Proverbs 10:7 - Meaning and Application

When the days of both the righteous and the wicked are finished, both must die. In the grave, their bodies look the same, but in the world of spirits there is a great difference between their souls. The same difference should also appear in the way people remember them after they are gone.

Good people should be spoken well of after death. That is one of the blessings that comes on the head of the righteous, even after their head is laid in the grave. Blessed people leave behind blessed memories. It is part of the honor of God’s people, especially those who are especially upright and useful, that they are remembered with respect after death. Their good name, their reputation among good people for the good they did, is then, in a special way, like precious perfume (Ecclesiastes 7:1). God gives honor to those who honor him, and he will honor them in this way too (Psalm 112:3, Psalm 112:6, Psalm 112:9). The elders, that is, the faithful people of old, won God’s approval by faith (Hebrews 11:2), and even after they died, people still speak of them.

It is also the duty of those who remain. The Jews read this verse as a command, “Let the memory of the righteous be blessed,” and they make it a practice not to mention a very righteous dead person without adding, “May his memory be blessed.” We should gladly speak honorably about good people who are gone, thank God for them, and thank him for the gifts and grace that showed in them. Most of all, we should follow their example in what is good.

Evil people are forgotten, or else they are spoken of with contempt. When their bodies are rotting in the grave, their names also will rot. Either they will not be kept in memory at all, and will be buried in forgetfulness, because no good can be said of them, or they will be remembered with disgust. The rule, “Speak nothing but good of the dead,” will not protect them. When a person’s wickedness has been open and clear, and cannot avoid being mentioned, it should be spoken of with horror.