This is one of the great chapters in the Book of Proverbs.
21:1 – A man may be a pharaoh in Egypt, a king of Babylon, a caesar of Rome, an Alexander the Great, a Napoleon, a Joe Stalin, an Adolph Hitler, or any great ruler of the future. Regardless of how powerful a man may become politically, it can be stated as an axiom that no man can act in independence of God. Many of these rulers thought they could, and men today may still think they can. But the truth is that no man is free form God. No man can act independently. We have a Declaration of Independence in this country. Right now it is being used to declare our independence from God. We believe in liberty; so we’ve declared we are free from God! However, we are not free from God. We cannot act independently. “The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD,” and God is going to turn him just as He turns the course of a little babbling brook that runs down a mountainside. “As the rivers of water: he turned it whithersoever he will.” No king nor ruler nor any individual can act independently of God.
21:2 – Here again is the matter of man’s self-righteousness. Man rationalizes, but God scrutinizes. God looks at the heart. We attempt to paint up the surface so that we have the outside looking nice. We boast, “I’m a member of a church. I teach a class and serve on a committee. I’m always busy working for the church.” That may all be true, but God “pondereth the hearts.” The prophet Jeremiah pointed out that “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jer. 17:9). Have you gone to the Lord Jesus and spoken to Him about your desperate condition? He is the Great Physician, and He is the heart specialist. He gives you a new heart. He was the first One who went into this business of heart transplants. He will give you a heart that can be obedient to Him.
21:3 – Here we have the tremendous truth stated for us again that there is no value in simply going through a religious ritual. Remember that the Old Testament sacrifices were given because they pointed to Jesus Christ. No one was more faithful about going through those rituals than the Pharisees, the religious rulers of Jesus’ day.
Religious ritual can suggest that you are trusting in Christ when the fact is that you are not trusting in Christ when the fact is that you are not trusting in Him. A true acceptance of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ will so transform a person that he will bring forth good works. I tell you, this gets down to the marrow and to the bone of our souls. God looks at the heart. I repeat the question I asked earlier in our study: If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?
21:4 – When a person goes about to establish his own righteousness, God says it is sin. The righteousness of man is filthy rags in the sight of God.
21:5-7 – God can use riches that are accumulated in an honest way. There is no sin in being rich. The important thing is how the money was accumulated. If the getting of riches is buy lying and robbery, God will see to it that the riches will not be enjoyed. Do you get the impression that there are certain rich men today who are not really having a good time? Their riches are not what they really need.
My brothers and sisters, God says that you can get rich, but it won’t do you a bit of good unless you make money in the right way and use it for His glory.
21:8 – Your life will demonstrate what kind of a person you really are. If you are right with God, that will be revealed in your life.