Proverbs 11:4

"Riches profit not in the day of wrath: but righteousness delivereth from death."

It has been said that you never see a hearse pulling a U-Haul. We understand, of course, that this means there is no way for us to take anything that we have gained in this life into the next. On the other hand, it also suggests, as does this verse, that the gains of this life have no significance in the next.

Consider, for example, the things that are said of the glories of heaven. Revelation 21:18-21 tells us of the future Jerusalem, "And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass. And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald; the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst. And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass." Certainly a glorious sight, beauties to be seen everywhere. But consider, all the beautiful things that we covet in this life are nothing more than building materials in heaven! Gold is only pavement! Precious stones are only foundation stones.

"Riches profit not in the day of wrath...", that is, in the day of judgement. It is folly to think if we are drowning that writing a check to the ocean will save our lives. It is equal folly to think that any of the gains of this life will be of any help when we stand before the living God. In Psalm 50:10 the LORD said, "For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills." The whole creation is His. He created it and sustains it. What could anyone add to His riches? He created the stones and the gold that are shown as making up the building materials of heaven. Riches profit not in the day of wrath.

As is often the case in the book of Proverbs, two statements are placed side by side to provide contrast. The first half of this verse says, "Riches profit not in the day of wrath." The second half of this verse says, "... but righteousness delivereth from death." The second half of these statements parallel each other; "... the day of wrath" parallels "death." The day of wrath is equivalent to the day of death. In other words, wrath and death parallel, as Hebrews 9:27 reminds us, "... it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment ..." Similarly, riches and righteousness are parallels. But, they are opposites. Yet they both relate to the second half of the statements which include them. Riches and righteousness are opposites when it comes to the day of wrath and of death; riches profit not, but righteousness delivers. As was seen before, the riches of this life are of no value in the eternal realms, but righteousness is.

But Romans 3:9-12 tells us, we "... are all under sin; as it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: there is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one." This is the state of all people on the earth, men and women alike. All have sinned. That being the case, the last statement in this verse from Proverbs, "... righteousness delivereth from death", might seem to be a mockery of the human condition. Righteousness delivers from death, but none are righteous. Since none are righteous, it must be that all are under death.

Galatians 3:10-12 says, "For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them." This is exactly the problem that we ran into in Proverbs. Even if we wanted to live by the law it would be a fruitless endeavor. All have sinned, we saw before, and here we find that ultimately we are not justified by the law but by faith. The two are mutually exclusive.

Galatians 3 goes on, "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith." The wonderful truth is our problem has been solved by God Himself. Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law. Our own righteousness gains us nothing. The righteousness of Christ is what we can have, and it delivers us from death.

So let us consider the matter. Riches profit not, but righteousness profits greatly. Since God has declared it to be so, what can be done to gain the kind of righteousness that delivers? 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." Proverbs tells us that righteousness delivers. 2 Corinthians tells us that we can have the righteousness of God through Christ. How can we do any better than that? It is through Christ Jesus that we can get the righteousness that delivers from death. He was made a curse for us. He bore the wrath of His Father against our sin. The very wrath that is mentioned above in Proverbs is that which He bore. There were no riches in that day. Of the LORD Jesus Christ Philippians 2:7, 8 tells us, "(He) made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." All the glories of Heaven, all the riches, were His. And, He set them aside. After all, they don’t profit in the day of wrath.

Having been obedient to His Father, Philippians 2 goes on to say, "Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." So, His righteousness delivers in the day of death. He was glorified for His obedience to His Father, and we who are His children will be delivered in the day of death through His righteousness.

Proverbs 12:28, "In the way of righteousness is life; and in the pathway thereof there is no death." What a great salvation!

HJK