Pro 13:22
A GOOD MAN LEAVES AN INHERITANCE FOR HIS CHILDREN'S CHILDREN, BUT A SINNER'S WEALTH IS STORED UP FOR THE RIGHTEOUS: Divine justice, not human scheming, determines the final disposition of one's estates and wealth.
A GOOD MAN LEAVES AN INHERITANCE FOR HIS CHILDREN'S CHILDREN: In Israel, bequeathing an inheritance to one's family was a sign of God's blessing; such blessings were typically extended to the righteous but not to the sinners (Pro 19:14; 2Co 12:14). "A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed" (Pro 11:25).
"[A good man] is careful, both by justice and charity, to obtain the blessing of God upon what he has, and to [confer] that blessing upon his children, without which the greatest industry and frugality will be in vain: A good man, by being good and doing good, by honouring the Lord with his substance and spending it in His service, secures it to his posterity; or, if he should not leave them much of this world's goods, his prayers, his instructions, his good example, will be the best [estate], and the promises of the covenant will be an inheritance to his children's children (Psa 103:17)" (Henry). With this cp Gen 17:7,8; Psa 25:12,13; 102:28; 112:2; 128:6.
Wealth acquired and amassed by legitimate means seems, in the divine program, much more stable and secure than wealth acquired by deceit and violence (see also Pro 13:11). It will remain. When a righteous man lay dying he asked to see his son, to whom he spoke these words: "I have amassed no great fortune in my many years. I leave you only a small fortune; but, my dear son, it is honestly gained, and will wear well; there are no hired men's wages in it [Jam 5:4], nor is there one single penny of 'dirty money'. Of this you may be assured."
HIS CHILDREN'S CHILDREN: "His grandchildren" (NET). In the United States, at least, there is a particular financial arrangement -- for the very wealthy -- called a "generation-skipping trust". In this, estate taxes (ie, death duties) are bypassed or minimized by leaving the bulk of one's estate, not to one's children, but in trust for one's grandchildren.
BUT A SINNER'S WEALTH IS STORED UP FOR THE RIGHTEOUS: This is especially the subject of Psa 49 -- which seems to describe the great wealth of Egypt, and the Egyptian's (and particularly the Pharaoh's) preoccupation with death, and his meticulous preparing for it. But, alas for such a man, the psalmist cries: "The foolish and the senseless alike perish and leave their wealth to others... man despite his riches, does not endure; he is like the beasts that perish... The upright will rule over them in the morning; their forms will decay in the grave, far from their princely mansions... Do not be overawed when a man grows rich, when the splendor of his house increases; for he will take nothing with him when he dies, his splendor will not descend with him" (Psa 49:10,12,14,16,17). In fact, a good deal of Egypt's wealth departed from the country along with the Israelite slaves, while the Egyptian firstborn died in the plagues (Exo 3:21,22; 11:2; 12:1,2,35,36; cf Isa 43:3; 61:6).
Cp Pro 28:8: "He who increases his wealth by exorbitant interest amasses it for another, who will be kind to the poor." Job 27:16,17 (a true principle, even if misapplied to the righteous Job): "Though [the wicked] heaps up silver like dust and clothes like piles of clay, what he lays up the righteous will wear, and the innocent will divide his silver." And Ecc 2:26: "To the sinner [God] gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God." This principle found practical expression in the life of Jacob, as he said to his wives Rachel and Leah: "So God has taken away your father's livestock and has given them to me" (Gen 31:9). And the wealth of the wicked Haman was left to Esther and Mordecai (Est 8:1,2).
