The Roar and the Dew: Navigating Reality Text: Proverbs 19:12
Introduction: The Nature of Authority
We live in an age that despises authority. It is an age of petulant toddlers who want to be their own gods, who believe that reality should bend to their feelings and that all constraints are intolerable oppression. But reality, as it turns out, is not a democracy. It has a structure, a grain, a nature. And that nature was established by God. This means that authority is not an arbitrary human invention; it is a delegated, created thing, a reflection of the ultimate authority of God Himself.
The book of Proverbs is intensely practical. It is a divine manual for living skillfully in God's world. It does not give us abstract platitudes; it gives us inspired street smarts. And here, in this pithy little couplet, we are given a crucial piece of wisdom for navigating the world of men, a world structured by authority. Whether it is a father, a boss, a civil magistrate, or a king, authority has two sides. It has a face that can frown and a face that can smile. It has a voice that can roar and a presence that can refresh.
This proverb is not just a helpful tip for getting along with your local potentate. It is a lesson in the nature of reality itself. Because all earthly authority is a dim reflection of the ultimate authority, this proverb teaches us something profound about God. He is not a tame God. He is not a cosmic teddy bear. His wrath is terrifying, and His favor is life itself. To misunderstand this is to misunderstand everything. If we approach the living God with a sentimental, syrupy view of His character, we are setting ourselves up for a catastrophic collision with reality. But if we understand both the roar and the dew, we are equipped to walk in wisdom, both before men and before God.
The Text
The king’s wrath is like the roaring of a lion,
But his favor is like dew on the grass.
(Proverbs 19:12 LSB)
The Roaring Lion (v. 12a)
The first clause sets before us a visceral, terrifying image:
"The king’s wrath is like the roaring of a lion..." (Proverbs 19:12a)
In the ancient world, the roar of a lion was not something you heard from the safety of a zoo enclosure. It was the sound of imminent, violent death. It was a sound that paralyzed prey with fear. It was the auditory signature of absolute, predatory power. Solomon is telling us that the anger of a sovereign is just like that. It is not a mild displeasure. It is not a passing frustration. It is a force of nature that can unmake you.
This is, first, a piece of practical political wisdom. Do not trifle with the man who holds the power of the sword (Rom. 13:4). Do not be a fool. Do not poke the bear, or in this case, the lion. To provoke a king to wrath is to gamble with your own life. This is not a call to obsequious flattery or immoral compromise, but a call to sober-mindedness. Authority is real, and its displeasure has real-world, sharp-edged consequences.
But we must press deeper. All earthly authority is a pointer, a signpost to the authority of God. If the wrath of a mere man, a king of dust and ashes who will die and return to the earth, is like the roar of a lion, what then is the wrath of God? We are talking about the unmitigated, holy fury of the sovereign Creator against sin. The Scriptures are not shy about this. The Lord roars from Zion (Amos 1:2). He is a consuming fire (Heb. 12:29). His wrath is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men (Rom. 1:18).
Our modern, effeminate Christianity wants to declaw this lion. We want a God who is always nice, always affirming, never wrathful. But a god without wrath is a god without holiness. A god who is indifferent to sin is a god who is indifferent to righteousness, and such a god is a moral monster, an idol of our own making. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and that fear must include a healthy, trembling respect for His holy hatred of evil. The roar of the earthly king is a mercy, a small echo to warn us of the far more terrifying roar of the King of Heaven, so that we might flee from the wrath to come.
The Gentle Dew (v. 12b)
But the proverb does not leave us cowering in fear. The second clause presents a contrasting image of profound blessing:
"But his favor is like dew on the grass." (Proverbs 19:12b LSB)
The contrast is stark and beautiful. From the violent, earth-shaking roar of the lion, we move to the silent, gentle, life-giving dew. In an arid land like Palestine, the dew was not a minor thing. It was a source of life. It appeared quietly in the night, without thunder or fanfare, and by morning, it had refreshed and sustained all of vegetation. It was a gift from heaven that kept the land from turning to dust.
So it is with the favor of a king. His good pleasure, his approval, is not a small thing. It is a source of flourishing. To have the king's favor meant security, provision, and the opportunity to thrive. It was the difference between a flourishing garden and a barren wasteland.
And again, we must argue from the lesser to the greater. If the favor of a flawed, human king is like life-giving dew, what is the favor of God? It is life itself. His favor is the source of every good and perfect gift. It is the quiet, pervasive, constant grace that sustains our very existence. We are so accustomed to it that, like the grass, we often don't notice it. But without it, we would wither and perish in an instant.
This dew of God's favor is not earned. Dew does not fall because the grass has performed well. It falls as a gift. In the same way, God's favor is not a wage we earn, but a gift of His grace. "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God" (Eph. 2:8). This favor is what regenerates our dead hearts, what sustains us through trials, what nourishes our growth in sanctification, and what will one day bring us into glory. It is the atmosphere of the Christian life.
Christ, the Lion and the Lamb
This proverb, like all of Proverbs, finds its ultimate fulfillment in the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the true King, the one to whom all authority in heaven and on earth has been given. And in Him, we see both the roar and the dew in their perfect expression.
Jesus is the Lion of the tribe of Judah (Rev. 5:5). At His first coming, He confronted the powers of darkness with leonine authority, cleansing the temple, casting out demons, and speaking with a power that astonished all who heard. And at His second coming, He will return as a conquering King, and the unrepentant will cry out for the mountains to fall on them and hide them from the wrath of the Lamb (Rev. 6:16). The roar of His judgment will be terrible beyond all imagining for those who have not bowed the knee.
But this same Jesus is also the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). For His people, for those who have taken refuge in Him, His favor is like the dew. He did not come roaring, but was led like a lamb to the slaughter. He absorbed the full, terrifying roar of God's wrath on our behalf, so that we might receive the gentle, life-giving dew of God's favor. On the cross, the Lion was treated like a rebel, so that rebels could be treated like sons.
Conclusion: Walking in Wisdom
So how do we live in light of this reality? First, we must be wise in our dealings with earthly authorities. We are to be respectful, peaceable, and obedient, not out of fear of man, but out of reverence for the God who established that authority. We do not provoke the lion unnecessarily.
But far more importantly, we must be wise in our dealings with the ultimate King. We must recognize that He is both just and merciful, both wrathful and gracious. We cannot have one without the other. To reject His wrath is to cheapen His grace. To ignore His roar is to devalue His dew.
The gospel is the good news that we do not have to face the roar. By turning from our sin and trusting in Christ, we are hidden in Him. The wrath that we deserved was poured out upon Him. And now, sheltered in Him, we live our lives under the constant, refreshing, life-giving dew of His unshakable favor. We are no longer rebels awaiting the roar of judgment, but beloved children flourishing in the garden of His grace. This is the heart of wisdom: to fear the Lion and to trust the Lamb, who are one and the same King, Jesus Christ our Lord.