Proverbs 11:5-8 says,...

Today's verses are Proverbs 11:5-8, which read,

v.5 - The righteousness of the blameless will smooth his way, but the wicked will fall by his own wickedness.

The smoothness of the path that the righteous are on is not that there are no difficulties along the way, bumps in the road, or hard climbs.  The smoothness comes into place among the difficulty of the trail because of your decision on what to do and say is given to you ahead of time from God, the One you hold in awe and respect.  You have determined to follow God no matter what and therefore whatever He instructs smooths the trail for what you are going to do.  It may be difficult to follow but the smoothness is in your devotion to follow after Him.

The wicked are on a very smooth wide path with no obstacles to climb over or go around but they will still stumble and fall by their own wickedness.  They will stub their toes on what seems to be nothing on a smooth trail because their wisdom trips them up.  It is their own wickedness that is being followed rather than the righteousness given by God through His grace by the cross of Christ.  So the wise has a peace about them even in the most difficult times while the fool has an unrest about them even in the midst of the most comfortable life.

v.6 - The righteousness of the upright will deliver them, but the treacherous will be caught up by their own greed.

The upright have a smooth path and now they also have deliverance.  The treacherous trip over their own wisdom and now they are caught up by their own greed.  Notice it is their own greed like their own wisdom, it is coming from themselves rather than the righteousness coming from another and the righteousness is doing the action rather than the wise themselves.  They are simply following after the wisdom of the Lord and the Lord is providing what they need.  Treacherous is the word to describe the fool or the wicked and it means to be deceitful which is the opposite of what it means to be upright which means to be straight, level, just, and lawful.

v.7 - When a wicked man dies, his expectation will perish, and the hope of strong men perishes.  

The wicked have expectations that everything is going to be fine not following after God.  There is going to be an exception made for them.  They have done enough good to cover their bad and God will look favorably upon them and their solution even though it goes against His.  They will be able to talk themselves out of this.  

The strong man is relying on his strength to carry the day.  He is a Samson of sorts caught up in his own abilities but not the One who gave him the strong body he possesses.  The wicked and the strong will be very disappointed in that day.  The false expectation and hope will perish because it was based on their own efforts rather than the efforts of the Author of wisdom.  The fool says, "God's got the plan but I've got my own plan that I think will end this way with all the benefits of God's plan just without following His plan.  It will work out, just wait and see."  Doesn't that sound ridiculous when you actually speak it out?

v.8 - The righteous is delivered from trouble, but the wicked takes his place.

The trouble that the righteous is avoiding because he is following the wisdom of God is taken up by the wicked who is following his own path.  The trouble doesn't go away it just gets transferred to the one who is not obeying.  The righteous would receive that trouble if they were not being righteous by following after the Giver of righteousness.  Again, we all have trouble in a temporal sense but not an eternal sense.

I think these verses play out what we have seen and heard or maybe experienced ourselves when a major tragedy has come upon our lives or the lives of a righteous person.  You or that person walk through it with a smoothness and with a sense of being delivered from its seemingly damaging effects.  You or that person continues to stand and have an expectation that is not dashed because it is based on the Someone else.  The wicked person seems to have a smooth life and all the comforts of this world but there is an internal unrest for something more and when trouble hits, it hits with it full affect and stops them in their tracks.  They have nothing to draw upon but themselves and that is not enough.  

The irony of being on a rocky path following after God that makes it smooth or being on a smooth path following after myself that makes it rocky.  One will be delivered from trouble while the other is caught up in false expectations and hopes of avoiding it.  What path are you on today?  Let's pray.

"Lord, thank You for giving us a smoothness to life.  We have our share of difficulties to face but You smooth the path of our proper responses as we follow after You.  We see other followers of You who have much tougher roads to travel but they rely on You smoothing the path for them to receive an expectation and hope that is based on You rather than themselves.  Thank You for those personal examples in our lives.  Amen."

Pastor Adam