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Living Long

The book of Proverbs equates living right with living long.

10:27 says, “The fear of the LORD prolongs life, but the years of the wicked will be short.”

14:27 says, “The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, that one may turn away from the snares of death.” 

19:23 says, “The fear of the LORD leads to life, and whoever has it rests satisfied; he will not be visited by harm.”

But we probably all know people who lived for God and yet didn’t live as long as we would have liked. Is the Bible wrong?

This is one of those times we have to remember that proverbs are rules of thumb. Sometimes wicked people live long, and sometimes righteous people don’t. Don’t you ever think less of a believer who lived a short life, thinking it must have been God’s punishment.

More often than not, though, fearing God leads to prolonging our days. Part of that is because, if you fear God, you will make better choices. Those who fear God are not as likely to get drunk and drive their car off a bridge, or destroy their liver with alcohol abuse. They aren’t as likely to be executed as serial killers, or die in drug wars. The point is that fearing God often leads to all around healthier lifestyles that keep us from shortening our own lives by our own poor decisions. The wicked make more harmful choices than the godly.

Fountains are mentioned in 14:27. They are nice to look at, but they are not as important to us as they were to the ancient Jews. They were for more than just throwing pennies into while making a wish. Fountains are what supplied water, and they represented life itself. We aren’t talking about a little puddle of water, but rushing, life-giving water that came from a never-ending supply.

Fountains brought hope. They represented vitality. The snares of death would come where there was no water. People would die of thirst. They would die of starvation where there was no water for cooking. Water is essential to life. The fear of the Lord is like a mighty fountain that staves off death and extends our lives.

Living like this gives us wisdom, which, as a rule of thumb, will keep us from making harmful choices that could lead to an early demise. 


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