Proverbs 25:25

Like cold water to a thirsty soul,
so is good news from a far country.

Have you ever spent hours working or playing in the sun? Have you ever spent those hours without water? I certainly have — multiple times! Although I was disastrously forgetful, not remembering my water helps me understand the feeling that this proverb conveys.  This “good news” is like a cold drink after hours in the sun. The water trickles over cracked skin and down through a dry mouth and throat and ultimately cools you off and refreshes your weak body.

In my last devotional I pointed out how Derek Kidner argues the connection among three proverbs. To reiterate my point, “both a faithful messenger (Proverbs 25:13) and a faithful message of good news (Proverbs 25:25) are refreshing to the soul, while a message dispatched by a fool (Proverbs 26:6) is disastrous.” Proverbs 25:13 talked about the messenger of good news while today’s proverb describes the faithful message itself.

What does the message do? This good news refreshes a weary and thirsty soul. Where is the message sent from? The good news is sent from a far country.

The best good news that we can and have ever received is the good news that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, became man and had victory over sin and death through the cross and resurrection! Although battles still linger in your life, the long warfare is over. Christ has dealt the death blow to sin, death, and Satan. This is good news of great joy (Luke 2:10), which was the heralded message of angels from a far off country. It’s a message heralded from a far off country that started in the garden and continued in the law and through Israelite history and its prophets. It also came through John the Baptist, Christ himself, and Christ’s church through the written word of God. Praise God for a faithful message that is true and refreshes our thirsty souls!