angela hormberg

Tag: Fruit

  • Proverbs 11:30

    Proverbs 11:30

    A Tree of Life

    Commonplace –

    “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise” (Proverbs 11:30).

    The words of Proverbs 11:30, “[t]he fruit of the righteous is a tree of life”, hearken back to Genesis and the Garden:

    “And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever. Therefore, the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden” (Genesis 3:22-23).

    After Adam and Eve sinned, they were sent out of the Garden to prevent them from eating of the tree of life, which would have given them eternal life. Now in Proverbs 11:30, we read that those who are righteous bear fruit that is a tree of life. We know that righteousness only comes through faith in Christ; the righteous are those who have professed belief in Christ. The fruit of these Christians is sharing their faith with unbelievers.

    With this understanding that the fruit is the gospel, the second part of the verse, “he that winneth souls is wise”, becomes clear. A wise believer shares this fruit with unbelievers to win souls. Therefore, let us be wise and share the gospel with all we meet. As Matthew Henry notes in his commentary,

    “He that is wise, by communicating his wisdom, wins souls, wins upon them to bring them in love with God and holiness, and so wins them over into the interests of God’s kingdom among men” (701).

    Works Cited

    Henry, Matthew. “Proverbs 11:30.” Matthew Henry’s Commentary On the Whole Bible: New Modern Edition. Volume 3 and Volume 6, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., March 1996.

    Holy Bible: Giant Print with Study Aids. Dugan Publishers, Inc., 1984.

    © 2026 Angela Hormberg

  • Proverbs 10:16

    Proverbs 10:16

    Labor

    Commonplace –

    “The labour of the righteous tendeth to life: the fruit of the wicked to sin” (Proverbs 10:16).

    We all labor every day at something. Here Solomon tells us the results of those endeavors; we are either laboring for the good or laboring for the bad. It seems very simplistic, yet everything we do results in either one or the other, depending on the purpose. What is the purpose?

    Matthew Henry’s Commentary is along the same lines. He notes: “The things of this world are good or evil, life or death, as they are used, and as those are that have them” (693).

    Works Cited

    Henry, Matthew. “Proverbs 10:16.” Matthew Henry’s Commentary On the Whole Bible: New Modern Edition. Volume 3 and Volume 6, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., March 1996.

    Holy Bible: Giant Print with Study Aids. Dugan Publishers, Inc., 1984.

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    © 2025 Angela Hormberg