungry. The Scriptures themselves give us examples of righteous men who suffered want, like the apostle Paul or the Lord Jesus Himself, who had nowhere to lay His head.

Rather, this is a statement about God's settled disposition and the ordinary course of His providence. God is for the righteous. He is against the wicked. His government of the world is structured to bless the one and frustrate the other. Exceptions exist, and are themselves governed by God for other wise purposes, such as discipline or testing. But the rule, the standard operating procedure of the cosmos, is what is described here. Yahweh Himself is personally invested in seeing to the needs of His people and in thwarting the greedy ambitions of those who hate Him.

Verse by Verse Commentary

3a Yahweh will not allow the soul of the righteous to hunger,

The first clause is a profound statement of God's tender, covenantal care. Notice the subject is Yahweh, the personal, covenant-keeping God of Israel. This is not an abstract force or impersonal karma; this is the Lord who revealed Himself to Moses. And what does He do? He concerns Himself with the "soul" of the righteous. The Hebrew word here is nephesh, which refers to the whole person, the seat of appetite and life. It means He will not let the righteous person, in his essential being, starve. This certainly includes physical hunger, as the rest of Scripture teaches that God is our provider. But it goes deeper. The ultimate hunger of the righteous soul is for God Himself, for righteousness, for life. As Jesus said, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied" (Matt. 5:6). God ensures that His people will be fed with the bread of life. He will sustain them, not just in their bodies, but in their very souls. A righteous man is one who has been declared righteous in Christ, and who is therefore walking in faith and obedience. God takes it upon Himself to ensure that such a man has what he truly needs.

3b But He will push away the craving of the wicked.

Here is the sharp contrast. The second clause shows us the active opposition of God to the wicked. The word for "craving" here often has the sense of selfish, greedy, or perverse desire. It is a desire that is out of bounds. And what does God do with this craving? He "pushes it away" or "thwarts it." The image is one of God forcefully shoving something aside. While the wicked may seem to prosper for a season, spreading himself like a green bay tree, God is working to undermine his foundation. His greedy desires will ultimately be frustrated. He craves security, but will find ruin. He craves satisfaction in his sin, but will find only emptiness and judgment. He builds his house on the sand of his own wicked desires, and the Lord's providence will ensure that the storm eventually comes. God will not allow the universe to finally gratify the lusts of the ungodly. Their insatiable appetite for more will, in the end, get them nothing. This is a terrifying prospect, to have the Almighty God actively working to frustrate your deepest desires.

Application

This proverb forces a fundamental question upon us: are we righteous or are we wicked? There is no third category. To be righteous is not to be sinlessly perfect, but rather to have abandoned all trust in our own righteousness and to have received by faith the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ. A righteous man is one who has been justified by faith and is now seeking to live faithfully before God. If that is you, then this verse is a profound comfort. Your Father knows what you need. He is committed to sustaining your very soul. This doesn't mean you can be lazy; other proverbs will deal sharply with the sluggard. But it does mean that as you walk in diligence and faith, you can trust that God is for you and will provide for you. Your deepest needs will be met by Him.

Conversely, this verse is a flashing red warning light for the wicked. To be wicked is to live for yourself, to define good and evil on your own terms, and to live in rebellion against your Creator. If that is you, then understand that the God who made the world is actively working against your life's project. Your cravings, your ambitions, your desires for satisfaction apart from Him are doomed to frustration. He will push them away. The only sane response is to repent. It is to turn from your wickedness, confess your sin, and look to the one who became sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Cor. 5:21). Only then do you move from the second half of this proverb to the first. Only then do you find yourself under God's provision instead of His opposition.