Proverbs 11:21 - The Certainty of Deliverance

Proverbs 11:21
Assuredly, the evil man will not go unpunished,
But the descendants of the righteous will be delivered.

Message: The Certainty of Deliverance

Time: King Solomon is the principal writer of Proverbs. Solomon's proverbs were penned around 900 B.C. In the Book of Proverbs, Solomon reveals the mind of God in matters high and lofty and in common, ordinary, everyday situations, too. It appears that no topic escaped King Solomon's attention. Matters pertaining to personal conduct, sexual relations, business, wealth, charity, ambition, discipline, debt, child-rearing, character, alcohol, politics, revenge, and godliness are among the many topics covered in this rich collection of wise sayings.

What the Lord is Saying:

The Contrast
As in many Proverbs, this verse presents a contrast. Here it speaks of the evil man and the descendants of the righteous. And then it also contrasts their two outcomes: not going unpunished contrasted with being delivered. The outcomes presented here of punishment and deliverance are outcomes we are all trying to avoid and receive, respectively.

Evil Outcomes
To me, the hallmark belief of the Bible is just this here and that is principally evil will be punished. I think this is one of the primary principals of the Bible that is chiefly being assaulted today. One of the big ways this is being done is what is defined as evil is being diminished or lessened. Conversely, what is called punishment is also being diminished.

I love old shows. One reason I love old shows is they generally are absent of vulgar thoughts and living in the shows and the tenets of what I would subscribe to in my life are often not as apparent. Sure, there still may be adultery or murder present but it is not explicitly shown. And bad language and cursing God's name is generally completely absent. And often there is a cord of faith in most movies because the country at large had a backdrop of faith even if they may not have really had their heart into it. So overall, I like these old shows and movies for those reasons.

Regarding this verse, I think of cop shows like Adam-12 and Dragnet. Adam-12 followed the lives of 2 officers, throughout their day as they encountered offenses that occurred in society. Offenses that were present were stealing TV's, revenge, domestic disturbances, investigating noise complaints, settling a dispute between arguing neighbors, arresting drug abusers (not dealers, but users). I guess my sense is many of these types of situations don't get dealt with by police today. But, also we in society may not even call these serious offenses. Much of the focus is what we term serious offenses now.

I think most people today would agree with this verse completely in that evil should be punished, but I also think that what they call evil today is way different from 50 years ago. TV shows, Movies, and the media have worked to redefine what is evil in society. And so the belief in society is punishment will not come to many because evil is not as prevalent in society as Scripture would make us to believe.

Deliverance
The contrast to the evil outcomes of evil choices and people and acts is the deliverance that comes from the descendants of the righteous. Now, this is different because it doesn't say the righteous, but rather the descendants. Could it be that there is power in living a righteous life; that living a righteous life yields dividends beyond the current generation? Perhaps this is the importance of living in a righteous manner. And yet it is possible the seed or descendant is more line with the children of God that we are called, those that have trusted Jesus as Savior and depend on his righteousness. We know we are not righteous without Christ. He is complete righteousness, so rather than this saying that this is a promise to my children, maybe rather what it is is a promise to those that have surrendered their lives to the Lord and accepting his riches.

The deliverance we have received is being in Christ and the peace that comes from this. We have peace in Christ that will last forever, for eternity. Those that keep the commandments of God; and have the testimony of Jesus Christ, we were delivered from the outcome that is deserved. We deserve punishment and to be separated from God, but through Christ we have been redeemed and we have been delivered.

Again, this is a message so contrary to the message that we hear in our world today. What is preached is human effort and outcomes from what we have done. The need to even be delivered has been replaced by the idea that we are all self-dependent. I don't need God when I have lots of savings in my back account. I don't need God when I can clearly see the result of my hard work and good decisions. I have much so I pray little. There is such a danger in riches or having things because it so easily makes me think that I can do it on my own, without God. It's the same lie that was presented to Adam and Eve. The serpent gave the idea that nothing really bad will come from breaking God's commandments. And even better we need to change God's rules into rights.

Promise: This is the essence of this verse - it isn't necessarily talking of immediate punishment or immediate deliverance, but these are final outcomes.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the clarity of this verse. Thank you for your great love for me and for saving me. Lord, keep me centered on You. Keep me focused on the great need in the cross. Help me to not be self-dependent and self-sufficient. I pray to remain urgent for truth, for deliverance. I thank you for your patience and allowing so many the opportunity for salvation by giving them time.