Proverbs 21:12. The Righteous One observes the house of the wicked; he throws the wicked down to ruin.
We can tell by the capitalization of Righteous One that the translators believe this to be a reference to God himself. God alone observes the wicked, and he alone is able to discern those who are righteous from those who are not. In the end, it is God who will throw down the wicked to their everlasting ruin. Here’s how Peter unpacks God’s judgment and his salvation:
2 Peter 2:4-10. 4For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment; 5if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; 6if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; 7and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked 8(for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard); 9then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, 10and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority.
Sinning angels – chains of gloomy darkness.
Ancient world – flood.
Noah – preserved.
Sodom and Gomorrah – ash.
Righteous Lot – rescued.
The godly – also rescued.
The unrighteous – under punishment.
Wait a minute. Righteous Lot? Yes, righteous Lot. The same guy who rejected Abraham’s kindness, moved out of the Promised Land, took a job on Sodom’s city council, offered his daughters up to rapists, drunk Lot, incestuous Lot, is also righteous Lot. How? Because God’s righteousness was imputed to him by the covenant, just as it is to us by the covenant mediator, Jesus Christ the righteous. We who are in Christ are often way more like Lot than Noah, that’s for sure. But both were spared. Why? Because of their faith, not because of their deeds.
And that’s good news!
God, the Righteous One, always gets it right. He observes everyone. He knows how to separate the good from the evil. The righteous from the unrighteous. The wise from the wicked. But praise God that the Righteous One has given his own righteousness to us by his death and resurrection. By grace through faith we are declared righteous in his sight. We have moved out of the house of the wicked, and into the house of the Lord forever.
Psalm 32:1. Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.
You: Are you righteous or wicked? On what basis?
You in Christ: Praise God for rescuing you from the house of the wicked and bringing you into his house of righteousness.
Christ in you: How can you live from Christ’s righteousness today?
Pray: Father, you have made me righteous in Christ. Keep me in the day of judgment. Amen.
To Live is Christ 