Midweek Devotional for Wednesday, October 7, 2026: Proverbs 10:27

Wednesday, October 7, 2026

 

The fear of the LORD prolongs life, but the years of the wicked will be shortened. (Prov. 10:27)

Proverbs 10:27 gives us a good contrast between the enduring consequences of fearing the LORD and the ultimately self-destructive course of wickedness.

“The fear of the LORD”

Once again Solomon brings us back to one of the controlling ideas of the entire book. The Hebrew term translated “fear” includes reverence and awe but cannot be weakened simply to mean “respect.” There is a genuine recognition that we live before the holy, sovereign God who judges righteousness and wickedness.

At the same time, for God’s people this fear is not the terror of wondering whether God will destroy them. It is the reverential fear of one who recognizes who God is and therefore desires to order his life according to God’s will.

“Prolongs life”

The Hebrew word literally means “adds days.” So, “the fear the LORD adds days.” Solomon is describing a general principle of God’s moral government. A life governed by the fear of God ordinarily avoids many of the behaviors that destroy human life—violence, sexual immorality, drunkenness, uncontrolled anger, foolish risk, criminality, and countless other expressions of folly. There is therefore a very practical aspect to this proverb. Wisdom tends toward life; wickedness tends toward death.

Solomon is not promising that every godly person will live to an advanced age or that every wicked person will die young. Biblical history itself would immediately disprove such an interpretation. The Proverbs describe the ordinary patterns of God’s ordered world, not mechanical guarantees applicable without exception to every individual.

“But years of the wicked will be shortened”

The second half sharpens the contrast. The wicked person lives without the controlling influence of the fear of God. Consequently, his behavior frequently exposes him to consequences that shorten and diminish life.

Throughout the wisdom literature, life is associated with God’s blessing, while the path of wickedness ultimately terminates in death and judgment. That makes another proverb especially relevant:

“There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” (14:12)

The wicked person may presently appear successful. He may even live a long earthly life. But his path cannot ultimately produce life because he has separated himself from God who is the source of life.

Christ gives the principle its fullest dimension:

“I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10)

“I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies.” (John 11:25)

That second statement is particularly helpful because it prevents us from reducing Proverbs 10:27 to physical longevity. The Christian may die young and nevertheless possess everlasting life. The wicked may reach a very advanced age and nevertheless be heading toward eternal death.

Seen from the perspective of the whole of Scripture, Solomon’s contrast becomes even greater:

The fear of the LORD leads toward life because it turns us toward God. Wickedness leads toward death because it turns us away from Him.