angela hormberg

Tag: Good and Evil

  • Proverbs 11:10

    Proverbs 11:10

    Good Triumphs

    Commonplace –

    “When it goeth well with the righteous, the city rejoiceth: and when the wicked perish, there is shouting” (Proverbs 11:10).

    Who doesn’t love and long for a happy ending in a story, a book, a movie? How much more so do we love a happy ending to a person’s life? Proverbs 11:10 reveals this universal truth. It is all about getting the happy ending, whether it’s the righteous winning or the wicked being defeated.

    In his book, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Joseph Campbell states the following:

    “The happy ending of the fairy tale, the myth, and the divine comedy of the soul is to be read, not as a contradiction, but as a transcendental of the universal tragedy of man” (21).

    Turning to God and accepting Christ releases us from the bonds of the material world and opens up eternity, where justice is always served, good always triumphs over evil, and Proverbs 11:10 is the final outcome. Yet even in our material world, even men without “religion themselves, have a good word for a good man” (Henry 697).

    “Good men are public blessings – Vir bonum est commune bonum” (Henry 697).

    Works Cited

    Campbell, Joseph. The Hero with a Thousand Faces. New World Library. 2008.

    Henry, Matthew. “Proverbs 11:10.” 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 10:2

    Proverbs 10:2

    Honest Gain vs. ill Gotten Gain

    Commonplace –

    “Treasures of wickedness profit nothing: but righteousness delivereth from death” (Proverbs 10:2)

    The message of Proverbs Chapters 1 – 9 is about choice. The choice that is always before us is between good and evil. Verse 10:2 gives us the result of each path; wickedness leads to nothing and righteousness delivers from death. The specific evil mentioned in 10:2 are treasures of wickedness. Later, Jesus will speak to this subject in Matthew 6:24, “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon”. It’s important to remember,though, that the specific word Solomon uses in 10:2 is ‘treasure’, and treasure doesn’t have to be money. It’s whatever that thing, that treasure, is that tempts you to do something that isn’t good. Money is not inherently evil; the evil is not in the money. The potential for good and evil are within each of us.

    Matthew Henry has this to say about honest gain and the treasures of the wicked:

    Honest Gain

    “That which is honestly got will turn to a good account, for God will bless it. Righteousness delivers from death, that is, wealth gained, and kept, and used, in a right manner (righteousness signifies both honesty and charity); it answers the end of wealth, which is to keep us alive and be a defence to us. It will profit to such a degree as to deliver, though not from the stroke of death, yet from the sting of it, and consequently from the terror of it” (690).

    Treasures of the Wicked

    “The treasures of wicked people, much more the treasure which they have made themselves masters of by any wicked people, by oppression of fraud, though it be ever so much, as a treasure, and laid up ever so safely, though it be hidden treasure, yet it profits nothing; when profit and loss come to be balanced the profit gained by the treasures will by no means countervail the loss sustained by the wickedness, Matt 16:26” (690).

    Reading Proverbs 10:2 brings to mind many other verses, which are helpful in understanding this verse, remembering scripture interprets scripture. Following is a list of cross-references gathered from BibleHub.com.

    Matthew 6:19-21
    Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. / But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. / For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

    Luke 12:15-21
    And He said to them, “Watch out! Guard yourselves against every form of greed, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” / Then He told them a parable: “The ground of a certain rich man produced an abundance. / So he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, since I have nowhere to store my crops?’ …

    1 Timothy 6:9-10
    Those who want to be rich, however, fall into temptation and become ensnared by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. / For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. By craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.

    James 5:1-3
    Come now, you who are rich, weep and wail over the misery to come upon you. / Your riches have rotted and moths have eaten your clothes. / Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and consume your flesh like fire. You have hoarded treasure in the last days.

    Matthew 16:26
    What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?

    Mark 8:36-37
    What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? / Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?

    Luke 16:11-13
    So if you have not been faithful with worldly wealth, who will entrust you with true riches? / And if you have not been faithful with the belongings of another, who will give you belongings of your own? / No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

    1 Timothy 6:17-19
    Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be conceited and not to put their hope in the uncertainty of wealth, but in God, who richly provides all things for us to enjoy. / Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, and to be generous and ready to share, / treasuring up for themselves a firm foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.

    Ecclesiastes 5:10-11
    He who loves money is never satisfied by money, and he who loves wealth is never satisfied by income. This too is futile. / When good things increase, so do those who consume them; what then is the profit to the owner, except to behold them with his eyes?

    Psalm 49:6-10
    They trust in their wealth and boast in their great riches. / No man can possibly redeem his brother or pay his ransom to God. / For the redemption of his soul is costly, and never can payment suffice, …

    Jeremiah 17:11
    Like a partridge hatching eggs it did not lay is the man who makes a fortune unjustly. In the middle of his days his riches will desert him, and in the end he will be the fool.”

    Ezekiel 7:19
    They will throw their silver into the streets, and their gold will seem unclean. Their silver and gold cannot save them in the day of the wrath of the LORD. They cannot satisfy their appetites or fill their stomachs with wealth, for it became the stumbling block that brought their iniquity.

    Zephaniah 1:18
    Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to deliver them on the Day of the LORD’s wrath. The whole earth will be consumed by the fire of His jealousy.” For indeed, He will make a sudden end of all who dwell on the earth.

    Proverbs 11:4
    Riches are worthless in the day of wrath, but righteousness brings deliverance from death.

    Proverbs 15:16
    Better a little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure with turmoil.

    Works Cited

    “Proverbs 10:2”. Biblehub.com. https://biblehub.com/proverbs/10-2.htm#google_vignette. Accessed 12 Dec 2025.

    Henry, Matthew. “Proverbs 10:2.” 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.

    © 2025 Angela Hormberg

  • Proverbs Chapter 9

    Proverbs Chapter 9

    Commonplace –

    “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding” (Proverbs 9:10).

    Proverbs 9 is the culmination of Solomon’s plea for readers to embrace wisdom. He describes wisdom and compares her with the foolish woman; Wisdom cries upon the high places and declares that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge of the holy is understanding” (v.10) , while folly loudly declares at her own doorstep that “stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten is secret is pleasant” (v.17). The result of following wisdom is long life (v.12), and the result of following folly is death and hell (v.18).

    In his introduction to Proverbs 9, Matthew Henry shares the following:

    “Christ and sin are rivals for the soul of man, and here we are told how they both make their court to it, to have the innermost and uppermost place in it. The design of this representation is to set before us life and death, good and evil; and there needs no more than a fair stating of the case to determine us which of those to choose, and surrender our hearts to. They are both brought in making entertainment for the soul, and inviting it to accept of the entertainment, concerning both we are told what the issue will be; and, the matter being thus laid before us, let us consider, take advice and speak our minds. And we are therefore concerned to put a value upon our own souls, because we see there is such striving for them” (686).

    In his summary, Henry gets to the heart of Proverbs 9. Solomon does set the scene well. Wisdom prepares her home with seven pillars, kills the beast, which will be served, prepares the wine and the table; it is a hospitable and welcoming scene. Then, she sends out her handmaids to call in the guests. Her message is how to get wisdom and understanding: fear the Lord. In contrast, folly is loud and boisterous as she sits at the door of her house, and her only preparation is her enticement to the simple to partake in stealing and secrecy, while inside her home is death and hell.

    Solomon opens Proverbs 9 with the following verse:

    “Wisdom hath builded her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars” (v.1).

    What these seven pillars are we are not told directly, but there is speculation. Some believe they are a reference to: the fear of the Lord, knowledge, understanding, discretion, counsel, correction, and instruction. Henry makes the following reference related to the seven pillars: “Some reckon the schools of the prophets to be here intended” (687).

    I really like what Hebrew4Christians.com has to say about today’s chosen commonplace, Proverbs 9:10.

    “The scriptures declare that the starting point for wisdom is not to be found in speculative or abstract reasoning, but in understanding that a personal, holy, and righteous God has give us absolute imperative to love and do justly (see Mark 12:28-31). That is we are truly wise when we reverentially submit our lives to God in obedience to His commandments” (“Binah”).

    Works Cited

    “Binah”. Hebrew4Christians.com, John J. Parsons. https://hebrew4christians.com/Meditations/Binah/Printer_Version/printer_version.html. Accessed 9 Dec 2025.

    Henry, Matthew. “Proverbs 9.” 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.

    © 2025 Angela Hormberg

  • Proverbs Chapter 1

    Proverbs Chapter 1

    Commonplace –

    “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Proverbs 1:7).

    As noted by Matthew Henry, “the first nine chapters of [Proverbs] are reckoned as a preface, by way of exhortation to the study and practice of wisdom’s rules, and caution against those things that would hinder therein” (648).

    Chapter 1 begins with Solomon introducing himself, “the son of David, king of Israel” (v.1). He then offers the following objectives of the text:

    1. “To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding” (v.2);
    2. “To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity;” (v.3);
    3. “To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion (v.4)”.

    The profit to those who heed the wise counsel offered is safe dwelling and “quiet from fear of evil” (v.33).

    Also within Proverbs 1, Solomon compares the call of wisdom vs. folly, which echoes the opening of David’s Psalm 1, which compares the path of good vs. evil. The call of folly sounds like sinners conspiring with you to join them as they hide and lay in wait for an innocent victim, who has not caused them any harm, intent on destroying their victims by, essentially, burying them alive. These are people who run toward evil and are in a hurry to harm others. The fate of the evildoer is fear, destruction, distress, and anguish.

    The call of wisdom is very different from the call of evil. Unlike evil who hides and lurks, wisdom is out in the open, spreading her message loudly in the streets. She asks thought provoking questions to the crowds around her. How long will you remain simple? How long will you delight in scorning? How long will you hate knowledge? Wisdom offers to pour herself into her listener, allowing the hearer to understand all she reveals. The fate of those who seek wisdom is safe dwelling and a quiet spirit, free “from fear of evil” (v.33).

      Works Cited

      Henry, Matthew. “Proverbs 1.” 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.

      © 2025 Angela Hormberg, LLC

    1. Psalm 36

      Psalm 36

      Commonplace –

      “How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings” (Psalm 36:7).

      David begins Psalm 36 with a meditation on the wicked. The wicked person

      1. has no fear of God (v.1),
      2. flatters himself in his own eyes (v.2),
      3. speaks only lies and sinful words (v.3),
      4. has left off being wise and doing good (v.3),
      5. devises mischief (v.4),
      6. sets himself up in a way that is not good (v.4), and
      7. does not hate evil (v.4).

      David then turns his thoughts to God. God

      1. is merciful, and his faithfulness reaches the clouds (v.5),
      2. is righteous, and his righteousness is like “the great mountains” (v.6),
      3. is wise and his judgments are like a “great deep” (v.6),
      4. “preserves man and beast” (v.6), and
      5. is excellent in his “lovingkindness” (v.7).

      Here before us are the two paths: evil and good. We can choose to be like the evil man, or we can choose to mirror the goodness of our God. After reading the comparison, we are left to wonder: is there really any choice? David completes his thought by declaring that between the two, men will choose the clearly better path and “put their trust under the shadow of [God’s] wings” (v. 7). A person who chooses to seek goodness

      1. will be completely satisfied with the fullness of God’s house and drink from the river of His pleasures (v. 8) and
      2. will live in the light of God, where the “fountain of life” resides (v. 9).

      David ends by praying for those who choose to follow the path of goodness: that God will continue to extend his lovingkindness and righteousness to those who know him (v. 10)

      Finally, he closes in prayer regarding himself: that God will keep pride and the wicked far from him, which have been the downfall of those who have chosen the path of evil (v. 12).

      Matthew Henry notes the following related to Psalm 36:

      “If, in singing this psalm, our hearts be duly affected with the hatred of sin and satisfaction in God’s lovingkindness, we sing it with grace and understanding” (297).

        Works Cited

        Henry, Matthew. “Psalm 36.” 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.

        © 2025 Angela Hormberg