The Blessing Of YHWH, Which Comes As A Result Of The Fear Of YHWH, Makes Rich Without The Bad Consequences That Can Result From Riches, And Produces True Joy, Whilst The Fool Suffers The Worst Possible Consequences (Proverbs 10:22-27).
The blessing of YHWH, which represents a positive active response toward His people, comes on those who fear YHWH, and will as a consequence have a long and profitable life. In contrast the fool and the unrighteous, who laugh at sin, will experience the judgments of YHWH, distress others, and have a shortened life expectancy.
The subsection can be presented chiastically:
A The blessing of YHWH, it makes rich, and with it he ADDS no pain/sorrow/labour (‘eseb)' (Proverbs 10:22).
B It is as laughter to a fool to do wickedness, and so is wisdom to a man of understanding (Proverbs 10:23).
C What the wicked fears will come upon him, what the righteous desires will be granted (Proverbs 10:24).
C When the fierce storm (whirlwind) passes, the wicked is no more, but the righteous is an everlasting foundation (Proverbs 10:25).
B As vinegar to the teeth, and as smoke to the eyes, so to those who send him is the sluggard (‘asel) (Proverbs 10:26).
A The fear of YHWH ADDS days, but the years of the wicked will be shortened (Proverbs 10:27).
Note that in A the blessing of YHWH makes rich, and He ‘adds' no sorrow, and in the parallel the fear of YHWH brings about those blessings, and He ‘adds' days. In B the fool makes fun of wickedness, and laughs at it, and in the parallel he himself turns out to be a misery to all because of his behaviour. In other words, he treats sin as a joke, but there is nothing funny about the effect of his behaviour on others. Centrally in C what the wicked fear will come upon them (compare Proverbs 1:26-27 a) whilst in the parallel it is a fierce storm or whirlwind which will pass through making the wicked no more (Proverbs 1:27 b).
‘The blessing of YHWH, it makes rich,
And he adds no pain/sorrow/labour with it.'
Blessings on the head of the righteous have already been mentioned in Proverbs 10:6. Now it is confirmed that this is as a result of the blessing of YHWH, that is, that positive movement of God on behalf of His people that bodes well for them. The blessing was always seen as moving God to act in the matter in question. And this blessing makes rich without any necessary bad consequences. The thought is not that the righteous will not suffer. We know from elsewhere that they sometimes will (Proverbs 3:11-12). It is that their wealth will come without painful effort on their part (although they will work hard (Proverbs 10:4) and will not be sluggards, contrast Proverbs 10:25). It will be a consequence of their walking in wisdom. ‘eseb can mean pain or labour, or indeed painful labour. The idea is that when YHWH is active, whilst hard work is necessary, painful struggle is unnecessary. We only struggle painfully if we are not trusting Him.
‘It is as entertainment (laughter) to a fool to do wickedness,
And so is wisdom to a man of understanding.'
But while YHWH is blessing the righteous, fools are laughing at sin. For the mark of ‘the fool' is that he considers wickedness (the word contains the thought of evil devices) to be a joke. He laughs at it, and does not take it seriously. Indeed he enjoys it. He plots a negative course. In contrast the man of understanding rejoices in wisdom. He plots a positive course. His way ahead is sure. The fool finds great enjoyment in pleasing himself, the man of understanding in pleasing God.
‘What the wicked (the unrighteous) fears will come upon him,
What the righteous desires will be granted.'
But while the fool laughs at sin, he is well aware of the uncertainties of life. There is thus in him a fear of what the future holds. And this is what proves him to be a fool. He fears the future because he does not fear YHWH, whilst the wise and righteous man fears YHWH (Proverbs 10:27), and is therefore unafraid. And the unrighteous does well to be afraid, because for him the future is bleak, whilst the righteous follower of God's wisdom looks forward to the future with confidence knowing the God will fulfil his desires.
Note that in this and the following proverb we have a repetition of the ideas in Proverbs 1:26-27 (although the actual Hebrew root for fear is different), and that is that what men fear will come upon them, among which are fierce storms, are sure to come. Thus evildoers have need to be afraid, for what they fear will eventually come on them, because God's judgment on sin is certain. In contrast the righteous look to God in confident trust knowing that their desires will be granted. Their fear is not of coming events, but of YHWH, and they look ahead positively because they know that God will meet their desires. Note the differing verbs. The evildoer ‘is afraid' of what is coming. He knows that the future is uncertain. The righteous, on the other hand, are unafraid. They come to YHWH and bring to Him their wants, and needs, and desires. For they trust in God. They thus know that God is on their side and will grant them their ‘desires'.
When the fierce storm (whirlwind) passes, the wicked (the unrighteous) is no more,
But the righteous is an everlasting foundation.'
So both unrighteous and righteous will meet the storms of life. For one thing is sure in life and that is that fierce storms will come. But when they do come the unrighteous and the righteous will meet them in a different way. The unrighteous, who do not follow God's wisdom, will be swept away. They will be no more, because they have no solid foundation (compare the foolish man who built his house on sand - Matthew 7:26-27). In contrast those who do follow God's ways and are righteous, are sure of permanence and stability, for they are founded on an everlasting foundation. Indeed, they know that they are that foundation. They know that they will never be removed (Proverbs 10:30).
‘As vinegar to the teeth, and as smoke to the eyes,
So is the sluggard to those who send him.'
Note the contrast with Proverbs 10:23. There the unrighteous saw the doing of wrong as a cause for laughter. They saw sin as a joke. But here they themselves, seen in terms of a sluggard (compare Proverbs 6:6; Proverbs 6:9; Proverbs 13:4; Proverbs 20:4), are seen as the very opposite. The effects of their behaviour is not a joke. To those who send them to fulfil a responsibility they are like vinegar wine to the teeth and smoke to the eyes. They cause discomfort and pain. And this is because they are too lazy to carry out their responsibilities properly. Vinegar wine is wine that has become sour and acidic, and will attack the teeth, especially in the days when dental care was minimal. To drink it was to suffer unpleasantness and pain. Equally unpleasant and painful can be smoke in the eyes.
Especially in Solomon's mind may be the example of official messengers who, through laziness and carelessness, conveyed their message incorrectly. It was common problem in those days. And it could cause great embarrassment, or even worse. Ptah-hotep had instructed many centuries before, ‘if you are a man of trust sent from one great man to another, adhere to the nature of him who sent you, give his message as he said it.' The happy-go-lucky man of Proverbs 10:23 was not the one to send as a messenger.
‘The fear of YHWH prolongs days
But the years of the wicked will be shortened.
The subsection commenced in Proverbs 10:22 with the blessing of YHWH which makes rich. It now ends with the fear of YHWH which prolongs days. In the Prologue both riches and long life were regularly seen as the reward for following God's wisdom. See especially Proverbs 3:16; Proverbs 3:2; Proverbs 8:18. The ‘fear of YHWH' was that reverent obedience that a man showed towards an authoritative figure. It would regularly go along with genuine love. As a consequence of following YHWH's wisdom, such a person would be preserved from many of the dangers and excesses of life (compare Proverbs 1:10-19; Proverbs 2:12-22; etc.). In contrast those who failed to follow YHWH's wisdom would find themselves involved in them, and find their lives cut short. Solomon's continual aim was to present a glowing picture of the future for those who followed his (and God's) wisdom, and a bad end for those who did not. For the one there was a future in the presence of God (Proverbs 1:33; Proverbs 2:21; Proverbs 3:33 b, Proverbs 3:35 a; Proverbs 4:18; etc.; compare Psalms 16:11; Psalms 17:15). For the other there was finally only death and the grave world (Proverbs 2:18-19; Proverbs 5:5; Proverbs 7:27; Proverbs 9:18).