KJV
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.
NLT
Proverbs 2:21-22
21 For only the upright will live in the land, and those who have integrity will remain in it. 22 But the wicked will be removed from the land, and the treacherous will be destroyed
Does anyone remember the story of Daniel? If you recall, Daniel was part of the spoil in a wave of captivity of judgment upon the children of God. Now, I know I asked if you remembered the story of Daniel. Really, though, I’d like you to remember the reason for the captivity of God’s people. God had told the people to work the land six years and give it rest in the seventh. As usual, they did not do as God had ordered. Finally, after a few centuries of disobedience, God tallied up that the people owed Him and the land seventy years of rest. The rest, we know, is history. The land got its seventy years of rest and the people got seventy years of captivity because of disobedience.
Now, hold that thought. I’d also like you to remember the children of Israel as they approached the Promised Land. Do we all remember how many of the old people didn’t make it into the Promised Land?
If you go to www.dictionary.com and type in the word treacherous, that we see in the NLT rendering of our verse in Proverbs, here’s what it says.
treach·er·ous Pronunciation Key (tr ch r- s)
adj.
1. Marked by betrayal of fidelity, confidence, or trust; perfidious. See Synonyms at faithless.
2. Not to be relied on; not dependable or trustworthy.
3. Marked by unforeseen hazards; dangerous or deceptive: treacherous waters.
These first two meanings of the word treacherous fit the people of Israel, at this time, to a “T”. They had no confidence. They lacked fidelity and they betrayed God with their lack of dependability. All the while that God provided for them, they murmured and plotted to willfully disobey God.
In both cases, the people were treacherous transgressors of God’s Holy will and it cost them! Now, we come to God’s people today.
Let’s look up the word integrity that the NLT gives us in our verse in Proverbs. Here’s what we get.
in·teg·ri·ty Pronunciation Key ( n-t g r -t )
n.
1. Steadfast adherence to a strict moral or ethical code.
2. The state of being unimpaired; soundness.
3. The quality or condition of being whole or undivided; completeness.
Let’s also look at the KJV’s rendering of the word perfect. The Strong’s Concordance gives us this.
1. complete, whole, entire, sound
a. complete, whole, entire
b. whole, sound, healthful
c. complete, entire (of time)
d. sound, wholesome, unimpaired, innocent, having integrity
e. what is complete or entirely in accord with truth and fact (neuter adj/subst)
The overall resounding idea is that the complete in faith have a place in God’s land. Those who want to waver or disobey will be removed. Up until now, this FNS may have been boring to you due to the technical nature of what we’ve had to look at. Now, we’ll look at what this means to us.
KJV
John 13:34
A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
NLT
John 13:34
So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.
Each of us, as Christians, has a homeland and marching orders. Each of us has the opportunity to display integrity in completeness of faith. We all have the example of those that have come before us. We even have, exemplified, the destruction of transgressors whom were counted among the people of God. Still, these words of Jesus that we have just read, have they taken root in our hearts? I’m sure that we would each like to think positively of ourselves. I’ll not belabor you with point by point blows on how we’ve failed. Let us simply put our love to test. Are we in the land? Does the inner working of this land bear the mark of God’s righteous or God’s unrighteous people? We can all say that it’s not our fault because we can’t stop the heathens from sinning. Can we stop ourselves then? Perhaps it’s just me. I just can’t help but think that we’re too busy loving ourselves and working our land to our own hurt because, in our narcissism, we do not hold our land in reverence to God. I’m not talking about planting crops. I’m talking about planting Jesus in the places where we live our lives. If all that we do on Earth has a goal of benefiting ourselves then, we love no one but ourselves. By example, we ought to know that we’re in for some trouble if we do not keep our little piece of the world for the Lord.
Don’t get me wrong. I don’t mean that our goal is to take over. In fact, if we are to be Holy as God is Holy then we are to be set apart. Even in this, don’t misunderstand me. It’s of no use to try to live in Christian communes. Like Jesus, we need to be right there with those that are in need. Christian, wherever you are, take Christ to the world. Predominantly, this is not being done in our own homes. All too often, we cheat on the job. More times than not, we compromise for the sake of popularity, ease of comfort, and entertainment. When we should be sharpening one another in Love, we do not. We’re too busy in our own things. It’s high time that we take time to be servants and helpers to those whom it is that can’t help us back.
I’m sure that, as Christian, we all really do desire to be the salt and light of the Earth but, let me show you something.
Proverbs 13:4, NIV
The sluggard craves and gets nothing, but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied.
I’m sure that there was diligence in the new commandment Jesus gave. Where’s our diligence? Is it taking us back to Egypt? Is it trying to squeeze every last penny out of life. Is it leading us to the infirmed of spirit to share with them the Gospel of Christ? Is it driving us to uplift one another after our own grounding in Praise, Prayer, and Study? Are we going to be in the land or are we going to be the decimated ones?
For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the
man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men -- the
testimony given in its proper time.
-- 1 Timothy 2:5-6
ISDAMan
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.
NLT
Proverbs 2:21-22
21 For only the upright will live in the land, and those who have integrity will remain in it. 22 But the wicked will be removed from the land, and the treacherous will be destroyed
Does anyone remember the story of Daniel? If you recall, Daniel was part of the spoil in a wave of captivity of judgment upon the children of God. Now, I know I asked if you remembered the story of Daniel. Really, though, I’d like you to remember the reason for the captivity of God’s people. God had told the people to work the land six years and give it rest in the seventh. As usual, they did not do as God had ordered. Finally, after a few centuries of disobedience, God tallied up that the people owed Him and the land seventy years of rest. The rest, we know, is history. The land got its seventy years of rest and the people got seventy years of captivity because of disobedience.
Now, hold that thought. I’d also like you to remember the children of Israel as they approached the Promised Land. Do we all remember how many of the old people didn’t make it into the Promised Land?
If you go to www.dictionary.com and type in the word treacherous, that we see in the NLT rendering of our verse in Proverbs, here’s what it says.
treach·er·ous Pronunciation Key (tr ch r- s)
adj.
1. Marked by betrayal of fidelity, confidence, or trust; perfidious. See Synonyms at faithless.
2. Not to be relied on; not dependable or trustworthy.
3. Marked by unforeseen hazards; dangerous or deceptive: treacherous waters.
These first two meanings of the word treacherous fit the people of Israel, at this time, to a “T”. They had no confidence. They lacked fidelity and they betrayed God with their lack of dependability. All the while that God provided for them, they murmured and plotted to willfully disobey God.
In both cases, the people were treacherous transgressors of God’s Holy will and it cost them! Now, we come to God’s people today.
Let’s look up the word integrity that the NLT gives us in our verse in Proverbs. Here’s what we get.
in·teg·ri·ty Pronunciation Key ( n-t g r -t )
n.
1. Steadfast adherence to a strict moral or ethical code.
2. The state of being unimpaired; soundness.
3. The quality or condition of being whole or undivided; completeness.
Let’s also look at the KJV’s rendering of the word perfect. The Strong’s Concordance gives us this.
1. complete, whole, entire, sound
a. complete, whole, entire
b. whole, sound, healthful
c. complete, entire (of time)
d. sound, wholesome, unimpaired, innocent, having integrity
e. what is complete or entirely in accord with truth and fact (neuter adj/subst)
The overall resounding idea is that the complete in faith have a place in God’s land. Those who want to waver or disobey will be removed. Up until now, this FNS may have been boring to you due to the technical nature of what we’ve had to look at. Now, we’ll look at what this means to us.
KJV
John 13:34
A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
NLT
John 13:34
So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.
Each of us, as Christians, has a homeland and marching orders. Each of us has the opportunity to display integrity in completeness of faith. We all have the example of those that have come before us. We even have, exemplified, the destruction of transgressors whom were counted among the people of God. Still, these words of Jesus that we have just read, have they taken root in our hearts? I’m sure that we would each like to think positively of ourselves. I’ll not belabor you with point by point blows on how we’ve failed. Let us simply put our love to test. Are we in the land? Does the inner working of this land bear the mark of God’s righteous or God’s unrighteous people? We can all say that it’s not our fault because we can’t stop the heathens from sinning. Can we stop ourselves then? Perhaps it’s just me. I just can’t help but think that we’re too busy loving ourselves and working our land to our own hurt because, in our narcissism, we do not hold our land in reverence to God. I’m not talking about planting crops. I’m talking about planting Jesus in the places where we live our lives. If all that we do on Earth has a goal of benefiting ourselves then, we love no one but ourselves. By example, we ought to know that we’re in for some trouble if we do not keep our little piece of the world for the Lord.
Don’t get me wrong. I don’t mean that our goal is to take over. In fact, if we are to be Holy as God is Holy then we are to be set apart. Even in this, don’t misunderstand me. It’s of no use to try to live in Christian communes. Like Jesus, we need to be right there with those that are in need. Christian, wherever you are, take Christ to the world. Predominantly, this is not being done in our own homes. All too often, we cheat on the job. More times than not, we compromise for the sake of popularity, ease of comfort, and entertainment. When we should be sharpening one another in Love, we do not. We’re too busy in our own things. It’s high time that we take time to be servants and helpers to those whom it is that can’t help us back.
I’m sure that, as Christian, we all really do desire to be the salt and light of the Earth but, let me show you something.
Proverbs 13:4, NIV
The sluggard craves and gets nothing, but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied.
I’m sure that there was diligence in the new commandment Jesus gave. Where’s our diligence? Is it taking us back to Egypt? Is it trying to squeeze every last penny out of life. Is it leading us to the infirmed of spirit to share with them the Gospel of Christ? Is it driving us to uplift one another after our own grounding in Praise, Prayer, and Study? Are we going to be in the land or are we going to be the decimated ones?
For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the
man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men -- the
testimony given in its proper time.
-- 1 Timothy 2:5-6
ISDAMan
