Proverbs 16:10 Commentary and Bible Study

The responsibilities of an earthly king call for particular wisdom in carrying out his duties. It was certainly not the case that all of Israel and Judah’s kings had this wisdom, and in every case where they did have it, it came because they sought it from the Lord, being aware that their office required a greater wisdom than they had naturally. The king had wisdom because he studied the word of God and enforced that word in the nation (Deuteronomy 17:18-20). On extraordinary occasions he consulted the prophet who revealed to him the mind of God, such as whether the nation should to go to war or not. But the earthly king is a picture of our perfect heavenly king, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is King of kings and Lord of lords. Solomon knew that his kingship was only a dim picture of the rule of Christ. The ordinary believer goes to him in prayer and seeks guidance from his mouth and finds a divine oracle on his lips. That oracle is the Scriptures which address every situation we could face and teach us principles by which we should live our lives. The words of Scripture come from the mouth of our heavenly King because the whole of Scripture is his word for his people. God can be trusted to do nothing to harm his people or to act treacherously or unfaithfully. This fact calls for the highest possible degree of trust on the part of his people. When we deal with someone who loves us, who has our highest good at heart, who has perfect understanding of the way we take, who knows our weaknesses and tendencies to wander from the safe path, and who is gentle in correcting his people, who designs to lead us to heaven to be with him for ever; when we come to such a one, we can come with the utmost trust in his counsel. He will never betray us, or cause us to face unnecessary hardship. He governs every aspect of our lives, and nothing happens to us by mere chance. We can therefore trust him even when all seems to go against us, and when the path of obedience involves us in hardship for his sake. He will bring every one of his children to a good end.