Proverbs 10:22 The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.
23 It is as sport to a fool to do mischief: but a man of understanding hath wisdom.
Every human being longs for the blessing of the LORD. Most people do not identify that, but it is a fact. Cain brought an offering to the LORD that he thought would be pleasing to the LORD. The problem was that Cain did not know the LORD. He ignored all the truth that was presented to him and allowed his own imagination to develop his view of truth. He failed miserably. Most people follow the example of Cain. They have an imaginary God and they assume that god will get them to the blessing their soul longs for. Most people never get there.
The Bible shows us how to know the blessing of the LORD. Abel knew that blessing as did Seth, as did Enoch and Noah and Job and Abraham and David and Solomon and Daniel and a few others. Jesus warned that the path of life is a narrow path and few there be that find it. The problem is not with God. It is with the hard-heartedness of man. Stubbornness is not a blessing. It is a curse.
The blessing of the LORD makes a person rich. Those who are saved and walking humbly with the LORD will say a hearty AMEN to that. Many are scratching their heads and wishing they could find that blessing, but they do not want to surrender to the LORD in order to receive it.
God does not add sorrow to His blessing. The sorrow spoken of here is deeper than the outward emotions that we all deal with. Daniel knew the blessing of the LORD even though he faced a night in the lion’s den. He was given a vision of deep struggles that would face his nation, but he still knew the blessing of the Lord.
The apostle Paul knew the blessing of the LORD. He was whipped and beaten and put in stocks and left to hunger, but he knew the blessing of the LORD. The blessing of the LORD is that precious gift that no man can touch. It is a matter of knowing the LORD and submitting to His authority every moment of the day. You and I cannot control other people. Parents can control their children to a greater degree when they are small. As the child grows, he or she becomes more independent. No matter how hard a parent tries to control that child, they develop their own ideas. Some children grow up with an unhealthy trust in their parents. It is good to trust in parents if they have chosen to serve the LORD. It is not wise to trust in parents that defy God and have raised their children to defy God. Following an imaginary God is defying the true God.
The fool takes great pleasure in doing mischief. There are women in the news who make fools of themselve by posing in the nude to make a name for themselves. They sear their conscience so far, that they show no shame for what they are doing. There are people who love to look at women who will reveal all. Playboy magazine has made millions by abusing the vulnerability of women. The founder of that wicked magazine is in hell today. He is not hugging any pretty women. He is in torment. There are thousands of women there, but he has no time to think about them. He is too involved in his own torment, as they are in theirs.
Rather than following the wicked trends of the devil, the wise person chooses to follow a holy and just God. The wise person does not need to try to wash away their guilt with liquor and illegal drugs. Those things do not work and thus some of those people will eventually take their own lives to try to get rid of their misery. That just leads to greater misery. The wise person trusts in the true God and is blessed in knowing Him.
A man of understanding has wisdom. That is where understanding comes from. Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft. Many people choose rebellion over wisdom. Understanding comes when a person turns to God and trusts Him to be right. When we trust God to be right, our thoughts and actions will be changed to reflect His righteousness. We need to submit to Him and seek His face moment by moment and day by day.
Psalm 1:1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
Where do you fit into that picture? You have a choice to make just as I do. David chose to trust in the LORD. The only time David failed is when he did not trust in the LORD. He could not lose his salvation, because that was a gift from God. He could lose the joy of the LORD, but when he repented and confessed his sin to God, he could be restored. The same is true for any one of us.
We need to know the true God first of all. Then we need to submit to His will according to His Word every day. When we do that, we can be the blessed man that God talks of in these verses.
Pastor Bartel