by Bruce Billington

Weekly Devotional 29th of May, 2026

In this session, we will continue to look at Proverbs Chapter 11. 

Proverbs 11:25-27 – “The generous man will be prosperous, And he who waters will himself be watered. 26 He who withholds grain, the people will curse him, But blessing will be on the head of him who sells it. 27 He who diligently seeks good seeks favour, but he who seeks evil, evil will come to him.”

Verse 25 – the general picture here, as given in many other places in the Proverb writings, is that if we live for the good of others, we shall also profit.  

It is interesting that scientific study has, to date, concluded that all the parts of the universe are bound to one another by invisible chains, and that no creature in it springs up, flourishes, or decays for itself alone (Spurgeon). Therefore, we can conclude that selfishness is a clear offence against God’s law, whereas living for others and ministering to them is the right way to express obedience to His ways. 

So let us learn from nature - that to make ourselves happy, we must make others happy; and that to become good and spiritually vigorous, we must do good and seek the spiritual good of others. This is the general principle.

Verse 26 relates to a time of famine. People who are blessed with a barn full of corn or wheat when there is a famine in the land have three options:

1)   They can keep it all for themselves. Who knows how long a drought or famine may last? A person cannot have too much in difficult times. How can they replenish their supply if the drought continues? 

2)   They can hold onto it for a while until the situation becomes even more dire. The longer people go without food, and the hungrier they become, the more they will be willing to pay for grain. If they wait, they can make far more from it.

3)   They can sell it to others at a fair price. Notice that Scripture does not say they give it away, but that they are willing to sell it.

(Tyndale). 

Those who hoard a full storehouse while their neighbours starve, or who exploit their desperate situation, will be despised and cursed. The word translated as 'curse' literally means 'to pierce' or 'to perforate,' suggesting that some might act violently towards, or at least threaten, selfish individuals who refuse to help. Conversely, those willing to sell their grain at a fair price in such urgent times will be blessed by their neighbours and by the Lord.

Verse 27 - Priceless blessings abound for those who walk in righteousness. One of the richest blessings, often mentioned in Proverbs, is a longer life. 

(See Proverbs 3:2, 16; 4:10; 9:11;10:2.) Those who fear the Lord, who wisely and reverently obey Him, enjoy more days by avoiding sinful activities and behaviours that tend to shorten people’s lives. In contrast, the wicked often die younger because of their sinful habits. 

Verse 28 – the righteous will have their hopes joyfully fulfilled. The hopes of the wicked will perish. The POSB digs deep into Scripture here and tells us that, 

Although this is all part of the blessing of God, the natural laws of life assure them of success and satisfaction because they have sown well and expect to reap well (Galatians 6:7–8). God has a good plan for their lives and their futures (Jeremiah 29:11). They know that God is working all things together for their good (Romans 8:28). They live each day in the blessed hope of Christ’s return (Titus 2:13). Even death holds a glorious prospect for them (2 Corinthians 5:8; Phillippians 1:21–23). Just the hope—the expectation and anticipation—of all these wonderful blessings brings unspeakable joy to the righteous person’s heart. The wicked have no such hopes. Although they may appear to be living happy lives, any hopes they may have will go unfulfilled. Their hopes will perish right along with them.

There is so much to gain by following the Lord's ways and so much to lose by failing to acknowledge Him and His ways. We need to diligently seek His ways, even when it may seem harder at times. His ways will always win out in the end.