Wickedness was just a calling out for the wayward soul.”
--D.C. Adkisson (Redemption)
"Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of mankind was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually."
--Genesis 6:5 (NASB)
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I've started a study in Proverbs. There are so many ways a person can go about studying this book. I figured to just go verse by verse but also concentrate on the main characters of Proverbs: wise, fool, simple, mocker/scorner, and lazy. I came across a piece I want to share this morning by Charles Bridges, a minister in the first half of the 19th-century. The verse, Proverbs 10:30, has a message for the day, but also seems to include some prophecy.
"The righteous shall never be removed; but the wicked shall not inhabit the earth." (King James)
"The righteous will never be shaken, but the wicked will not remain on the earth." (Holman)
"The [consistently] righteous shall never be removed, but the wicked shall not inhabit the earth [eventually]." (Amplified)
We know that there are wicked people currently on the earth and it will be that way until the Lord reigns. I like the Amplified, for it gives hope to me, "[consistently] righteous", and eventually the earth will be rid of the wicked. Notice that Bridges gives references to other Scriptures. It would be good for you to look them up.
"The frailty of our present condition, common to all (Ecc 9:2,11), was not in the wise man's eye; but the state of the two classes as in the purpose and mind of God. His way is strength to the upright. The righteous, walking steadily in the way, shall never be removed (Ps 15; 37:22;112:6;125:1; 2 Pet 1:5-11). 'They enjoy in this life by faith and hope their everlasting life.' 'No weapon that is formed against them shall prosper. The mountains shall depart and the little hills shall be removed: but my loving-kindness shall not depart from thee; neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed; saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee' (Is 54:10). Is not this a confidence that earth nor hell can never shake (Rom 8:38-30)?
"The wicked--have they any such confidence? So far from being never removed, they shall never inhabit! They have no title, like the righteous (Mt 5:5; 1 Cor 3:22), as sons and heirs, to the blessings of earth; no hope or interest in the land, of which the earth is a type (Ps 37:29). Often are they cut off from inhabiting the one (Pro 10:27; 2:22; Ps 37:22; Eze 33:24-26). Never will they be suffered to inhabit the other (1 Cor 6:9; Rev 21:27). As our character is, so is our hope and prospect. We gain or lose both worlds."
No matter what we see happening around us we should walk confidently that in the light of eternity we shall never be removed. The wicked laugh and scoff now, but they have no eternal reality on this earth or in heaven. Their eternal reality will be the Lake of Fire. My Christian friend, do not shun the righteous life for by living it you will never be shaken.