A Warning to the Wicked

 

Proverb of the Week

Lie not in wait as a wicked man against the dwelling of the righteous; do no violence to his home; for the righteous falls seven times and rises again, but the wicked stumble in times of calamity. - Proverbs 24:15-16 (ESV)

Given that Paul quotes a Psalm which points out that ““none is righteous, no, not one” we can understand that the righteous man spoken of here is one who is trusting Christ’s imputed righteousness rather than his own right actions.  

In this proverb we see a warning to the wicked that their efforts to cause the righteous to stumble will ultimately be unsuccessful, because they will persevere in their faith and their purposes which God has ordained. The wicked, on the other hand, are liable to fall and not recover from their fall into calamity or as it may also be translated, fall into adversity or evil.