NOTES for Pro 10:1-32
The short proverbs begin. They look like a scattering of individual aphorisms and sayings and may seem like an unsystematic and chaotic collection of unrelated phrases. But if we look closely, we can see a picture emerging from their diversity as from a mosaic.
At first, some judgments may seem overly straightforward, and counterexamples can be offered to the examples of the benefits received by the righteous, apparently testifying to the contrary. First, however, we should not become so absorbed in them that we fail to notice that the wicked have by no means always enjoyed the fruits of their crimes. Then we realize that Scripture says the same thing while also revealing the meaning of what is happening: “The labor of the righteous leads to life, the success of the wicked to sin,” and “the hope of the wicked will perish,” even if for the moment their paths appear successful. This will pass, and much sooner than it seems...