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The upright and the wicked

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iris:
Proverbs 2:21 & 22
21 For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it.
22 But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it.

Does anyone have any comments or ideals on these two scriptures?


Peace and Love
Iris

Falconn003:
All of Proverbs 2 concerns The Reward of Seeking Wisdom.

skydreamers:
Hi Iris, I'm a little short on time today, but I'll share what I can for now.  Here's how I would understand these verses:

Proverbs 2:21-22
21  For the upright will inhabit the land, and those with integrity will remain in it,
22  but the wicked will be cut off from the land, and the treacherous will be rooted out of it.


I understand the land as being symbolic of our "bodies" in many places in scripture.  Right now we are in our carnal bodies, so there are many giants, enemies etc. to conquer.  God's goal is to have us gain "dominion over the earth":

Genesis 1:26
Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth[/u] (same Hebrew word as "land" in Proverbs) and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."

All the things in our carnal nature that we cling to, all the false delusions, false belief systems etc. etc. need to be conquered.  So I think that when we enter the "promise land" which could be our new spiritual bodies...or entering into being a new creature by the power of Christ we gain "dominion" over the carnality so the "sin no longer has dominion over us".  When this happens, we shall "dwell in the land" (probably the promised land).

The wicked, or maybe more accurately the wickedness in us needs to be cut off from the land (our bodies) and rooted out so that there is "no stubble" of wickedness that remains.  So the few chosen "dwell in the land" in this age, while the many are cut off, as in branches cut off from the vine.  But fear not, because what is cut off can be grafted in again by God.  And who is banished will not be outcast forever.

Romans 11:24
For if you were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more shall these who are the natural branches be grafted into their own olive tree?

2 Samuel 14:14
We must all die; we are like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. But God will not take away life, and he devises means so that the banished one will not remain an outcast.


Verse 21, the righteous "shall remain" comes from the Hebrew "yathar" which can also mean "to excel" or "to abound" so perhaps we can say that the righteous will "excel" in these bodies in this age through Christ.  Certainly they will have more power to overcome sin by the power of Christ which will be given to all in the ages to come.  But for now, the wicked do not and cannot "excel" in the flesh and so must be "cut off" for a time...

Interesting to "cut off" also carries the meaning in the Hebrew:  specifically to covenant (that is, make an alliance or bargain, originally by cutting flesh and passing between the pieces).....to cut off a body part

Perhaps this is connected to:

Ezekiel 11:19
And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh,

I think ultimately this is talking about what is and will be happening in us......a cutting off of the wickedness...

What do you think?

Peace and love,
Diana

iris:
Yes...thank you Rodger.


Diana, I hadn't looked at it quiet that way. I was thinking a little along the lines of physical instead of spiritual.
I can see what you're saying.
Thank you for sharing.


Peace and Love
Iris

DuluthGA:
I noticed this:

Proverbs 2:10-20

When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul;
[11] Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee:
[12] To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things;
[13] Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness;
[14] Who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked;
[15] Whose ways are crooked, and they froward in their paths:
[16] To deliver thee from the strange woman [MYSTERY BABYLON?? hmmmm?], even from the stranger which flattereth with her words [more of that whole whorish system, hmmm??];
[17] Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God.
[18] For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead.
[19] None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life.
[20] That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous.

WHOA!  Interesting!  Thanks all!
Janice

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