The Righteous One observes the house of the wicked;
he throws the wicked down to ruin.
When a Godly man sees the wicked and their storage of "things" they don't become envious ... or, at least, they shouldn't. Solomon is giving us insight, here, into how a Godly man, in authority, will act when they "consider" the house of the wicked. In Psalm 73, Asaph, at least for a moment, envied the sinner when he saw their prosperity.
Psalms 73:1-3 (ESV)
A PSALM OF ASAPH.
Truly God is good to Israel,
to those who are pure in heart.
But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled,
my steps had nearly slipped.
For I was envious of the arrogant
when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
Psalms 73:16-17 (ESV)
But when I thought how to understand this,
it seemed to me a wearisome task,
until I went into the sanctuary of God;
then I discerned their end.
He later came to his senses and that is what the above proverb is telling us. Although the truth that all righteous people should "consider" (observe for the purpose of understanding) the wicked for what they really are, should be a norm. The real focus of this proverb is directed to the "Righteous One", the one in authority. The judge or magistrate is not persuaded by the wealth of the wicked and their home of abundance. The judge or magistrate who is truly righteous is only concerned about justice. When wealth is not a factor and truth is, the wealthy and the poor are judged the same. We need to remember that the wicked are wicked. The Righteous Ruler is one who fulfills Romans 13. They are in power for the punishment of the evil doer and for the praise of those who do good. It is not the opposite way around.
Romans 13:3 (ESV)
For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval,
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