From: Beverly French [frenchb@vcss.k12.ca.us]
Sent: Sunday, September 07, 2003 7:12 AM
To: Heritage
Subject: Sunday Greetings

"When the whirlwind passes, the wicked are no more, but the [uncompromisingly] righteous have an everlasting foundation." Proverbs 10:25

We see in Proverbs 10:1 through 15:33 the contrasting of the Godly and the Wicked.  With Proverbs 10:25 as our starting verse let's look at some of the contrasts. We see here that the whirlwind is a symbol of destruction for the wicked:In the prophecies against Damascus and Samaria, Scripture tells us in Isaiah 17: 13-14, "...But God will rebuke them and they will flee far away,  And be chased like the chaff of the mountains before the wind,  Like a rolling thing before the whirlwind.  Then behold, at eventide, trouble!  And before the morning, he is no more..."

In the prophecies to Judah we see in Jeremiah 23:19,
"Behold, a whirlwind of the Lord has gone forth in fury--
 A violent whirlwind!
 It will fall violently on the head of the wicked."

"Behold, the whirlwind of the Lord
 Goes forth with fury,
 A continuing whirlwind:
 It will fall violently on the head of the wicked."  Jeremiah 30:23

There are promises to the righteous:
"The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
 And His ears are open to their cry."  Psalm 34:15

"I have been young, and now am old;
 Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken,
 Nor his descendants begging bread."  Psalm 37:25

"The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree,
 He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
 Those who are planted in the house of the Lord
 Shall flourish in the courts of our God."  Psalm 92: 12-13

"Say to the righteous that it shall be well with them,
 For they shall eat the fruit of their doings."  Isaiah 3:10

Jesus is speaking here in Matthew 13:43,
"Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of  their Father.  He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"

But there is punishment for the ungodly:
"I will punish the world for its evil,
 And the wicked of their iniquity;
 I will halt the arrogance of the proud,
 And will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible."  Isaiah 13:11

"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them."  Romans 1:18-19

"...To those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness -- indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek; but glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.  Romans 2: 8-10

"The Lord knows how to...reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment, and especially those who walk according to the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise authority..."  2 Peter 2:10-11

I close with the parable of the two builders, Matthew 7:24-27 (also see Luke 6:47-49), "Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.  Now everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house and it fell.  And great was its fall."

There are so many things in this world that can draw a Believer off holy ground, therefore we must be ever vigilant. With this in mind, let it be a challenge to all of us to go through Proverbs 10:1 - 15:33 as a check on our righteous walk before the Lord.

"For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
 The Lord gives grace and glory;
 No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly."  Psalm 84:11

Praise His Holy Name forever.  Amen.