As we finish our study in Proverbs Chapter 2, let’s recap what we have learned. Beginning in verses 1-11 of Proverbs 2, we were reminded of the necessity of following God’s commands. True understanding and discernment comes from God, and as we seek His wisdom diligently, He will be found. One of my favorite sections of scripture is in Jeremiah and this encouragement from God to those whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon. The Israeli captives were reminded to remain steadfast in their loyalty to follow God.
Jeremiah 29:11-13 ‘For I know the plans that I have for you’, declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. ‘Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. ‘You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. ‘I will be found by you’, declares the LORD, ‘and I will restore your fortunes and will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you’, declares the LORD, ‘and I will bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile’.
God will guide us, and He will protect and keep us. We need protection from evil, from those whose words, actions, and intentions are to follow wickedness.
Moving forward in Proverbs 2:12-19, we read a more specific warning of protection needed from the adulteress who uses flattery as a lure and leads others to destruction. Then in Proverbs 2:20, we were given a charge to walk in the good examples of those before us and to continue on the path of righteousness. Now, in these last two verses of Proverbs 2, we learn that when we follow righteousness, we are promised blessing; yet if we follow evil, we are headed for ruin.
Let’s read our text.
Proverbs 2:21-22 For the upright will live in the land and the blameless will remain in it; but the wicked will be cut off from the land and the treacherous will be uprooted from it.
Obviously, we have a contrast of opposites in these two verses, first a promise, and then a warning of judgement. We will take a look at the negative implication in verse 22 by gleaning some understanding of the description of those spoken of – the wicked and the treacherous. Then we’ll back up to verse 21 to end our study with God’s promise.
The wicked and treacherous in Proverbs 2:22 are not to be confused with those who make mistakes. Each of us struggle with sin. We are constantly challenged to be certain that our motives are correct, that our thoughts are in line with scripture, and that our actions bless those around us.
The wicked are those who are morally wrong. They are cemented in their desire of evil; they are actively seeking destruction and are eternally guilty, condemned for all time. The treacherous, or transgressors in the KJV, are those who act covertly, who are deceitful and unfaithful, and offensive. They cover up their true intentions in order to lead others astray. They are hypocrites. The Strong’s Hebrew definition includes the word pillage which means to steal or take valuables. When I think of pillaging, for some reason, my mind immediately goes to pirates. If you consider their intent, this is a fitting picture. They seek to take by force what is not theirs. Those who are wicked and treacherous have a mission to disrupt those pursuing Christ. Listen to the following scriptures which describe the wicked and treacherous –
Proverbs 5:23 He will die for lack of instruction, and in the greatness of his folly he will go astray.
Job 18:17-18 "Memory of him perishes from the earth, and he has no name abroad. "He is driven from light into darkness, and chased from the inhabited world.
Jude 1:4 For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
Jude 1:7-8 just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire. Yet in the same way these men, also by dreaming, defile the flesh, and reject authority, and revile angelic majesties.
Jude 1:16 These are grumblers, finding fault, following after their own lusts; they speak arrogantly, flattering people for the sake of gaining an advantage.
Jeremiah 6:28 All of them are stubbornly rebellious, going about as a talebearer. They are bronze and iron; they, all of them, are corrupt.
In Jeremiah 24:8, wicked people are described as ‘bad figs which cannot be eaten due to rottenness’. We actually have a few fig trees in our yard, and this description seems fitting. At the beginning of each fruit-bearing season, small green knobs start to form off the branches. Yet, as they grow into fruit, many will turn dark, shrivel up, and fall off the tree. These are the figs that were unfertilized, or damaged by quick changes in the temperature, they are inedible and useless. We rake them up and throw them away.
Isaiah 1:30 likens the wicked to “an oak whose leaf fades away or as a garden that has no water”. Think! What happens to a garden with no water?
So we are warned, ‘the wicked will be destroyed’. Why do we need this warning? Because we are weak. Because God is faithful and merciful. Warnings help to guide us away from the dangers ahead. Think of the road signs we use as warnings to help ensure safety. What might happen if you chose not to heed the warning of a narrow, winding turn ahead on a mountain road during the freezing winter months?
Psalm 55:23 But You, O God, will bring them down to the pit of destruction; men of bloodshed and deceit will not live out half their days. But I will trust in You.
We can fully trust that God will guide us in our own pursuit of holiness and also protect us from leaving His path of righteousness, when we genuinely seek His truths with a desire to live in obedience to His commands.
Proverbs 2:21 For the upright will live in the land and the blameless will remain in it;
The upright are by no means perfect, for this is impossible. The transliteration of this word is straight, just, or righteous. God looks at a man’s heart; we are judged by the righteousness imparted through Jesus Christ, not our performance. But if we are genuinely His, our actions will speak of His grace and mercy; our testimony will honor Him.
Exodus 15:26 And He said, "If you will give earnest heed to the voice of the LORD your God, and do what is right in His sight, and give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians; for I, the LORD, am your healer."
In this verse we read the Old Testament saints were to ‘do what is right in His sight’. The upright give earnest heed to the voice of God, they seek to do what is right, listen to His commands, and keep all His statutes. In the Old Testament, in order to be righteous, you were to keep the Law perfectly. Over and over again, sacrificial atonement was offered for sin. There was no rest or security in the Law because fulfillment was never complete. However, the Old Testament Saints had a promise that those who followed God would enjoy peace and prosperity in the land they inhabited. In contrast, the challenge today to be righteous, to be upright and blameless, is possible only through Jesus Christ. There is no list of laws to be fulfilled. Instead, we are given a heart of understanding and faith that enables us to trust in God’s grace through the work of Jesus Christ on the cross.
Job 1:1 There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.
Through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, we are deemed righteous. We have a permanent dwelling place with Christ. We have the peace of His power and protection now, and a sure reservation for our future in Heaven.
Psalm 84:11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD gives grace and glory; no good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.
Psalm 112:4-6 Light arises in the darkness for the upright; he is gracious and compassionate and righteous. It is well with the man who is gracious and lends; he will maintain his cause in judgment. For he will never be shaken; the righteous will be remembered forever.
So there we have it – Twenty-two verses centered on the importance of seeking wisdom from God’s word, gaining understanding and discretion as a defense against evil, being warned of the destruction of evildoers, and being encouraged by the promises of God.
Thank you, God, for your word. Thank you for the charge to remain steadfast, the warnings to avoid evil, and the promise of Your faithfulness now and forever.
