Hope and Joy

The hope of the righteous is gladness, but the expectation of the wicked perishes.Proverbs 10:28 NASB

Gladness – Of course, joy must confront the inequity of human living.  Far too often it seems the wicked prosper while the righteous suffer. Far too often justice appears to have taken a holiday.  Biblical authors often address the apparent contradiction of a good and all-powerful Creator and a world filled with injustice, sorrow, and pain. Sometimes they suggest that God’s justice is simply delayed.  Sometimes they focus on His willingness to extend mercy in anticipation of repentance rather than bring immediate punishment.  And sometimes, as in this verse, they redirect the thinking of the righteous, concentrating on the end result rather than the present circumstances.

The hope (tôḥelet) of the ṣaddîqim is śimḥâ.  This stands in contrast to the aspirations of the wicked.  Their expectations will perish (ʾābad), a word that means “be destroyed.”  While present circumstances might not appear to fulfill these conditions, the task of the sacred community is to trust in the justice of YHVH.  They can do this only because He is their God and He has shown Himself faithful through the centuries.  In other words, hope is a function of history.  It cannot depend on the present.  The present situation often favors the wicked.  In fact, they operate as they do precisely because the present has no immediate consequences for their wickedness.  God defers, and in doing so the righteous suffer.  But not forever.

This is not naive hope.  It would be naive if there were no historical evidence for God’s intervention in the affairs of men. For this reason alone, the record of God’s interaction with the Jews is critical for belief in justice. Even if the Tanakh makes scant mention of reward and punishment in an afterlife, it still provides a narrative of God’s actions on behalf of the righteous and the chosen.  While it is true that God’s intervention does not always seem timely, the biblical record proclaims that there is no case where evil ultimately triumphs.  In fact, since the biblical text uniformly affirms that YHVH is the only Creator and all-powerful god, believers can be assured that God’s control of His creation will eventually guarantee judgment of the wicked.

This verse does not support the idea of eternal punishment of the wicked.  That notion emerged later, after the influence of Hellenism.  What it does support is that the wicked will not ultimately prosper.  Their hope is futile.  Their expectations that life will continue without consequences for their self-serving morality will perish.  The Hebrew is to’ebed from the verb ʾābad.  “The verb ʾābad is a common word for to die, or, in the case of things, reputation, etc., to pass away.”^[1]  Harris’ comment on the word use in the Tanakh is important:

Probably the main theological question about this root is whether it refers merely to physical death or also to eternal punishment. It is not an easy question. Obviously the word usually refers to some great loss, in most cases death. Esther’s famous self-dedication, “If I perish, I perish” (4:16), had her self sacrificing death in view—only that.

The verses that may look beyond the grave to further affliction for the wicked may be listed: Ps 49:10 [H 11]; cf. vv. 12, 20 [H 13, 21]); 73:27 (cf. vv. 18, 19); 83:17 [H 18]; Prov 10:28; 11:7 (cf. 24:20); and Ezk 28:16. These verses, like many others, can be interpreted to refer only to death of the body. But they are in a context of consideration of the hereafter. One’s conclusion will doubtless be influenced by general considerations. ^[2]

What is clear is the declaration that God loves and cares for the righteous.  How that is manifested is left up to Him.

Topical Index: gladness, śimḥâ, hope, tôḥelet, Proverbs 10:28

^[1]Harris, R. L. (1999). 2 אָבַד. In R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer, Jr. & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament(R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer, Jr. & B. K. Waltke, Ed.) (electronic ed.) (3). Chicago: Moody Press.

^[2]Ibid.