Bridges on Proverbs 3:33

Charles Bridges on Proverbs 3:33


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33. ¶ The curse of the LORD is in the house of the wicked: but he blesseth the habitation of the just.

The contrast between the sinner and the saint, affects us not only personally, but relatively. The curse or blessing of the LORD follows us to our homes. Shall we then envy the wicked, with his cup of earthly joy filled to the brim? The curse of the LORD is in his house (Malachi 2:2) — a “curse that never cometh causeless.” (Chapter 26:2) Let him think — ‘It is my Maker's curse — how awful, that my being and my curse should come from the same sacred source!’ It is not the impotent wishing of ill. Could we trace its deadly work, we should see the man wasting, withering, consuming under it. Observe “the roll in the house of the thief, and of the swearer — twenty cubits long” — a long catalogue of woes; “flying” — to mark its swiftness; “remaining in the midst of the house; consuming it even with the timbers and stones thereof.” (Zechariah 5:1-4.) Is this an idle dream? Surely — but for the blindness of the heart, the wicked would see the naked sword hanging by a hair over his head, or the awful “hand-writing upon the wall,” solemnly proclaiming — “There is no peace — saith my God — unto the wicked.” (Daniel 5:5, 6. Isaiah 57:21.) Vainly will the proud worm resist. Ahab multiplied his house beyond all human average, as if to set at defiance the curse pronounced against it. Yet at one stroke all were swept away. (1 Kings 21:20-22. 2 Kings 10:1-11.) Similar instances† abundantly prove whose words shall stand — man's or God's. (Jeremiah 44:28.) “Who hath hardened himself against him, and prospered? Who hath resisted his will?” (Job 9:4. Romans 9:19.)

But bright is the sunshine of the just. Not only is the secret of the LORD with their souls, but his blessing on their habitation. And when he blesseth, who can reverse it? (Numbers 23:20. Job 34:29.) Many a homely cottage, tenanted by a child of Abraham, shines more splendidly than the princely palace of the ungodly.† An heir of glory dwells here. A family altar of prayer and praise consecrates it as the temple of Jehovah. (Genesis 12:8.) Promises, like clouds of blessings, rest over it. God has been honoured, and God will honour. (2 Samuel 6:11. Jeremiah 35:18, 19. 2 Timothy 1:18.) “They that dwell under his shadow shall return.” (Hosea 14:7.) Is then my house under the curse or blessing of the LORD? Let my God be honoured in his own gifts: that I and mine may be manifestly sealed with the full tokens of his love.

Malachi 2:2

2 If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith the LORD of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings: yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart.

Proverbs 26:2

2 ¶ As the bird by wandering, as the swallow by flying, so the curse causeless shall not come.

Zechariah 5:1-4

1 ¶ Then I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a flying roll. 2 And he said unto me, What seest thou? And I answered, I see a flying roll; the length thereof is twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof ten cubits. 3 Then said he unto me, This is the curse that goeth forth over the face of the whole earth: for every one that stealeth shall be cut off as on this side according to it; and every one that sweareth shall be cut off as on that side according to it. {every one that stealeth...: or, every one of this people that stealeth holdeth himself guiltless, as it doth} 4 I will bring it forth, saith the LORD of hosts, and it shall enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him that sweareth falsely by my name: and it shall remain in the midst of his house, and shall consume it with the timber thereof and the stones thereof.

Daniel 5:5, 6

5 In the same hour came forth fingers of a man's hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaister of the wall of the king's palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. 6 Then the king's countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another. {countenance: Chaldee, brightnesses} {was changed: Chaldee, changed it} {joints: or, girdles: Chaldee, bindings, or, knots}

Isaiah 57:21

21 There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.

1 Kings 21:20-22

20 And Ahab said to Elijah, Hast thou found me, O mine enemy? And he answered, I have found thee: because thou hast sold thyself to work evil in the sight of the LORD. 21 Behold, I will bring evil upon thee, and will take away thy posterity, and will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel, 22 And will make thine house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, for the provocation wherewith thou hast provoked me to anger, and made Israel to sin.

2 Kings 10:1-11

1 ¶ And Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. And Jehu wrote letters, and sent to Samaria, unto the rulers of Jezreel, to the elders, and to them that brought up Ahab's children, saying, {them...: Heb. nourishers} 2 Now as soon as this letter cometh to you, seeing your master's sons are with you, and there are with you chariots and horses, a fenced city also, and armour; 3 Look even out the best and meetest of your master's sons, and set him on his father's throne, and fight for your master's house. 4 But they were exceedingly afraid, and said, Behold, two kings stood not before him: how then shall we stand? 5 And he that was over the house, and he that was over the city, the elders also, and the bringers up of the children, sent to Jehu, saying, We are thy servants, and will do all that thou shalt bid us; we will not make any king: do thou that which is good in thine eyes. 6 Then he wrote a letter the second time to them, saying, If ye be mine, and if ye will hearken unto my voice, take ye the heads of the men your master's sons, and come to me to Jezreel by to morrow this time. Now the king's sons, being seventy persons, were with the great men of the city, which brought them up. {mine: Heb. for me} 7 And it came to pass, when the letter came to them, that they took the king's sons, and slew seventy persons, and put their heads in baskets, and sent him them to Jezreel. 8 And there came a messenger, and told him, saying, They have brought the heads of the king's sons. And he said, Lay ye them in two heaps at the entering in of the gate until the morning. 9 And it came to pass in the morning, that he went out, and stood, and said to all the people, Ye be righteous: behold, I conspired against my master, and slew him: but who slew all these? 10 Know now that there shall fall unto the earth nothing of the word of the LORD, which the LORD spake concerning the house of Ahab: for the LORD hath done that which he spake by his servant Elijah. {by: Heb. by the hand of} 11 So Jehu slew all that remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, and all his great men, and his kinsfolks, and his priests, until he left him none remaining. {kinsfolks: or, acquaintance}

Footnote:

Jeroboam: 1 Kings 14:9-11; Amos 7:9. Baasha: 1 Kings 16:1-4, 12, 13. Jehu: 2 Kings 15:8-12. Hosea 1:4. Hazael: Amos 1:4. Jehoiakim: Jeremiah 22:13-19. Coniah: Ib. 24-30. Esau: Obadiah 18. Compare chapter 14:11; 15:25.

Jeroboam:

1 Kings 14:9-11;

9 But hast done evil above all that were before thee: for thou hast gone and made thee other gods, and molten images, to provoke me to anger, and hast cast me behind thy back: 10 Therefore, behold, I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel, and will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as a man taketh away dung, till it be all gone. 11 Him that dieth of Jeroboam in the city shall the dogs eat; and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat: for the LORD hath spoken it.

Amos 7:9

9 And the high places of Isaac shall be desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste; and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.

Baasha:

1 Kings 16:1-4, 12, 13

1 ¶ Then the word of the LORD came to Jehu the son of Hanani against Baasha, saying, 2 Forasmuch as I exalted thee out of the dust, and made thee prince over my people Israel; and thou hast walked in the way of Jeroboam, and hast made my people Israel to sin, to provoke me to anger with their sins; 3 Behold, I will take away the posterity of Baasha, and the posterity of his house; and will make thy house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat. 4 Him that dieth of Baasha in the city shall the dogs eat; and him that dieth of his in the fields shall the fowls of the air eat. 12 Thus did Zimri destroy all the house of Baasha, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake against Baasha by Jehu the prophet, {by: Heb. by the hand of} 13 For all the sins of Baasha, and the sins of Elah his son, by which they sinned, and by which they made Israel to sin, in provoking the LORD God of Israel to anger with their vanities.

Jehu:

2 Kings 15:8-12

8 ¶ In the thirty and eighth year of Azariah king of Judah did Zachariah the son of Jeroboam reign over Israel in Samaria six months. 9 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, as his fathers had done: he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin. 10 And Shallum the son of Jabesh conspired against him, and smote him before the people, and slew him, and reigned in his stead. 11 And the rest of the acts of Zachariah, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. 12 This was the word of the LORD which he spake unto Jehu, saying, Thy sons shall sit on the throne of Israel unto the fourth generation. And so it came to pass.

Hosea 1:4

4 And the LORD said unto him, Call his name Jezreel; for yet a little while, and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu, and will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel. {avenge: Heb. visit}

Hazael:

Amos 1:4

4 But I will send a fire into the house of Hazael, which shall devour the palaces of Benhadad.

Jehoiakim:

Jeremiah 22:13-19

13 Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by wrong; that useth his neighbour's service without wages, and giveth him not for his work; 14 That saith, I will build me a wide house and large chambers, and cutteth him out windows; and it is cieled with cedar, and painted with vermilion. {large: Heb. through-aired} {windows: or, my windows} 15 Shalt thou reign, because thou closest thyself in cedar? did not thy father eat and drink, and do judgment and justice, and then it was well with him? 16 He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well with him: was not this to know me? saith the LORD. 17 But thine eyes and thine heart are not but for thy covetousness, and for to shed innocent blood, and for oppression, and for violence, to do it. {violence: or, incursion} 18 Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah; They shall not lament for him, saying, Ah my brother! or, Ah sister! they shall not lament for him, saying, Ah lord! or, Ah his glory! 19 He shall be buried with the burial of an ass, drawn and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem.

Coniah:

Jeremiah 22:24-30

24 As I live, saith the LORD, though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were the signet upon my right hand, yet would I pluck thee thence; 25 And I will give thee into the hand of them that seek thy life, and into the hand of them whose face thou fearest, even into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of the Chaldeans. 26 And I will cast thee out, and thy mother that bare thee, into another country, where ye were not born; and there shall ye die. 27 But to the land whereunto they desire to return, thither shall they not return. {desire: Heb. lift up their mind} 28 Is this man Coniah a despised broken idol? is he a vessel wherein is no pleasure? wherefore are they cast out, he and his seed, and are cast into a land which they know not? 29 O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD. 30 Thus saith the LORD, Write ye this man childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days: for no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah.

Esau:

Obadiah 18

18 And the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble, and they shall kindle in them, and devour them; and there shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau; for the LORD hath spoken it.

Compare

Proverbs 14:11

11 ¶ The house of the wicked shall be overthrown: but the tabernacle of the upright shall flourish.

Proverbs 15:25

25 ¶ The LORD will destroy the house of the proud: but he will establish the border of the widow.

Jeremiah 44:28

28 Yet a small number that escape the sword shall return out of the land of Egypt into the land of Judah, and all the remnant of Judah, that are gone into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, shall know whose words shall stand, mine, or theirs. {mine...: Heb. from me, or, from them}

Job 9:4

4 He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength: who hath hardened himself against him, and hath prospered?

Romans 9:19

19 Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?

Numbers 23:20

20 Behold, I have received commandment to bless: and he hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it.

Job 34:29

29 When he giveth quietness, who then can make trouble? and when he hideth his face, who then can behold him? whether it be done against a nation, or against a man only:

Footnote:

Job 29:4. Isaiah 4:5. EnJa kai oi Qeoi. ‘The Gods are within’ — said the Heathen philosopher of his poor cottage. F. Taylor in loco.

Job 29:4

4 As I was in the days of my youth, when the secret of God was upon my tabernacle;

Isaiah 4:5

5 And the LORD will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defence. {upon all: or, above all} {defence: Heb. covering}

Genesis 12:8

8 And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD.

2 Samuel 6:11

11 And the ark of the LORD continued in the house of Obededom the Gittite three months: and the LORD blessed Obededom, and all his household.

Jeremiah 35:18, 19

18 And Jeremiah said unto the house of the Rechabites, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Because ye have obeyed the commandment of Jonadab your father, and kept all his precepts, and done according unto all that he hath commanded you: 19 Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not want a man to stand before me for ever. {Jonadab...: Heb. There shall not a man be cut off from Jonadab the son of Rechab to stand, etc}

2 Timothy 1:18

18 The Lord grant unto him that he may find mercy of the Lord in that day: and in how many things he ministered unto me at Ephesus, thou knowest very well.

Hosea 14:7

7 They that dwell under his shadow shall return; they shall revive as the corn, and grow as the vine: the scent thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon. {grow: or, blossom} {scent: or, memorial}