Bird's-eye view
This proverb sets before us a fundamental contrast, a great continental divide that runs through all of human existence. On one side, you have all the accumulated treasures of this world, everything that men strive for, sweat for, and sin for. On the other side, you have righteousness. The proverb places these two things on a scale and then brings in a third element to do the weighing: the day of wrath. In the light of that ultimate day, the scales are not even close. One side is shown to be lighter than vanity, and the other is shown to have the weight of eternal deliverance. This is not a call to asceticism or a denunciation of wealth as such; the book of Proverbs often speaks of riches as a blessing from the Lord. Rather, it is a statement of ultimate value. It forces us to ask the question that our Lord would later put to His disciples: "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?" (Matt. 16:26). Wealth has its place and its proper use, but it is utterly useless as a fire escape from the wrath of God.
The central lesson is one of ultimate accounting. There is a day coming when all the books will be opened, and the currency of this age, whether it be gold, silver, or cryptocurrency, will be worthless. The only thing that will have any value in that day is righteousness. And as the whole of Scripture testifies, the only righteousness that will stand in the fire of God's judgment is the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ, received by faith alone. This proverb, then, is a piece of distilled gospel wisdom, pointing us away from trusting in uncertain riches and toward the certain hope found only in the righteous One.
Outline
- 1. The Great Day of Accounting (Prov 11:4)
- a. The Worthlessness of Worldly Wealth (Prov 11:4a)
- b. The Worthiness of True Righteousness (Prov 11:4b)
Context In Proverbs
Proverbs 11 is part of a larger section of the book (chapters 10-22) consisting of short, pithy, antithetical couplets, often called "the proverbs of Solomon." These proverbs frequently contrast the way of the righteous with the way of the wicked, and the outcomes of each path. Chapter 11 begins by contrasting dishonest scales with an honest weight (11:1), pride with humility (11:2), and integrity with crookedness (11:3). Our verse, verse 4, fits perfectly within this pattern. It contrasts the false security of wealth with the true security of righteousness. The surrounding verses continue this theme, speaking of how the righteous are delivered from trouble while the wicked fall (11:5-8). The chapter as a whole paints a clear picture: there are two ways to live, the way of wisdom and righteousness which leads to life, and the way of folly and wickedness which leads to destruction. This verse is a sharp, clear distillation of that central theme.
Key Issues
- The Nature of the "Day of Wrath"
- The Biblical Definition of Righteousness
- The Relationship Between Wealth and Salvation
- The Ultimate Standard of Value
The Ultimate Audit
Every sensible person knows that different situations call for different currencies. You cannot spend American dollars in a Roman market, and you cannot use ancient Roman denarii to buy your groceries today. The currency has to be appropriate to the kingdom you are in. This proverb is telling us about the ultimate kingdom and the ultimate transaction. There is a day coming, which the Bible calls the day of wrath, the day of judgment. On that day, a great and final audit of every human life will be conducted. And the point of this proverb is to tell us plainly what the accepted currency is in that kingdom, on that day.
The world spends its entire life frantically accumulating a currency that will be utterly worthless on the day it is needed most. Men heap up wealth, thinking it will provide security, influence, and a buffer against trouble. And in this life, it sometimes does. But it cannot buffer a man from the judgment of a holy God. On that day, all the gold in your pockets is going to melt and run down your leg. It will be of no more use to you than a pile of autumn leaves in a forest fire. The only thing that will pass the divine audit is righteousness. And not just any righteousness, not a flimsy self-righteousness of our own making, but a true, solid, God-given righteousness.
Verse by Verse Commentary
4a Wealth will not profit in the day of wrath,
The first clause is a stark and absolute declaration. The word for wealth here is hon, which refers to material riches, substance, enough to make a man feel secure. The proverb says this wealth will not "profit." It provides no benefit, no advantage, no help whatsoever. When? "In the day of wrath." This is a technical term in Scripture. It can refer to various historical judgments, like the fall of a city, but it ultimately points to the final judgment, the great day of the Lord. It is a day when God's settled, holy opposition to sin is fully expressed. On that day, you cannot bribe the judge. You cannot buy a "get out of hell free" card. Your portfolio, your real estate holdings, your offshore accounts, all of it amounts to a pile of Monopoly money in the face of the living God. The prophet Zephaniah echoes this very sentiment: "Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to deliver them on the day of the LORD’s wrath" (Zeph. 1:18). To trust in wealth for ultimate security is to build your house on the sand, right in the path of a tsunami.
4b But righteousness will deliver from death.
Here is the great antithesis, the "but" that turns the whole world on its head. If wealth is useless, what is useful? Righteousness. The word is tsedaqah, and it means conformity to a standard, rightness, justice. It is the opposite of the crookedness and dishonesty mentioned earlier in the chapter. This righteousness, the proverb says, "will deliver from death." The death here is the ultimate consequence of sin, the final result of God's wrath. So while wealth is powerless, righteousness is powerful. It is the very thing that can rescue a person from the ultimate penalty.
Now, the crucial question for anyone with a lick of sense is this: "Where do I get this righteousness?" The Bible is abundantly clear that we cannot manufacture it on our own. "All our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment," Isaiah says (Isa. 64:6). Our own attempts at righteousness are the very things that condemn us, because they are shot through with pride and self-interest. The only righteousness that can deliver from death is a perfect righteousness. And that righteousness is found in one place only: it is the righteousness of God Himself, given to us as a gift in His Son, Jesus Christ. He who knew no sin was made sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Cor. 5:21). This proverb, then, is a signpost in the Old Testament, pointing straight to the heart of the gospel. It shows us our bankruptcy and points us to the only true riches.
Application
This proverb forces a fundamental reevaluation of our lives. What are you banking on? What is your ultimate trust? It is very easy for Christians, even those who know the gospel backward and forward, to live as functional atheists, trusting in their 401(k) more than they trust in Christ's finished work. We give lip service to the day of wrath, but we live as though our financial planner is our true savior.
This verse calls us to repentance. First, we must repent of our idolatry of wealth. We must stop looking to it for a security it cannot provide. This does not mean we become lazy or irresponsible. Proverbs itself commends diligence and planning. But it means we hold our possessions loosely, recognizing them as tools to be used for God's glory, not as a treasure to be hoarded for our security.
Second, we must flee to the only righteousness that delivers. We must abandon all pretense of having a righteousness of our own. Our good deeds, our church attendance, our moral efforts, these are not what deliver us from death. They are the fruit of a righteousness already received, not the root of it. We must daily, hourly, cling to the alien righteousness of Christ, the righteousness that is credited to our account by faith alone. When you stand before God on the day of wrath, you will have only one of two things to offer: your own flimsy, filthy-rags righteousness, or the spotless, perfect righteousness of His beloved Son. This proverb tells you to choose wisely.