The blessing of Jehovah, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow to it.
This saying sits in a chapter of sharp contrasts, and it names one source of wealth that carries no sting. Two questions follow. Which riches are meant? And which sorrow does God refuse to add?
The Setting: A Book About God's Government
Proverbs 10 begins the practical sayings, and one writer marks out what the whole book is and is not doing.
In Proverbs 10 the details begin. They teach those who listen how to avoid the traps the simple might fall into, the path to follow in many cases, and the consequences of what people do. In short, they mark out wisdom in detail. They show what may be prudence for man and divine discretion for the children of God. They also show the result of God's government, whatever appearances may be for a while. Note that there is no question of redemption or propitiation in this book. It sets out a walk according to the wisdom of God's government.
This verse also opens a run of contrasts that carries on to the end of the chapter:
To the end of the chapter we have the blessing of Jehovah in contrast with the fool, the wicked, and the sluggard in their different paths. We have the fear of Jehovah, and again the way of Jehovah, with their effects compared to the opposite evil.
Wealth as a Mark of God's Hand
For the Israelite reader, the words carried a plain material sense. Boaz, described as a man of wealth, is one illustration.
Here, about Boaz, "wealth" carries the sense it has in Deuteronomy 8:17-18. There it means God-given personal possessions in the land: the fine houses, herds and flocks, silver and gold named in verses 12 and 13. For the godly Israelite, "wealth" was a mark of the blessing of Jehovah which "makes rich, and He adds no sorrow to it."
What the Absence of Sorrow Rules Out
The second half of the verse works as a test. Riches that arrive with a sting attached did not come from this source.
Perhaps one verse gives a good definition of blessing when it comes from the Lord, Proverbs 10:22, "The blessing of the LORD makes rich, and he adds no sorrow with it." That would be in contrast with what comes from other sources.
What those other sources add is described vividly by another writer, who takes up the Bible's own picture of riches as thorns:
Thorns are not more likely to tear our clothes than riches are to tear our hearts. They are thorns in the gathering; they prick with worry. And as they pierce the hand with the care of getting, so they wound the heart with the fear of losing.
Riches on Another Level
Commentators read this wealth on more than one level. For the believer today, one writer puts it first on the spiritual side:
When the Lord gives His blessing, it makes one rich, above all spiritually. While there may be sorrow at the time, yet the Lord does not add sorrow to this; in fact, it may be the means of easing sorrow.
Another writer measures how much ground that wealth covers:
It is also true for us that the blessing of the Lord makes rich (Proverbs 10:22). And our riches are spiritual in the first place, since God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ (Ephesians 1:3). Israel received the Promised Land as their inheritance. In the same way God has given us a vast territory of spiritual, eternal blessings, and we take possession of it by faith.
Waited For, Not Arranged by Ourselves
If God adds no sorrow, the sorrow in a believer's story starts somewhere else. One writer points to our refusal to wait.
Through unbelief and self-will we refuse to wait for God's time, and we get a Saul for ourselves. That is how Sarah brought Ishmael into her house. That is how Jacob brought twenty-one years of exile and servitude on himself. Our own crooked scheming and unbelief must answer for these sorrows. God, if waited for, would bring the blessing that makes rich and adds no sorrow with it.
Fully Displayed Only in the Coming Kingdom
Present appearances often contradict the proverb. One writer answers by pointing forward, and then back to today.
The day is coming when the Messiah will reign in righteousness. In that day every eye will see that the blessing of Jehovah makes rich, and He adds no sorrow to it. But even now, in this day of man, when sin still reigns in death, godliness with contentment is great gain, whatever our outward circumstances.
Meanwhile the riches can be enjoyed in the least likely place. Paul and Silas, jailed and beaten,
were so filled with the blessing of the Lord which makes rich that they "sang praises to God" — what a volume of praise and blessing He ought to receive from those who dwell in His house today.
Summary
- Source. The riches come from one hand. Wealth marks God's giving, not the owner's cleverness.
- Test. No sorrow added is the test of the source. Riches that prick in the getting and wound with the fear of losing came from somewhere else.
- Substance. For the believer the wealth is spiritual first — a whole territory of blessing in Christ to be taken by faith.
- Timing. Wait for God's blessing. Sarah's Ishmael and Jacob's years of exile show what our own scheming adds to the account.
- Display. Every eye will see the proverb proved when the Messiah reigns. Until then contentment proves it — and singing at midnight in a prison.