Copyright 2015 J. Neely
Psalm 37:35
35 I have seen [ra'ah] the
wicked [rasha`] in
great power [`ariyts], and
spreading [`arah]
himself like a green [ra`anan] bay
tree ['ezrach]. KJV-Interlinear
35 I have seen a wicked, ruthless man,
spreading himself like a green laurel tree. ESV
There are two
types of people, the wicked, and the spiritual. Everyone who lives their life
out of fellowship with God, is in the wicked category. Everyone who lives their
life in fellowship with God, is in the spiritual category. Fellowship is a
condition that can be obtained only by Christians, and is obtained by means of
the confession process.
All unbelievers
live their life in the wicked category. All believers in Christ, can live their
life either in fellowship or out of fellowship, making them either spiritual or
wicked.
We have already
seen in the previous verse, that those who live their life in the spirit,
namely in fellowship, possess a wonderful destiny, and an inheritance for all
of eternity.
Likewise, we have
already seen that the wicked, with reference to unbelievers, will inherit
nothing, and they will disappear from history and become forgotten.
Christians, who
live their life in the wicked category, and simply do not grow up or advance in
their spiritual life, will have an inheritance of sorts, in that they will be
in heaven and they will have resurrection bodies, but they will lose their
reward, or have it greatly reduced depending on the status of their spiritual
life.
Before we can get
into eternity, we all have to live our life here in this world.
Believers in
Christ, have the opportunity to develop and complete themselves through the
spiritual process, and that is all they need in order to advance to a
phenomenal status that will carry them into eternity.
Unbelievers, and
or wicked believers, disregard this opportunity by rejecting salvation or by
rejecting their spiritual life, and instead they pursue life in this world, as
though that is all there is, and there is nothing more to strive for.
And that is a huge
mistake, and certainly shortsighted.
This verse
describes the wicked, regardless of who they are, as a person who ruthlessly
gathers to himself anything and everything around him.
A tree is used to
describe how they grow up within their own soil, never leaving that soil, and
spreading out farther and farther and farther, trying to capture anything and
everything within the reach of the branches.
They start in the
same place, they grow in the same place, they reach and reach but cannot reach
beyond that same place. In other words, in their own minds, they are gaining
and gaining because their branches are spreading and spreading, but in reality
they are stuck in the same place, and going nowhere.
And as we will
soon see, eventually the lifespan completes itself, and they die, and they are
still in the same place.
These
studies are a part of the massive daily study web site at DailyBibeStudy.Org,
and are written, so that you can come to Christ if you have not done so
already, and therefore not be lost forever.
And
if you have already believed in Christ, then these studies are written so you
can learn and understand and grow in your spiritual life, so that you can come
to the full knowledge of Christ, so that you can fulfill your meaning and
purpose in life as God intended for you, and so you can qualify for a
phenomenal eternal reward which you will have forever. To ignore this opportunity to pursue a daily
study means you will be incomplete, unfulfilled and you will lose out, big
time.
The
Daily Bible Study is online, making it possible as never before in all of human
history, to advance in ones relationship with God, through Christ, and to complete
yourself beyond your imagination.
But
you have to decide to make that commitment.
No one else can study for you.
You have to do that yourself.
