God Promises a Good Land

Proverbs 2:20-22 Thus you will walk in the ways of good men and keep to the paths of the righteous. 21 For the upright will live in the land, and the blameless will remain in it; 22 but the wicked will be cut off from the land, and the unfaithful will be torn from it.
 
WE can understand the concept of land. We all live on the land. God’s first command to Abraham told him to, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.” (Genesis 12:1) The LORD commanded Abraham away from his pagan family’s land and its traditions, so he could more readily accept the transforming life God had prepared for him. On his arrival in the land, God further promised Abraham: Genesis 12:7 The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” Later, Israel’s destination out of Egypt was that land God had promised to Abraham. That’s why it is called “Promised Land”. God had promised Abraham, Isaac and Jacob their descendants would live there. Israel was to conquer that land to establish it as a theocracy – one nation under God.
   God’s promise in Proverbs 2:20-22 is a very practical promise regarding both a physical and spiritual land. The blameless and upright devoted to God will live in the land. Wicked, unfaithful men will be torn from this land.
   In Israel’s history we can see the truth of this promise of blessing and judgment. Much of the Old Testament recounts Israel’s association with evil that caused them to have a hard life in the Promised Land. The promised good life began to go bad when Israel associated with their wicked and unfaithful neighbors. Instead of Israel drawing the pagans into God’s goodness, the pagans tempted Israel into evil. That caused great physical strife throughout Israel’s land. Sometimes the LORD punished them with drought and other natural phenomena. Other times conquering nations enslaved them and stole their crops and livestock. The LORD removed his people from the land, and God’s chosen people lost the land’s promise.
   For you today, God’s promised land in this scripture and elsewhere is twofold: It is your personal relationship with God. And it is the church. To live well in this land is to reject relationships with the wicked and unfaithful. That does not mean you totally avoid such people. You can’t. And we’re commanded to go to such people to tell them the way to Jesus’ promises. But we cannot allow evil to draw us away from God’s promises. The sinful world wants you to approve of their sin. God’s history and God’s promise plainly tell us the blameless will remain in the land; they will remain in God’s care. The wicked and unfaithful will be torn from it.  
   How tragic to hear of people who exhibited a strong faith and love for the Lord, but then they turned to the world and rejected him. And sadly the church’s history is as Israel’s. Wicked and faithful people have led too many congregations and denominations into a drought. They are lifeless without God’s redeeming Word. People live in the land of exile from God’s blessings because they allowed evil to influence them.
   Anchor your life in God’s promise to live well in his land. Walk in the ways of good people who demonstrate God’s rule in their lives. Keep on the right path. Be upright in God’s sight. Be open and obedient to the Lord’s teachings. Help others do the same. Help your church be steadfast in the good land of God’s truth.
   Live a good, blameless and upright life in God’s good land.