The Great Chase: The Inescapable Law of Sowing and Reaping Text: Proverbs 13:21
Introduction: A Universe With a Moral Grain
We live in an age that desperately wants to have its cake and eat it too. It is an age that wants to live as though there is no God, no final standard, no objective truth, and yet it is constantly surprised and outraged when the floorboards of civilization start to give way. Our generation wants to sow thistle seeds and then profess astonishment when they do not get a harvest of figs. They want to deny the law of gravity while jumping off a cliff and then blame the cliff for the inevitable result.
But the universe is not built that way. God has created the world with a definite moral grain to it. You can try to sand against that grain for a while, and you might even think you are getting away with it. But sooner or later, the splinters will get you. Sooner or later, the consequences you have been outrunning will catch up. This is not arbitrary; it is the fabric of reality itself. God is not a celestial killjoy who invents rules to make our lives difficult. He is the Master Craftsman who has built the world to operate in a particular way, and His commandments are simply the owner's manual. To disregard them is to disregard reality, and reality always, always wins.
The book of Proverbs is a master class in this foundational principle. It is not a collection of quaint, disconnected platitudes. It is a detailed exposition of the wisdom of God, showing how the fear of the Lord is the beginning of all knowledge. It teaches us that choices have consequences. Actions have reactions. What you plant, you will most certainly reap. This is not a threat; it is a promise. It is a law as fixed and reliable as the rising of the sun. And the verse before us today states this principle with a stark and potent clarity. It describes a great chase, a relentless pursuit that is happening all around us, every day, in every life.
The Text
Evil pursues sinners,
But the righteous are repaid with good.
(Proverbs 13:21 LSB)
The Hound of Hell (v. 21a)
The first clause of our text paints a grim and active picture.
"Evil pursues sinners..." (Proverbs 13:21a)
Notice the language here. It does not say that sinners pursue evil, though that is certainly true. Sinners, by their very nature, run headlong after wickedness. But this verse flips the script. It tells us that evil itself takes on the role of a pursuer. It is personified as a relentless hunter, a predator that tracks its prey. The sinner thinks he is the one in charge, making his own choices, blazing his own trail. But all the while, he is being stalked. The consequences of his sin are hunting him down.
Think of it as a bloodhound. The sinner leaves a trail of sin wherever he goes, a scent of rebellion, deceit, and selfishness. And "evil," the consequence of that sin, picks up the scent and gives chase. It may be a slow pursuit at first. The sinner might get a good head start. He might look over his shoulder and see nothing but open country and think he has gotten away clean. He might even mock the idea that there is a chase at all. But the hound is patient, and it is tireless. It never gives up the trail. And eventually, it will catch him.
What is this "evil" that pursues? It is the built-in, divinely-ordered consequence of sin. It is the natural harvest of a sinful life. If you sow lies, you will be pursued by distrust and broken relationships. If you sow laziness, you will be pursued by poverty and want. If you sow sexual immorality, you will be pursued by disease, shame, and emotional wreckage. If you sow pride, you will be pursued by humiliation. This is not God zapping you from heaven for each infraction. This is the world working the way God designed it to work. As Paul says, "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap" (Galatians 6:7). The pursuit is inescapable because the connection between the sin and the consequence is woven into the created order.
This is a terrifying reality for the unrepentant. They are being hunted by their own choices. Every step they take away from God is a step that leaves a clearer scent for the hound of judgment to follow. They can try to drown the scent with distractions, with noise, with pleasure, with ambition, but they cannot erase it. The evil is coming for them, and it will not be bought off, reasoned with, or outrun forever.
The Divine Recompense (v. 21b)
But the proverb does not end there. It presents a glorious and absolute contrast.
"...But the righteous are repaid with good." (Proverbs 13:21b LSB)
The structure here is a beautiful parallelism. While evil actively pursues the sinner, good is actively given to the righteous. The verb "repaid" signifies a settled transaction, a just and certain reward. This is not a matter of luck or chance. Just as the sinner gets what is coming to him, so does the righteous man. God Himself is the one who ensures the payment is made.
Now, we must be careful here. This is not a promise of a life free from all trouble. The righteous are not exempt from the effects of living in a fallen world. They get sick, they face hardship, they are persecuted. The book of Job makes that abundantly clear. However, the overarching trajectory of a righteous life is one of blessing. The "good" that repays them is far more profound than mere material prosperity, though it often includes that. It is the good of a clear conscience. It is the good of stable relationships built on trust. It is the good of a peaceful heart that trusts in God's sovereignty. It is the good of seeing your children walk in the truth. It is the good of being a blessing to your community. And ultimately, it is the good of fellowship with God Himself.
This repayment is also a form of sowing and reaping. The righteous man sows seeds of faithfulness, integrity, kindness, and hard work. And from that soil, God brings forth a harvest of good. This is the covenantal structure of the world. Obedience leads to blessing, and disobedience leads to cursing. This is the choice God set before Israel in Deuteronomy: "See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: the blessing, if you listen to the commandments of the LORD your God... and the curse, if you do not listen" (Deuteronomy 11:26-28). Proverbs is simply applying this covenantal reality to the details of everyday life.
The sinner is pursued by the consequences of his folly, but the righteous man is pursued by the goodness and mercy of God. As David says in that most famous Psalm, "Surely goodness and lovingkindness will pursue me all the days of my life" (Psalm 23:6). What a contrast! One man is hunted by a predator; the other is pursued by a loving Father, lavishing him with good things.
The Gospel Pivot
At this point, a thinking man might find himself in a bit of a bind. If evil pursues sinners, and all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, then are we not all being pursued by this hound of hell? And if good repays the righteous, but none are righteous, no, not one, then how can any of us hope for this reward? This is where the wisdom of Proverbs points us beyond itself to the wisdom of God in the gospel.
The Bible's diagnosis is universal. We are all, by nature, sinners. We have all left a scent of rebellion for the hound to follow. The law pursues every one of us, because we have all broken it. The curse of the law is hot on our trail, and its jaws are closing in. We cannot outrun it. We cannot hide from it. We are guilty, and the pursuit is just.
But this is where the great exchange of the gospel happens. On the cross, the Lord Jesus Christ, the only truly righteous man who ever lived, stepped onto our trail. He took our scent upon Himself. And the hound of judgment, the full measure of the "evil" that was pursuing us, turned and fell upon Him instead. He was pursued, caught, and consumed by the wrath we deserved. He was repaid with the evil that was our due.
And in return? He gives us His righteousness. By faith, we are clothed in His perfect record. God looks at us, and He no longer smells the scent of our sin. He smells the sweet aroma of His obedient Son. And so, the promise of the second half of this verse becomes ours. We, who are now counted as righteous in Christ, are the ones who will be repaid with good. The goodness and mercy of God that pursued Christ throughout His life now turn and pursue us for all of our days.
Therefore, this proverb is both a stark warning and a glorious invitation. To the one outside of Christ, it is a warning: the consequences are coming. Your sin will find you out. The hound is on your trail. Turn and run to Christ, the only safe refuge.
And to the Christian, it is a profound comfort and a call to faithful living. You are secure in Christ. The ultimate evil has been dealt with. Now, live as the righteous person you have been declared to be. Sow to the Spirit. Walk in integrity, faithfulness, and love. Do this, not to earn your salvation, but because it is who you are in Christ, and because God has designed His world to bless such a life. He has promised that as you sow righteousness, you will be repaid with good, both in this life and, most gloriously, in the life to come.