The Real Estate of Righteousness Text: Proverbs 2:20-22
Introduction: Two Paths, Two Destinies
The book of Proverbs is intensely practical. It is not a collection of esoteric sayings for detached philosophers to stroke their beards over. It is a father's urgent instruction to his son on how to navigate the real world, God's world. And in God's world, there are only two ways to walk. There is the path of wisdom, which is the path of the righteous, and there is the path of folly, which is the way of the wicked. There is no third way, no neutral ground, no demilitarized zone. Every decision you make, every word you speak, every thought you entertain, places your feet firmly on one of these two paths.
Our modern sensibilities don't like this. We prefer shades of gray. We want to believe that the wicked are not really that bad, and the righteous are not really that good. We want to blur the lines, erase the distinctions, and pretend that everyone is just trying their best. But Scripture will have none of it. God creates by separating, by distinguishing. He separated light from darkness, and He separates the righteous from the wicked. This is the fundamental antithesis that runs through all of history, from Genesis 3:15 to the final judgment.
The passage before us this morning is the culmination of the argument Solomon has been building in this chapter. He has urged his son to cry out for wisdom, to seek it like silver, and to search for it as for hidden treasures. Why? So that he might understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. But this is not merely for the sake of having a well-furnished intellect. This wisdom has a purpose. It delivers you from the way of evil, from the man who speaks perverse things, and from the adulterous woman whose steps lead down to death. And at the end of it all, we are given the stakes. We are shown the final destination of these two paths. And it has to do with real estate. It has to do with inheritance, with permanence, with who gets to stay and who gets thrown out. This is not about ethereal, disembodied bliss. This is about the earth. It is about the land.
The Text
So that you will walk in the way of good men And keep to the paths of the righteous.
For the upright will dwell in the land And the blameless will remain in it;
But the wicked will be cut off from the land And the treacherous will be torn away from it.
(Proverbs 2:20-22 LSB)
The Direction of Wisdom (v. 20)
We begin with the practical result of embracing wisdom.
"So that you will walk in the way of good men And keep to the paths of the righteous." (Proverbs 2:20)
The pursuit of wisdom is not a solitary academic exercise. It is profoundly communal and directional. The word "so that" connects this verse to all that has come before. If you receive God's words, if you treasure His commandments, if you incline your ear to wisdom, the result will be that you find yourself on a particular path, walking with particular people. Wisdom reorients your life. It puts you on "the way of good men."
Notice the physicality of the language. It is about walking, keeping to paths. This is not about abstract agreement with a set of principles. It is about a lifestyle, a trajectory. Your feet have to go somewhere. The Christian life is a pilgrimage, a journey. And you cannot walk the path of the righteous while holding hands with fools. You will be shaped by your companions. The path you are on is determined by the people you are walking with. This is why the first Psalm begins by telling us what the blessed man does not do: he does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the way of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers.
To "keep to the paths of the righteous" means to guard them, to stay on them diligently. It implies that there are pressures and temptations to leave the path. The way of the wicked is broad and easy, and many are on it. The path of righteousness is narrow. It requires discipline, discernment, and the grace of God to stay the course. But this is the great gift of wisdom: it equips you for the walk. It gives you a map, a compass, and good company for the journey.
The Inheritance of the Upright (v. 21)
Verse 21 gives us the great promise, the ultimate destination for those on the right path.
"For the upright will dwell in the land And the blameless will remain in it;" (Proverbs 2:21 LSB)
Here is the heart of the matter. The reward for righteousness is not a cloudy harp, but solid ground beneath your feet. The promise is that the upright will "dwell in the land." This echoes one of the central promises of the entire Old Testament. The meek shall inherit the earth, Jesus says in the Beatitudes, and He is quoting Psalm 37, which says the same thing. This is not some spiritualized, ethereal concept. The Hebrew mind thought in terms of covenant, land, and inheritance. To be blessed was to have a place, to have roots, to have a future for your children in a tangible location.
The "upright" and the "blameless" are not sinlessly perfect people. They are those who, when they sin, know what to do with it. They are those whose lives are oriented toward God's law, who walk in integrity. And their destiny is to "remain" in the land. This speaks of permanence, stability, and security. While the wicked are transient, blown about like chaff, the righteous are like trees planted by streams of water. They endure.
This is a promise with both a present and a future application. In one sense, it is a general principle for this life. A society built on righteousness, integrity, and justice will be a stable and prosperous society. The people will flourish in their land. But this promise points forward to something far greater. It is a thoroughly postmillennial promise. It looks to the day when the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. The Great Commission is not a suggestion; it is a command to disciple the nations. And as the gospel advances, as Christ's kingdom grows, His people will inherit the earth. The land, the whole earth, belongs to Christ, and He gives it to His people.
The Eviction of the Wicked (v. 22)
In stark contrast to the permanence of the righteous, we have the violent dispossession of the wicked.
"But the wicked will be cut off from the land And the treacherous will be torn away from it." (Proverbs 2:22 LSB)
The language here is severe and absolute. The wicked will be "cut off." This is the language of excommunication, of covenant curse. It means to be severed from the place of blessing, life, and community. The treacherous, those who deal in deceit and betrayal, will be "torn away" from it. The image is one of a plant being violently uprooted, ripped out of the soil with no hope of being replanted. There is no place for them in God's settled order.
This is the ultimate end of all rebellion against God. The wicked think they are clever. They believe their treachery and corner-cutting will get them ahead. They build their houses on sand, and for a season, it might look like they are succeeding. But the long-term trajectory of history, governed by a righteous God, is entirely against them. Their destiny is not inheritance, but eviction. They are squatters on God's earth, and the day of their removal is appointed.
We see this principle played out over and over in history. Empires built on wickedness and treachery eventually crumble. Businesses built on fraud go bankrupt. Families that abandon God's ways disintegrate. The wages of sin is death, and that death manifests itself in every area of life, including being cut off from the land. The wicked have no future. They have no inheritance. They are temporary, and their end is destruction.
Conclusion: Whose World Is It?
So, what are we to do with this? First, we must see that this is a profound encouragement to faithfulness. The path of righteousness can be difficult. It often feels like the wicked are winning. They have the power, the influence, the cultural cachet. But God's Word tells us the end of the story. They will be torn away. Their victory is an illusion. The future belongs to the people of God. Therefore, do not lose heart. Keep to the path. Walk in the way of good men.
Second, we must understand that this is a call to evangelism. The wicked are not just our enemies; they are captives who need to be liberated. The only way for a treacherous man to avoid being torn from the land is to be transformed by the gospel. He must be cut off from the dead vine of Adam and grafted into the true vine, Jesus Christ. Our task is to proclaim the good news that Christ died for sinners, so that wicked men might become upright, and the treacherous might become blameless through faith in Him.
Finally, this passage sets before us the ultimate reality. God is reclaiming this world for His Son. He is establishing a kingdom that will not be shaken. And in that kingdom, only the righteous will dwell. The fundamental choice is this: will you walk in the path of wisdom that leads to a permanent inheritance in the land, or will you walk in the way of folly that leads to being violently uprooted and cast out? There is no middle ground. Choose this day whom you will serve, and which path you will walk. For one leads to a home, and the other leads to eviction.