Proverbs 15:11 - Meaning and Application

This confirms what was said in Proverbs 15:3 about God’s presence everywhere, and it shows why he can judge both evil and good rightly. God knows all things, even what no living person can see. Hell and destruction are before the Lord, meaning not only the depths of the earth and the grave, but also all the dead who lie buried out of sight. They are all before him, all under his eye, so none of them can be lost or hard to find when they are raised again.

He knows where every person is buried, even Moses, and even those laid to rest in the most hidden places. He does not need any tombstone or sign saying, “Here he lies,” to guide him. The place of the damned, the lost, and all their suffering, which cannot be fully described, is open to him. So is the condition of separated souls in general, along with every detail of their state.

The word used here for destruction is Abaddon, one of the devil’s names (Rev 9:11). The destroyer may deceive us, but he cannot hide from God’s knowledge. God asks where he comes from (Job 1:7) and sees through all his disguises, even though he is sly, subtle, and swift (Job 26:6). If God can search Satan like that, he can certainly search human hearts.

God knows the hearts of the children of men. People may be deceitful, but God sees through them, and they learned those false ways from Satan himself. God is greater than our hearts, and he knows them better than we know ourselves. For that reason, he is an unfailing judge of every person’s character (Heb 4:13).