A Different Hope

(Proverbs 11:23 KJV)  The desire of the righteous is only good: but the expectation of the wicked is wrath.

As I was reading this verse I noticed that it was very similar to the one I looked at yesterday in the previous chapter.  I noted that at the beginning of chapter 10 my translation had a title of “Proverbs Contrasting the Godly and the Wicked”.  Your translation may have such titles at the beginning of a chapter or at the top of the page.  Understand that these titles are not part of the Hebrew or Greek text but are added by editors to guide your reading.

Having said that I am again reminded that there are large numbers of people in the world that march to an evil drum beat.  Notice that they have an “expectation” (8615b) of “wrath” (5678).  This word has the sense of hope.  These people desire wrath.  Have you ever been around someone who keeps pestering and bothering someone else until there is a violent response.  They will not stop until the victim explodes.  It is like a game to them.  For many of them, if it gets them involved in a fight that is fine.  They desire violence.  It makes their day.

So?  This is where the fruit of the Spirit is our strength.  We can call on the power of God to resist and keep our cool.  Of course, if we are the one causing the problem, we might want to do a little self examination.