9. The Search for Security
We all appreciate security, peace, and safety in life, but those of us who have these things may often take them for granted. Many people in the world in which we live do not have any ongoing sense of security, of course, and in the ancient world concern for security in life was widespread and greater than we may realize. This fact is clearly reflected in the book of Proverbs, which deals with matters of security more frequently than we might guess.
If we do a word search for "security" or "safety" within the book, we only find one or two instances of these words – but if we widen our viewpoint, we find that dozens of proverbs actually focus on specific aspects of security. We find, in fact, that Proverbs treats this quality as one of the greatest blessings of life and shows deep awareness of the painfulness of its absence.
Specifically, Proverbs shows four things that are helpful, but of limited value in finding safety in life. The book also repeatedly speaks of another source of security that is worth more than all the others. We will look at all these areas in turn.
Wealth Proverbs is very clear that physical wealth can be a great help in preserving our security in life. Just as today those who are blessed with material wealth can live in safe and even protected communities, so in biblical times the rich could afford strong homes and servants to protect them:
The wealth of the rich is their fortified city, but poverty is the ruin of the poor. (Proverbs 10:15) This thought is repeated in another proverb, but notice the hint of uncertainty that enters this one:
The wealth of the rich is their fortified city; they imagine it a wall too high to scale. (Proverbs 18:11)
Proverbs understands that wealth may often help provide safety, but it is not certain to do so:
Wealth is worthless in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death. (Proverbs 11:4) Those who trust in their riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf. (Proverbs 11:28) The limited ability of wealth to protect us is one of the many reasons Proverbs tells us:
Do not wear yourself out to get rich … Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle. (Proverbs 23:4-5) Strength Proverbs tells us that "The glory of young men is their strength" (Proverbs 20:29), and that the "Proverbs 31" woman is no different:
She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. (Proverbs 31:25) Indeed, strength is a valuable commodity, and Proverbs counsels us that:
If you falter in a time of trouble, how small is your strength! (Proverbs 24:10) The wise prevail through great power, and those who have knowledge muster their strength. (Proverbs 24:5) But youth and strength do not last forever, and there are all too many cases where even the young and strong do not find security. Strength, like wealth, can only help us to a degree, and there are circumstances where even the very strong are overthrown:
One who is wise can go up against the city of the mighty and pull down the stronghold in which they trust. (Proverbs 21:22) Friendship Proverbs also shows that friendship, like close family, can be a hedge against the uncertainties of difficult times:
A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity. (Proverbs 17:17) However, many proverbs acknowledge that friendship, like wealth and strength, cannot always be counted on:
Wealth attracts many friends, but even the closest friend of the poor person deserts them. (Proverbs 19:4) This is why Proverbs urges us to remain loyal to our friends and stresses that friendship is only as good as it is lasting:
Do not forsake your friend or a friend of your family, and do not go to your relative's house when disaster strikes you— better a neighbor nearby than a relative far away. (Proverbs 27:10) For Proverbs, helping others in difficult times and situations is a moral responsibility:
Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter. If you say, "But we knew nothing about this," does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who guards your life know it? Will he not repay everyone according to what they have done? (Proverbs 24:11-12) This is one of Proverbs' most powerful arguments for showing loyalty and support to those in need, but the very wording of the admonition shows there are many times when people do not exhibit these qualities.
Wisdom The value of wisdom in terms of security is hinted at in some of the proverbs we have looked at already, but many more make the point explicitly:
Those who trust in themselves are fools, but those who walk in wisdom are kept safe. (Proverbs 28:26) The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty. (Proverbs 22:3) Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you. (Proverbs 4:6) but whoever listens to [wisdom] will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm. (Proverbs 1:33) Wisdom certainly can and does protect those who apply it. Nevertheless, this is true only to a certain point. There are times when even our best and most careful planning – even wisdom itself – is not enough to protect us from the fact that time and chance happen to everyone (Ecclesiastes 9:11).
In all these areas – wealth, strength, friendship, and wisdom – we have qualities that can help protect us in matters of security, but many proverbs make it clear in each case that the security gained is limited and not perfect. It is easy to mistake what these proverbs say for pessimism – that human life is doomed to the ravages of insecurity. But such proverbs are really pointing us to a larger fact – that our relationship with God is the only source of true security. Fearing and Trusting God The unspoken context of even the most pessimistic-seeming proverbs is that we cannot find true security in physical things. But righteousness, fearing and trusting in God – all parts of the final quality we must consider – alone protect us to the full:
The wise fear the LORD and shun evil, but a fool is hotheaded and yet feels secure. (Proverbs 14:16)
Whoever fears the LORD has a secure fortress, and for their children it will be a refuge. (Proverbs 14:26) Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe. (Proverbs 29:25) he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless, for he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones. (Proverbs 2:7-8) Unlike the other qualities we considered first, there are no proverbs giving downsides or limitations to the fear of God and trust in God – there is no "the fear of the LORD brings security up to a point"! Even though God does sometimes allow things to happen to his people (once again, as Ecclesiastes reminds us – good and bad happen to all) in everyday normal life – which is the perspective maintained throughout Proverbs – time and again we are assured that true security in this life and ultimate security of the life beyond this life is found in righteousness based on the trust and proper fear of God.