Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Proverbs 10:3
The LORD will not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish: but he casteth away the substance of the wicked.
3. to famish ] Comp. Psa 37:25; and for the soul’s highest hungering, Mat 5:6.
casteth away the substance ] Rather, thrusteth away (as Gehazi would have done the Shunammite, 2Ki 4:27) the desire, R.V.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Casteth away … – Better, overturns, disappoints the strong desire of the wicked. Tantalus-like, they never get the enjoyment they thirst after.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Pro 10:3
The Lord will not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish.
The Lord and the righteous
I. God has bountifully provided even for the ungodly. Has He shown such concern for the wicked as to provide for them in the gospel a feast of fat things full of marrow, and will He disregard the righteous?
II. God is peculiarly interested in the welfare of the righteous. The righteous are Gods peculiar treasure above all people.
III. God has pledged His word that they shall never want anything that is good. Exceeding numerous, great and precious are the promises which God has given to His people. He may seem to leave His people in straits, but it shall be only for the more signal manifestation of His love and mercy towards them.
1. A word of reproof. Many do not make their profiting to appear as they ought.
2. A word of consolation. Some may put away from them this promise under the idea that they are not of the character to whom it belongs. (Skeletons of Sermons.)
The famishing of the soul
It is of temporal supplies the wise man is here speaking. The famishing of the soul might be understood, with great truth, of the proper and peculiar life of the soul. But the connection demands a different interpretation. Soul is often used to signify the person and the animal life. It may have reference to that weakness and fainting of spirit which is the result of the corporeal exhaustion produced by the extremity of want. (R. Wardlaw.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 3. But he casteth away the substance of the wicked.] But instead of reshaim, the wicked, bogedim, hypocrites, or perfidious persons, is the reading of twelve or fourteen of Kennicott’s and De Rossi’s MSS., and some editions; but it is not acknowledged by any of the ancient versions.
The righteous have God for their feeder; and because of his infinite bounty, they can never famish for want of the bread of life. On the contrary, the wicked are often, in the course of his providence, deprived of the property of which they make a bad use.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Will not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish; will preserve them from famine, according to his promises, Psa 34:10, and elsewhere, which, as other temporal promises, is not to be understood simply and universally, but with this limitation, except this be necessary for Gods glory, which in all reason should overrule the creatures good, and for their own greater benefit. For, to say nothing of eternal felicities which follow every good mans death, it is certainly in some times and eases a less evil for men to be killed with famine, than to survive to see and feel those miseries which are coming upon them, and upon the land where they live.
The substance, as this word is used, Psa 52:7, or the wickedness, i.e. the wealth gotten by wickedness; as righteousness, Pro 10:2, is by divers understood of an estate got with righteousness.
Of the wicked; who by that means shall be exposed to want and famine.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
3. (Compare Ps37:16-20). The last clause is better: “He will repel thegreedy desires of the wicked.”
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
The Lord will not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish,…. Or to perish by famine: not but that good men may be afflicted with it, as Jacob and his sons were, when the famine was in Egypt and in other lands; and as the apostles, particularly the Apostle Paul, were often in hunger and thirst, yet not so as to be destroyed by it; for in “famine” the Lord redeems such from death; though the young lions lack and suffer hunger, they that fear the Lord shall not want any good thing; at least whatever they may suffer this way does not arise from the wrath of God, nor does it nor can it separate from the love of God and Christ, Job 5:20. Moreover, the souls of such shall not be famished for want of spiritual food; shall not have a famine of the word and ordinances; their souls shall be fed, as with marrow and fatness, with the finest of the wheat, and with honey out of the rock: the church, though in the wilderness, is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, Re 12:14;
but he casteth away the substance of the wicked; that which is got in a wicked way; as sometimes he causes it to diminish by little and little; at other times he forcibly and suddenly drives it away, and causes it to take wings and fly away; though it has been swallowed down with great greediness and in great abundance, he makes them throw it up again, and casts it out of their belly, whether they will or not, so that it does not profit them, Job 20:15.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Another proverb, the members of which stand in chiastic relation to those of the preceding:
Jahve does not suffer the soul of the righteous to hunger;
But the craving of the godless He disappointeth.
The thought is the same as Pro 13:25. There, as also at Pro 6:30, the soul is spoken of as the faculty of desire, and that after nourishment, for the lowest form of the life of the soul is the impulse to self-preservation. The parallel , in which lxx and Ar. erroneously find the meaning of , life, the Syr. Targ. the meaning of , possession, means the desire, without however being related to (Berth.); it is the Arab. hawan , from , Arab. haway , which, from the fundamental meaning , hiare , to gape, yawn, signifies not only unrestrained driving along, and crashing overthrow (cf. Pro 11:6; Pro 19:13), but also the breaking forth, ferri in aliquid , whence , Arab. hawan , violent desire, in Hebr. generally (here and Psa 52:9, Mich. Pro 7:3) of desire without limits and without restraint (cf. the plur. ahawa , arbitrary actions, caprices); the meanings deduced from this important verbal stem (of which also , accidere , and then esse , at least after the Arabic conception of speech, is an offshoot) are given by Fleischer under Job 37:6, and after Fleischer by Eth, Schlafgemach der Phantasie, ii. p. 6f. The verb signifies to push in the most manifold shades, here to push forth, repellere , as 2Ki 4:27 (cf. Arab. hadhaf , to push off = to discharge); the fut. is invariably , like . God gives satisfaction to the soul of the righteous, viz., in granting blessings. The desire of the wicked He does not suffer to be accomplished; it may appear for a long time as if that which was aimed at was realized, but in the end God pushes it back, so that it remains at a distance, because contrary to Him. Instead of , some editions (Plantin 1566, Bragadin 1615) have , but, in opposition to all decided testimony, only through a mistaken reference to Pro 11:6.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
CRITICAL NOTES.
Pro. 10:3. The soul of the righteous, literally, the spirit of the righteous. But He casteth away, etc. Zckler and Delitzsch here read, but the craving of the wicked He disappointeth. Miller thus translates the whole verse: Jehovah will not starve the righteous appetite, but the craving of the wicked He will thrust away.
Pro. 10:4. Dealeth, rather, worketh.
Pro. 10:6. Zckler and most commentators translate the second clause of this verse, the mouth of the wicked hideth or covereth violence or iniquity. Stuart reads, the mouth of the wicked concealeth injury. Miller adheres nearly to the authorised version, and understands it to mean that wrong shuts up all chance of feast and comfort. It will be observed, that this latter reading renders the clause antithetical to the former part of the verse, which is not the case with the other renderings.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPHPro. 10:3-4
DIVINE AND HUMAN PROVIDENCE
I. A general rule. God supplies all the needs of His children (Pro. 10:3). We take the word soul here to mean what it often does in the Old Testament, viz., the bodily life, and, therefore, understand the promise to be similar to that in Psa. 33:19, etc. Gods special providential care is over the righteous. This we should have expected if this and like promises did not exist. The animal creation, as a rule, care and provide for their own offspring. There are men and women who have fallen so low as not to care for the well-being of those dependent on them, but wherever there is any virtue left in human beings it will certainly manifest itself in making some efforts to secure from want those who are nearly related to them and dependent upon them. God has laid it as a charge upon His creatures to care for the bodily wants of their children, and He has implanted within men and women an instinct which is generally strong enough to lead them to do it. It is an apostolic sentenceIf any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel (1Ti. 5:8). God has taught us that the righteous are bound to Him by a closer tie than we are bound to each other by flesh and blood relationships. For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, said Christ, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother (Mat. 12:50). He was more nearly related to His disciples than to those of His brethren who did not believe on Him. They were Christs own (Joh. 13:1) in a sense in which other men were not, and He provided for their necessities because they held this special relation to Him. God has a general care for all that He has made. He cares for the life of the tiniest wild flower, and feeds it with light and moisture according to its need. He giveth to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry (Psa. 147:9). He maketh His sun to shine and His rain to fall upon the fields of the unjust, and is kind to the unthankful and the evil (Luk. 6:35). Then it follows from necessity that He, the Righteous Father, will not suffer the souls of the righteous to famish. When ordinary means will not meet their need, He will employ special means to do so. There are many instances upon record in the history of Gods Church in which, the supply not being obtainable within the ordinary working of His providence, He has gone into the region of the supernatural for sustenance for His children.
II. Special exceptions to this rule If we understand these words as referring to the bodily life, we must admit that there have been exceptions to it. Some of Gods children have suffered from want, some have starved to death in dungeons because they have been righteous. But these special exceptions have been for special ends. Solomons father, when he was hunted by Saul, was doubtless often in want of food, but this severe discipline fitted him for the position he was afterwards to occupy as the King of Israel. Paul tells us that he was often in hunger and thirst, in fastings, in cold and nakedness (2Co. 11:27), but he likewise tells us that he gloried in tribulation, because it worketh patience, and patience experience, and experience hope, etc. (Rom. 5:3-4). Whenever there are partial or entire exceptions to this rule, we may rest assured that those who are the subjects of the exceptions have their material loss more than made up to them.
III. Special relationship to God will not secure exemption from want unless the necessary conditions are fulfilled. He, whether saint or sinner, becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand (Pro. 10:4). If a godly man is not diligent in business, he will come to want as certainly as an ungodly one. Gods children are not exempt from the working of the natural and providential laws of the world in which they live. If they transgress any physical law, they must pay the penalty. The disregard of any such law is a tempting of the Lord their God (Mat. 4:5-7). And what is true of physical laws is true of providential laws. If a husbandman is ever so prayerful and trustful, he will not have a crop in harvest unless he works hard in the days of ploughing and sowing. And the most spiritually-minded tradesman will not earn a living unless he gives due attention to his business. Gods promises were never made to ferry our laziness (Beecher). It is sheer presumption to expect God to give us our daily bread if we neglect to do all within our power to earn it. Even in Paradise nature would not yield her treasure without diligence on the part of man. Adam was to till the ground, to dress and keep the Garden of Eden (Gen. 2:5-15). And this dependence of success upon diligence is
1. Good for the man himself. He has bodily and mental powers which cannot be developed without constant exercise.
2. Good for others. A man who does not bring all his powers into play defrauds society of the benefit it might receive from his latent abilities.
IV. When the conditions of growing rich are fulfilled by unrighteous men, the wealth attained by diligence shall be taken away by justice. Riches and poverty are comparative terms; it is certainly not true that every diligent man makes a fortune; probably Solomon means no more than that diligence always brings some amount of reward. However that may be, we must put the declaration The hand of the diligent maketh rich side by side with that in the preceding verse, He casteth away the substance of the wicked. The professional thief exercises a diligence which is not surpassed by many honest men, if by any. He deals with no slack hand, and he generally succeeds in getting rich for a time. But if he is diligent, the detective officer is vigilant, and the substance he has gathered will one day be scattered by the hand of justice. And there are many unprofessional thieves in the world who gain their riches by means quite as unlawful as their professional brethren, although they sail under other colours. Substance thus obtained is as surely marked by God for scattering as that of the housebreaker or highwayman, although He sometimes delays long the apprehension of the culprit. Against all such the sentence has gone forth, Yea, they shall not be planted; yea, they shall not be sown; yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth: and He shall also blow upon them and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble (Isa. 40:24). There are three reasons why wealth, which has been gathered by unrighteous diligence, should be scattered.
1. Such unrighteous dealing is a sin against God. It is a defiance of the eighth and tenth commandments, for all men who get rich unlawfully must both covet and steal. When Gods thou shalt not is thus disregarded, we may be certain that He will vindicate His right to give laws to His creatures.
2. It is a sin against man. Such a mans diligence must have caused much misery to many of his fellow-creatures. Men cannot satisfy lawless desires without bringing unhappiness on others.
3. Wealth unlawfully gained is sure to be made an instrument of oppression. Wealth always gives some amount of power, and he who has trampled on the rights of others to get riches will be sure to use them for their oppression when he has obtained them. Pro. 10:4 may be applied spiritually. If material good cannot be obtained without diligence, most assuredly spiritual blessings cannot (2Pe. 1:5; 2Pe. 1:10, etc.). It is as necessary for the spiritual powers to be kept in constant exercise, if they are to be healthy and strong, as it is for the body or the mind. The needs of others as well as our own demand diligence in spiritual things. And whatever exceptions there may be in the rule in relation to material good, this higher wealth will always be in proportion to the diligent use of means.
OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS
Pro. 10:3. Should the wicked be permitted to hold their substance all their days, Death, that terrible messenger, shall at last drag them from it; nor shall their glory descend after them to the grave, but that wickedness by which they acquired it shall lie down with them in the dust and torture their souls in hell.Lawson.
The substance of the wicked is of the earth, earthy. It pertains not to the soul, and partakes not of its imperishable vitality. O the miserable but sadly common mistake of the rich man in the parable, when he addressed his soul in terms of congratulation, as if, in the abundance of worldly good, it had got what would give it real and permanent satisfaction (Luk. 12:16-21). Casting it away is an act indicative of regarding it as worthless. The substance of this world is that on which the hearts of the sons of men are set. But God will cast it away. He will not only bereave them of itand that, it may be, suddenlybut what is there in all this substance that can avail as purchase money for the soul and for heaven? Had a man the world to offer, God would cast it away. He would say, Thy money perish with thee! Riches profit not in the day of wrath. The famished soul must then die, and die for ever.Wardlaw.
As the end of the former verse must chiefly be understood of spiritual death, because temporarily the righteous die as well as the wicked, so, with St. Jerome, I understand this of a spiritual famine. Now, as the course that is needful to preserve the body is so to nourish it that it may neither be glutted with fulness nor pined with emptiness, but in such sort to feed it that it may still have appetite for food, the same is the care which Almighty God taketh of the souls health; for He so feedeth the righteous that He will not suffer them to famish, and yet He doth not so fill them as that they do not hunger and thirst after righteousness. The time of fulness is heaven, where, as there will be no danger of sickness to the soul, so no lack of plenty.Jermin.
It might be objected, If I strain not my conscience I may starve for it. Fear not that, saith the wise man. Faith fears not famine. Necessaries thou shalt be sure of (Psa. 37:25-26; Psa. 34:15); superfluities thou art not to stand upon (1Ti. 6:8).Trapp.
Pro. 10:4. The diligent (Hebrew, charutzim, from charatz, to cut short, or settle); those who are decisive in all things, who economise their time and meansprompt in movement.Fausset.
Riches were first bestowed upon the world as they are still continued in it, by the blessing of God upon the industry of men, in the use of their understanding and strength.Bishop Butler.
The Lords visits of favour were never given to loiterers. Moses and the shepherds of Bethlehem were keeping their flocks (Exo. 3:1-2; Luk. 2:8-9). Gideon was at the threshing-floor (Jdg. 6:11). Our idle days, as Bishop Hall observes, are Satans busy days. Active employment gives us a ready answer to his present temptation. I am doing a great work, and I cannot come down (Neh. 6:3).Bridges.
Not only will God provide for the wise, but wisdom itself is a provision. The hand of the diligent makes riches, even if it earn little; the meaning being that active work is itself a treasure; or, passing into the realm of piety, which is the one intended, he is a poor man who is a sluggard in his souls work, and a rich man who is awake and active. Our treasure is within. My meat is, said our Great Exemplar, to do the will of Him that sent me. And on our dying bed our money will be of small account, but our work will be the splendid fortune that will follow the believer (Rev. 14:13).Miller.
The advantages of virtuous industry.
1. The industrous man performs and accomplishes many things which are profitable to himself and others in numberless respects. Let his station be never so humble, yet that which he does in it has influence more or less upon all other stations. If he completely fulfil his duty, every other can more completely fulfil his. Let the faculties, the endowments of a man be never so confined, yet by continued uninterrupted application he can perform much, often far more than he who with eminent powers of intellect is slothful or indolent.
2. He executes them with far more ease and dexterity than if he were not industrious. He has no need of any long previous contest with himself, of long previous consideration how he shall begin the work, or whether he shall begin it at all. But he attacks the business with alacrity and spirit and pursues it with good-will.
3. He unfolds, exercises, perfects his mental powers. And this he does alike in every vocation; because it is not of so much consequence to what we apply our intellectual faculties, as how we employ them. Whether we apply them to the government of a nation or to the learning and exercise of some useful trade makes no material difference. But to learn to think methodically and justly, to act as rational beings, with consideration and fixed principles, to do what we have to do deliberately, carefully, punctiliously, conscientiously, that is the main concern. Virtuous diligence is a continual exercise of the understanding, of reason, of reflection, of self-command.
4. The industrious man lives in the entire true intimate consciousness of himself. He rejoices in his life, his faculties, his endowments, his time. He can give an account of the use and application of them and can therefore look back upon the past with satisfaction and into the future without disquietude.
5. He experiences neither languor nor irksomeness. He who really loves work can never be wanting in means and opportunities for it. To him every occupation is agreeable, even though it procure him no visible profit.
6. He alone knows the pleasures of rest for he alone really wants it, he alone has deserved it, he alone can enjoy it without reproach. 7. The industrious man alone fulfils the design for which he is placed on earth, and can boldly give an account to God, to his fellow-creatures, and to himself how he has spent his life.Zollikofer.
This rule applies alike to the business of life and the concerns of the soul. Diligence is necessary to the laying-up of treasures, either within or beyond the reach of rust. A world bringing forth fruit spontaneously might have suited a sinless race, but it would be unsuitable for mankind as they now are. If all men had plenty without labour, the world would not be fit for living in. In every country and under every kind of government, the unemployed are the most dangerous classes. Thus the necessity of labour has become a blessing to man. It would be a libel upon the Divine economy to imagine that the tender plant of grace would thrive in a sluggards garden. The work is difficult. The times are bad. He who would gain in godliness must put his soul into the business. But he who puts his soul into the business will grow rich. Labour laid out here is not lost. Those who strive lawfully will win a kingdom. When all counts are closed, he who is rich in faith is the richest man.Arnot.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
(3) The Lord will not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish.Comp. Davids experience (Psa. 37:25), and the great promise of our Lord to those who seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness (Mat. 6:33). (Comp. also below, Pro. 13:25.)
He casteth away the substance of the wicked.Rather, He repels (the word is used in 2Ki. 4:27, of Gehazi thrusting away the Shunammite) the eager, passionate desire of the wicked. However much they long for it, they get it not, because they ask amiss (Jas. 4:3).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
3. Soul of the righteous , ( nephesh tsaddik.) Nephesh is a word of various and multitudinous signification, and extensive use. It probably means here the person or body, considered especially in respect to the animal appetites. We have no word expressing the meaning it has in this place. Desire or appetite (for food) comes as near as any other Jehovah will not famish the desire or appetite of the righteous, he will not let it go unsatisfied, or “starve the righteous appetite.” Miller.
Substance , ( havvath,) is also a word which may be variously rendered. As it stands in parallelism with nephesh, desire, it may be rendered cravings. This accords with the latest criticism. The whole verse imports that Jehovah will not starve (refuse to satisfy) the desire of the righteous, but the cravings of the wicked he will disappoint. Comp. Psa 10:14, etc.; Psa 37:25.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
v. 3. The Lord will not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish,
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
DISCOURSE: 773
GODS CARE FOR THE RIGHTEOUS
Pro 10:3. The Lord will not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish.
GOD, who is the author and giver of all good, dispenses his blessings no less to the evil and unjust, than to the good and just. But he promises to those who seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, that all other things shall be added unto them. To this effect he speaks also in the passage before us. But though this be the primary import of the text, we must not exclude its relation also to the concerns of the soul.
To elucidate this blessed promise, we shall shew,
I.
What reasons the righteous have to apprehend that their souls may famish
A sense of weakness and of guilt may greatly discourage them: for,
1.
They cannot secure provisions for themselves
[The word of God, and Christ in the word, is the proper food of the soul: and, if a person can read, he need not be wholly destitute. But it is by the public ministration of the word that God principally confirms the souls of his people. Now in many places where Christ should be preached, his name is scarcely heard; and, instead of childrens bread, little is dispensed besides the husks of heathen morality. Even where some attention is paid to Christian doctrines, there is often much chaff mixed with the wheat; and the trumpet that is blown, gives but an uncertain sound. Those therefore who by reason of distance, or infirmity, or other insurmountable obstacles, cannot have access to the purer fountains of truth, have great reason to fear that their souls will famish.]
2.
They cannot, of themselves, feed upon the provisions set before them
[Where all the treasures of the Gospel are fully opened, it is God alone that can enrich any soul by means of them: even Paul may plant, or Apollos may water, but it is God alone that can give the increase. The very same word is often made a peculiar blessing to one, that was altogether useless to another. God reserves the times and the seasons in his own hands; and gives to every one severally as he will. When therefore the righteous hear of the effects wrought on others, and feel conscious that they themselves reaped no benefit from the word, they are ready to fear that their souls will famish even in the midst of plenty.]
3.
They well know that they deserve to be utterly abandoned by their God
[It is not only for their sins in general, that the righteous find occasion to humble themselves before God, but more particularly for their misimprovement of divine ordinances. Perhaps there is not any other more fruitful source of self-condemnation to the godly than this. When therefore they see how many opportunities of improvement they have lost, and how much guilt they have contracted by their deadness and formality in the worship of God, they are sensible that God may justly remove their candlestick, and leave them to experience a famine of the word.]
But lest a dread of famishing should oppress the minds of the righteous, we shall proceed to shew,
II.
What grounds they have to hope, that God will never suffer such a melancholy event to happen
However great the grounds of fear may be which the righteous feel within themselves, they have abundant reason to encourage themselves in the Lord their God.
1.
He has bountifully provided even for the ungodly
[The Gospel is a feast of fat things full of marrow, and of wines on the lees well refined; and God has sent out into all the highways and hedges to invite the poor, the halt, the lame, and the blind, and has commissioned his servants to compel men, by dint of importunity, to accept his invitation. Now has he shewn such concern for the wicked, and will he disregard the righteous? Will he not rather cause the manna to fall around their tents, and the water to follow them through all this dreary wilderness? Yes; he would rather send a raven to feed them, or sustain them by a continued miracle [Note: 1Ki 17:6; 1Ki 17:14.], than ever suffer their souls to famish.]
2.
He is peculiarly interested in the welfare of the righteous
[The righteous are Gods peculiar treasure above all people; they are even his sons and daughters. If they were left to perish, Jesus would lose the purchase of his blood, and the very members of his body. And can we imagine that God will be so unmindful of them as utterly to forsake them? Did he not on many occasions vouchsafe mercy to his chosen people for his own name sake, when their backslidings had rendered them fit objects of his everlasting displeasure? Thus then will he still be actuated by a regard for his own honour, and not forsake his people, because it hath pleased him to make them his people [Note: 1Sa 12:22.].]
3.
He has pledged his word that they shall never want any thing that is good
[Exceeding numerous, great, and precious are the promises which God has given to his people. He will supply all their wants, according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus: he will give them grace and glory; and will withhold no good thing: their souls shall be even as a well watered garden: bread shall be given them; and their water shall be sure. And will he violate his word? he may leave his people in straits, as he did the Israelites of old: but it shall be only for the more signal manifestation of his love and mercy towards them. Let them only trust in him, and he will never leave them, never, never forsake them [Note: Heb 13:5. See the Greek.].]
We shall conclude with a word
1.
Of reproof
[It is certain that many do not make their profiting to appear as they ought. To such therefore we must say, Wherefore art thou, being a kings son, lean from day to day [Note: 2Sa 13:4.]? Why art thou crying continually, Woe is me! my leanness! my leanness [Note: Isa 24:16.]! when thou shouldest be growing up as the calves of the stall [Note: Mal 4:2.]? Some part of the blame perhaps may attach to him who dispenses the ordinances among you, as wanting more life and spirituality in his ministrations; yet even this would be no excuse to you, since if your hearts were more spiritual, God would render your mean fare as nutritious as the richest dainties [Note: Dan 1:12-15.]. If God should even give you your desire, yet would he also send leanness into your souls [Note: Psa 106:15.], while you continued to lothe the heavenly manna. Learn then to come with more eager appetite Be more careful to digest the word afterward by meditation and prayer And look, not so much to the manner in which the word is preached, as to Christ in the word; since he is that bread of life which alone can nourish your souls; and which, if eaten by faith, will surely nourish them unto life eternal [Note: Joh 6:51.] ]
2.
Of consolation
[Some may put away from them this promise, under the idea that they are not of the character to whom it belongs. Now, though we would by no means encourage any to apply the promises to themselves in a presumptuous manner, and thereby to deceive their own souls with ungrounded expectations, yet we would not that any should refuse the consolation that properly belongs to them. Suppose then that any cannot absolutely number themselves among the righteous, yet, if they hunger and thirst after righteousness, they are blessed, and shall be filled [Note: Mat 5:6.]. This is the word of God to their souls; and we would have them expect assuredly its accomplishment in due season Let them desire the sincere milk of the word, and they shall grow thereby [Note: 1Pe 2:2.] ]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
The LORD will not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish: but he casteth away the substance of the wicked.
See this blessing insured, as it concerns the Lord’s people. Psa 33:18-19 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Pro 10:3 The LORD will not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish: but he casteth away the substance of the wicked.
Ver. 3. The Lord will not suffer the soul of the righteous. ] That refuseth to enrich himself by evil arts, and to rise by wicked principles. For it might be objected, If I strain not my conscience, I may starve for it. Fear not that, saith the wise man; faith fears not famine. Necessaries thou shall be sure of; Psa 37:25-26 ; Psa 34:15 superfluities thou art not to stand upon a 1Ti 6:8 The Hebrews by “righteousness” in the former verse understand alms deeds, as Dan 4:24 ; Dan 4:27 See Trapp on “ Mat 7:1 “ and so the sense here may be. The righteous, though he give much to the poor, shall be never the poorer, since not getting, but giving, is the way to thrive. See my “Common Place of Alms.”
But he casteth away the substance of the wicked.
a : .
b Quo mihi divitias queis non conceditur uti?
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
will not suffer, &c. Illustrations: Elijah (1Ki 17); David (2Sa 17:27-29).
soul. Hebrew. nephesh. App-13.
the righteous = a righteous one.
casteth away = repel, &c. Illustrations: Israel (Jdg 6:1-4); Samaria (1Ki 18:2. 2Ki 6:5); Jerusalem (Lam 5:10. Zep 1:18); the Chaldeans (Hab 2:8).
the wicked = lawless ones. Hebrew. rasha’. App-44.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Pro 10:3
Pro 10:3
“Jehovah will not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish; But he thrusteth away the desire of the wicked.”
Note that it is not particularly the body of the righteous, but his soul that shall not famish. The NIV misses this significant difference. “The Lord does not let the righteous go hungry, but he thwarts the craving of the wicked.
Pro 10:3. American Bible Union version: Jehovah will not let the spirit of the righteous famish; But he repels the longing of the wicked. God so blesses the righteous that they do not faint. Consider Davids praise of God in Psa 23:1-6. And so states Paul in 2Co 4:16. But equally so is Gods face against those who do evil (1Pe 3:12).
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
will: Job 5:20, Psa 10:14, Psa 33:19, Psa 34:9, Psa 34:10, Psa 37:3, Psa 37:19, Psa 37:25, Isa 33:16, Mat 6:30-33, Luk 12:22-24, Luk 12:31, Heb 13:5, Heb 13:6
but: Job 20:5-8, Job 20:20-22, Job 20:28, Hab 2:6-8, Zep 1:18
the substance of the wicked: or, the wicked for their wickedness, Pro 14:32
Reciprocal: Pro 28:10 – but
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Pro 10:3. The Lord will not suffer the righteous to famish Will preserve them from famine, according to his promises, Psa 34:10, (on which see the note,) and elsewhere; but he casteth away the substance So , the word here used, sometimes signifies; or, the wickedness, that is, the wealth gotten by wickedness, as it is rendered Psa 52:7; of the wicked Who by that means shall be exposed to want and famine. The instructions in these last two verses about getting, keeping, and using riches aright, very properly follow what was observed, Pro 10:1, that a curse may not be entailed upon riches through a contrary conduct respecting them, and descend with them unto our children.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
10:3 The LORD will {b} not allow the soul of the righteous to famish: but he casteth away the substance of the wicked.
(b) Though he permits the just to want for a time, yet he will send him comfort in due season.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The righteous will not lack what is most important in life, though they may lack food. Conversely, God will not meet the deepest cravings of the wicked because they have rejected His ways.
"The wicked are condemned to live forever with their unfulfilled, and so sterile, desires, which cannot be transformed into practical attainment." [Note: McKane, p. 426.]