Proverbs 11: 4 Riches vs Righteousness

The verse we are studying today, warns us not to put our trust in riches, but in being right with God. We will use verses from the Bible with God’s definitions of the major ideas from today’s verse.

Proverbs 11: 4 (NKJV)

4 Riches do not profit in the day of wrath,
But righteousness delivers from death.


God is a God of Love, and as such, He must judge evil. There is coming, a “Day of Wrath,” when God WILL pour out His judgment on those that refuse to accept Him as their Lord and Jesus as their savior! He gave up His son to save us and there is nothing further He can do. We don’t have to face this… It is our choice. Here is what God has to say about the “Day of Wrath” in Isaiah 13:9-13 (NKJV)


9 Behold, the day of the LORD comes,
Cruel, with both wrath and fierce anger,
To lay the land desolate;
And He will destroy its sinners from it.

10 For the stars of heaven and their constellations

Will not give their light;

The sun will be darkened in its going forth,

And the moon will not cause its light to shine.

11 “ I will punish the world for its evil,

And the wicked for their iniquity;

I will halt the arrogance of the proud,

And will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.

12 I will make a mortal more rare than fine gold,

A man more than the golden wedge of Ophir.

13 Therefore I will shake the heavens,

And the earth will move out of her place,
In the wrath of the LORD of hosts

And in the day of His fierce anger.

Psalms 49: 16-20 (NIV) warns us not to be overawed with “riches,” because riches, in themselves, will not bring life.

16 Do not be overawed when a man grows rich,

when the splendor of his house increases;
17 for he will take nothing with him when he dies,

his splendor will not descend with him.
18 Though while he lived he counted himself blessed—

and men praise you when you prosper-

19 he will join the generation of his fathers,
who will never see the light of life .
20 A man who has riches without understanding

is like the beasts that perish.

NOTE: It is the man that has "riches WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING" that will perish. It isn't the riches that bring about condemnation, it is putting them before God that does.

Psalms 15: 1 – 5 gives us a definition from the Bible, of the person that God feels is “righteous,” and who will end up in Heaven…

1 LORD, who may dwell in your sanctuary?
Who may live on your holy hill?
2 He whose walk is blameless

and who does what is righteous,

who speaks the truth from his heart
3 and has no slander on his tongue,

who does his neighbor no wrong

and casts no slur on his fellowman,
4 who despises a vile man

but honors those who fear the LORD,

who keeps his oath

even when it hurts,
5 who lends his money without usury

and does not accept a bribe against the innocent.

He who does these things

will never be shaken.

Now, let's read, again our verse from today: Proverbs 11: 4 Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, But righteousness delivers from death. After reading God’s definitions, I found this verse to be much more meaningful and significant in it’s meaning for me… I hope that you did too!

Proverbs 10:21 & 22 Righteousness & Blessings

Today, we are studying verses 21 and 22 of Chapter 10. These two verses speak of “the righteous” in contrast to “fools,” and about the riches that God gives that will NOT end up bringing sorrow, like so many ‘earthly riches” do.

Proverbs 10:21 & 22 (NKJV)

21 The lips of the righteous feed many,
But fools die for lack of wisdom.
22 The blessing of the LORD makes one rich,
And He adds no sorrow with it.




We saw verses very close to verse 21 when we read Proverbs 10:13 & 14. Those that are righteous, speak words of value and words that are “food for the soul.” That is one reason why Jesus was called the Bread of Life. When people are fed, they live and grow, while those that are foolish and don’t follow righteousness and God’s ways of wisdom, end up dying from "soul starvation"… both in this life and after it.


In other verses, we have also seen that by following God’s ways, He will bless us, and we will be rich. This COULD mean in worldly wealth, IF God knows that the person can handle worldly wealth, and has been faithful with the things he as already been entrusted with…

Luke 16:10-12 (New Living Translation)

10 “If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones, but if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities. 11 And if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven? 12 And if you are not faithful with other people’s things, why should you be trusted with things of your own?


These riches can also be inner, soul and spiritual riches that we CAN keep with us forever. These types of riches are TRUE riches, “And He (God) adds no sorrow with it. Way to often, “wordly riches” WILL bring sorrow, as those that aren’t equipped, spiritually, will let those riches overwhelm them and not use them wisely.

Proverbs 10: 15 Wealth vs Poverty

Today’s verse discusses the attitudes of the rich and the poor.

Proverbs 10:15 (NKJV)

15 The rich man’s wealth is his strong city;

The destruction of the poor is their poverty.

The first part of the verse talks about a “strong city.” A “strong city” in Bible times was a place of refuge, protection and safety. This verse explains that a rich man usually puts his trust in his money to keep him safe and to take care of him. The problem with this is that Jesus taught us that you “can’t serve both God and mammon (money)… “ Matt 6:24 (NKJV) “ No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”

It tells us in Ecclesiastes 5:10 (NIV) that, “Whoever loves money, never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is NEVER satisfied with his income.”

Matt 13:22 (NIV) tells us, “ The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful,” and 1 Tim. 6:17 (NIV) says, “ Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant, nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.”

The second part of our verse warns that poverty can cause the destruction of the poor. We see this so often in the world today. Those that live in places of poverty often end up in lives of crime or consumed by drugs, because they get into the company of those that have “chosen” paths that led them into that situation.

One thing that comes to my mind, though, is that sometimes, we can be in poverty stricken places and still see people that are happy. They have an “inner wealth” that sustains them and by trusting in God as their provider, they will be able to climb out of the pit they have found themselves in. So, it is possible to be destroyed by poverty if you take it to heart and become bitter and envious instead of trusting in God to lead you to paths that will eventually bring you out of it. It all depends on what your eyes are on… is it God, or is it money?!