Proverbs 11: 5 & 6 Righteousness vs Wickedness/Lust

Both of our verses today, speak to us of those that are righteous as opposed to those that are wicked or lustful. As we have seen throughout our study of this book, this is the main theme of Proverbs, and is repeated in many different ways to emphasize it’s importance.

Proverbs 11: 5 & 6 (NKJV)

5 The righteousness of the blameless will direct

(Or make smooth or straight) his way aright,
But the wicked will fall by his own wickedness.

6 The righteousness of the upright will deliver them,

But the unfaithful will be caught by their lust (or their own desires).

As we have seen before, those that follow Godly paths in their lives are blessed by God. They are given wisdom and guidance from God which directs them in the ways they should go, and delivers them from problems that come up in their lives.

We have also seen that those who choose NOT to follow God, but their own lusts of the flesh, become more and more wicked. God has two definitions for the word, “unfaithfulness.” The one, most everyone is familiar with, speaks of one spouse betraying the other by having a lustful relationship with someone else.

The other definition has to do with not being faithful to God and His ways of love. We see this clearly in the following verses:

Leviticus 6:2-5 (NIV)

2 "If anyone sins and is unfaithful to the LORD by deceiving his neighbor about something entrusted to him or left in his care or stolen, or if he cheats him, 3 or if he finds lost property and lies about it, or if he swears falsely, or if he commits any such sin that people may do- 4 when he thus sins and becomes guilty, he must return what he has stolen or taken by extortion, or what was entrusted to him, or the lost property he found, 5 or whatever it was he swore falsely about. He must make restitution in full, add a fifth of the value to it and give it all to the owner on the day he presents his guilt offering.

In verse 6 of our verses today, we are told that the “unfaithful” WILL be caught, because their lust will lead them on, deeper and deeper into their sinful ways. The verse in Leviticus tells us what types of sin God considers “unfaithfulness” to Him, but it also speaks of being able to make restitution. The verses after this section speak of the blood sacrifices required to pay for these sins, and those of us that have accepted Christ as our Savior, know that He paid that price for our sins.

ALL of us have sinned, and God knows about it, so we have been caught. If we continue to go down the sinful paths, we will fall, but if we turn from them, accept what Christ did for us and choose to be righteous through Him, then we will be blessed and “delivered.”