The Appetite of Antithesis: A Tale of Two Stomachs Text: Proverbs 13:25
Introduction: The Great Divide
The book of Proverbs is a book of sharp contrasts. It does not do shades of gray. It is a book of black and white, light and darkness, wisdom and folly, life and death. And it does this because reality itself is built on a great antithesis, a fundamental divide established by God from the very beginning. God separated the light from the darkness, the waters above from the waters below, and ultimately, He separates the righteous from the wicked. This is not a popular message in our squishy, effeminate age, which wants to blur every line and erase every distinction. Our generation wants to believe that everyone is basically good, that all paths lead to the same destination, and that the only real sin is the sin of calling something a sin.
But the Word of God is a sword, and it cuts. It divides. And here in this final verse of Proverbs 13, the Holy Spirit gives us a startlingly earthy and practical illustration of this great divide. He doesn't take us to a cathedral or a philosophy classroom; He takes us to the dinner table. He shows us two men, two appetites, and two eternal destinies, all wrapped up in a simple proverb about eating a meal. This is covenant theology in the kitchen. This verse is a spiritual diagnostic tool. It shows us that what is true of our souls will eventually show up in our stomachs.
We are told that there is a profound difference between how a righteous man eats and how a wicked man eats. One is satisfied; the other is not. One has a soul that is fed; the other has a belly that is a black hole of want. This is not primarily about economics, though it has economic implications. It is not saying that every Christian will be fat and every pagan will be skinny. It is saying something far deeper about the nature of satisfaction itself. It is teaching us that true contentment is a fruit of righteousness, and a perpetual, gnawing hunger is the curse of wickedness. Let us therefore come to the table and see what God has prepared for us here.
The Text
The righteous eats to the satisfaction of his soul,
But the stomach of the wicked lacks.
(Proverbs 13:25 LSB)
The Contentment of the Righteous
We begin with the first clause:
"The righteous eats to the satisfaction of his soul..." (Proverbs 13:25a)
Who is the righteous man? In the ultimate sense, there is none righteous, no, not one (Romans 3:10). The only truly righteous man is the Lord Jesus Christ. Our righteousness is not something we manufacture; it is a gift we receive by faith. It is an alien righteousness, credited to our account (2 Corinthians 5:21). So, the righteous man is the one who is in a right covenant relationship with God through faith in His Son. He is the one who has been justified.
And what is the result of this standing? He eats to the satisfaction of his soul. Notice the language carefully. It does not say he eats to the bursting of his stomach. It says he is satisfied in his soul, his nephesh. This is a deep, internal, settled contentment. The righteous man may have a little or a lot. He may have a dinner of herbs or a fatted calf (Proverbs 15:17). But whatever he has, he receives it as a gift from the hand of a loving Father. He eats with thanksgiving. He sees the covenant faithfulness of God in every bite. His meal is not just a biological necessity; it is a sacrament, a sign of God's provision and fellowship.
This satisfaction comes because his ultimate hunger is not for bread, but for God. As Jesus taught us, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied" (Matthew 5:6). The righteous man has tasted and seen that the Lord is good (Psalm 34:8). Having been satisfied with the bread of heaven, he is now able to be satisfied with his daily bread. He is not driven by envy or covetousness. He is not constantly comparing his portion to his neighbor's portion. He has learned the secret that Paul learned, to be content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want (Philippians 4:12). This contentment is a supernatural gift. It is the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guarding his heart and his mind, and by extension, his stomach.
Because he fears the Lord, he lacks no good thing (Psalm 34:9-10). God knows what he needs, and he trusts his Father to provide it. This frees him from the anxiety that plagues the wicked. He can enjoy his food, because his soul is at rest. This is the quiet confidence of the man whose life is ordered by the fear of the Lord.
The Emptiness of the Wicked
Now we turn to the stark contrast in the second clause.
"...But the stomach of the wicked lacks." (Proverbs 13:25b)
The wicked man is the one who lives in rebellion against God. He is his own god, his own lawgiver, his own savior. He may be religious or irreligious, but at the center of his universe is himself. And the proverb tells us his stomach, his belly, lacks. It is in a state of perpetual want.
This is a spiritual principle with very physical consequences. The wicked man's problem is not a lack of food, but a lack of satisfaction. He could be at the most extravagant banquet, with the richest foods and the finest wines, and his soul would still be empty. His belly is a god (Philippians 3:19), and it is a demanding, insatiable idol. He eats, but is never full. He drinks, but is never quenched. His appetites are disordered because his soul is disordered. He is trying to fill a God-shaped hole with created things, and it is a fool's errand. It is like trying to fill a sieve with water.
This inner emptiness drives the wicked to all sorts of folly. It drives him to gluttony, trying to find comfort in quantity. It drives him to epicureanism, chasing ever more exotic and refined tastes, hoping the next sensation will finally satisfy. It drives him to envy, despising the contentment of the righteous man who is happy with simple fare. It drives him to oppression and theft, because his lust for more is never sated by what he has. The prodigal son is the perfect picture of this. He took his father's goods and ended up in a pigsty, longing to eat the husks, his belly in perpetual want (Luke 15:16). His stomach lacked because his soul lacked fellowship with the father.
Ultimately, this proverb is a prophecy. It points to the final judgment. The Lord promises His servants, "Behold, my servants shall eat, but you shall be hungry; behold, my servants shall drink, but you shall be thirsty; behold, my servants shall rejoice, but you shall be put to shame" (Isaiah 65:13). The eternal state of the wicked is one of unending, unsatisfied desire. It is a hunger that is never fed, a thirst that is never slaked. That is the very nature of Hell.
Conclusion: The True Bread
So what is the application for us? This proverb forces us to ask ourselves a fundamental question: where are we seeking our satisfaction? Are we seeking it in the things of this world, or in the God who made the world? Are we trying to satisfy our souls, or are we just trying to stuff our bellies?
We live in a culture that is the epitome of the wicked man's stomach. It is a culture of boundless, disordered appetites. We are constantly bombarded with advertisements promising that the next purchase, the next experience, the next relationship will finally make us happy. And it is all a lie, a chasing after the wind. Our entire consumer economy is built on creating and feeding this perpetual state of lack in the stomach of the wicked.
The gospel is the only answer to this gnawing emptiness. Jesus Christ comes to us and says, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst" (John 6:35). He is the only food that can satisfy the soul. When we come to Him, we are filled. We are brought into a right relationship with God, and that righteousness brings a deep and abiding contentment that the world cannot give and cannot take away.
This does not mean we will never experience physical hunger or hardship. But it means that even in those times, our souls can be satisfied in Him. It means we can receive our daily bread, whether it is meager or abundant, with gratitude and joy, knowing that we have a Father who cares for us. It means we are free from the tyranny of our appetites. We can eat and drink to the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31), because our deepest hunger has been met in Christ.
Therefore, let us turn from the empty calories of the world, which promise everything and deliver nothing. Let us reject the lie that satisfaction is found in accumulation or experience. Let us instead hunger and thirst for righteousness, and come to the table that the Lord has prepared for us. For it is only in Him that the righteous can eat to the satisfaction of his soul, while the stomach of the wicked will always, and eternally, lack.