What Does It Mean That The Wicked Shall Not Inhabit The Earth?

WHAT DOES IT MEAN THAT THE WICKED SHALL NOT INHABIT THE EARTH? (Proverbs 10:30)

By Ezekiel Kimosop

INTRODUCTION

Before I respond to this question, allow me to say that whenever we study wisdom literature in the Bible, we should be careful to acknowledge and integrate the wider body of present truth that is taught in the New Testament Scripture.

The Book of Proverbs contains a consolidation of teachings attributed that are largely attributed to King Solomon and a few other writers.

Solomon is also credited with the authorship of the Book of Ecclesiastes (see Eccl. 1:1). Bible scholars say this book reveals that Solomon returned to the LORD later in his sunset years and this explains his regret on the avarice and wasteful living that defined his youth as a young monarch.

The second issue to appreciate in the study of wisdom literature is the influence of Hebrew thought and worldview in the writing of these wisdom books. Hebrew theology is founded on divine justice in which God punishes the wicked and upholds the righteous.

Psalm 37:28-29 says "For the Lord loves justice, And does not forsake His saints; They are preserved forever, But the descendants of the wicked shall be cut off. The righteous shall inherit the land, And dwell in it forever."

In Hebrew thought, human longevity is evidence of godly living. Psalm 2:22 says "But the wicked will be cut off from the earth, And the unfaithful will be uprooted from it."

Job, a faithful man who feared God and shunned evil (Job 1:8) lived 140 years in all and saw his children and grandchildren upto four generations (Job 42:16-17). This is an endorsement of his godly life.

Looking at Israel's monarchy, we notice that evil kings had short reigns. Faithful kings ruled longer and Scripture bears tribute to their faithfulness.

INTERPRETATION

Proverbs 10:30 says "The righteous will never be removed, But the wicked will not inhabit the earth."

Does this imply that godly people cannot leave this world?

The Jehovah's Witnesses, which is one of the largest Christian cults, think so! They take a literal interpretation of this Scripture to teach that the righteous will inherit the earth. We shall reserve their heresy for a separate treatment.

Now back to our issue of context...

It is instructive that the Scripture of Proverbs 10:30 is part of a series of words of wisdom attributed to king Solomon (see Proverbs 10:1).

The passage of Proverbs 10 draws a contrast between the wicked and the righteous. The writer employs figures of speech including metaphors in an effort to demonstrate that God hates evil or wickedness and that the fate of the wicked is sealed by God.

On the flipside, the righteous or godly people are blessed and preserved by God. Notice the Hebrew parallelism in several verses in this chapter.

Proverbs 10:2-5 celebrates the wisdom of the diligent man even as it scorns at the foolish and the wicked.

Having examined the principles that underpin the interpretation of wisdom literature, we can conclude that Proverbs 10:30 teaches that God preserves the righteous on earth and prolongs their years as part of His blessings for their faithfulness.

The wicked are not so lucky. They live under God's condemnation and their lives are often cut short by God as evidence of His displeasure with them.

This does not however suggest that those who die at a young age are necessarily wicked or are under God's judgement.

We learn from our study of Genesis 4 that Abel died young yet he was more righteous than his brother Cain who killed him. He was possibly not married. Cain's generation was finally destroyed by the flood of Noah, leaving the lineage of Seth as the source of succeeding human civilizations.

This story teaches us that God may sovereignly determine to take away godly people for His divine purposes.


Here is why...

God snatched away Enoch, a righteous man, to heaven because he, by his godly living, pleased God. Genesis 5:21-24 says that Enoch walked with God for 300 years after he begot sons and daughters and finally God took him.

Looking at the general longevity in his day, Enoch lived the shortest at 365 years yet his father Jared lived 962 years. Enoch's son Methuselah lived for 969 years, the longest span of human life in Biblical history.

This implies that God cut short the life of Enoch on earth and took him to heaven where we believe his soul dwells. Some say that God sought a closer fellowship with Enoch in heaven!

There was nothing unpleasant in the life of Enoch that could have justified his early departure from the earth. It was all about God's divine wisdom and the exercise of His sovereign grace.

Elsewhere in the Old Testament Scripture, we learn that the righteous may die young but God will preserve their souls. God has a special place for His faithful people. Even in their death, the righteous are treasured by God. Psalm116:15 says "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints."

NEW TESTAMENT PERSPECTIVE

In the New Testament Scripture, we notice that the idea of human longevity may not necessarily be tied to wickedness or evil in all cases. There are several cases where godly people die. Lazarus, a righteous saint, died ahead of the wicked rich man who neglected him (Luke 16:19-31).

Jesus, who came to Earth as God incarnate and who was without sin (2 Cor. 5:21), lived a short life on Earth before He was crucified for our sins. He served God's will on earth and accomplished His divine mission.

We also learn that some of the apostles of Jesus were killed by Herod and other Roman authorities for preaching the word of God (Acts 12:1-2).

Earlier in Acts 6-7, Stephen was martyred for proclaiming the gospel under the anointing of the Holy Spirit. He was definitely not full of age!

Before his martyrdom, Stephen saw heaven opened and the Risen Christ standing at the right hand of God (Acts 7:55-56).

This was evidence that Jesus had divinely permitted his martyrdom for His glory and that Stephen's soul was received into the glorious presence of Jesus Christ in heaven (Acts 7:59-60).

We can see that God can and does permit some believers to suffer death for the gospel. This may sound scary to some but we must remember the words of Jesus in Matthew 16:24-25 which says "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it."

In some predominantly Muslim Arab countries, Christians are routinely tortured and imprisoned while some are killed for proclaiming Christ. Their shortened lives cannot be attributed to ungodliness or evil. The death of these saints serves a higher purpose that agrees with God's sovereign will. Tertullian, an Early Church theologian wrote "the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church." How true!

It is therefore upon every person living on earth to make peace with God while the window of God's grace remains open. We do not know about tomorrow. Only God knows the beginning from the end. Christ is Alpha and Omega (Rev 1:8).

If faithful Christians die young, we should celebrate their faith and consider that they had concluded their mission on Earth and that God had permitted their departure.

Paul proclaims in Philippians 1:21-24 "For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell. For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you."



Shalom




© Ezekiel Kimosop 2020