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Knowing and obeying God's Word
leads to spiritual growth and a life that pleases God.
3 He is like a tree planted beside flowing streams
that bears its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither.
Whatever he does prospers. 4 The wicked are not like this;
instead, they are like chaff that the wind blows away.
key words that describe each lifestyle.
In an arid climate, the image of flowing streams would bring confidence to God's people.
The consistent supply of life-enriching water would nourish the roots of the tree and guarantee a bountiful harvest.
Further, the tree's leaves would never waste away or wither.
The Hebrew word for prospers (tsalach)
refers to a successful endeavor.
God's people could count on Him to help them be productive
(2 Chron. 26:5; Prov. 28:13).
Joseph was successful in Egypt because He walked with God (Gen. 39:2-3).
Joshua also followed the Lord and led Israel to the promised land (Josh. 1:8).
The Hebrew term (rasha)
portrayed a person who made wrongdoing a way of life.
Without any regret or shame, a wicked person's behavior
may have been attractive to others,
but God's people should view it as repugnant.
In ancient Israel, farmers went to their fields and gathered the grain at harvest time.
After the harvest, they had to separate the kernels of grain from husks and other debris that known as chaff.
The husks served as something like shells that protected the grain kernels during the growing season.
However, chaff was useless after the harvest.
As it dried, it fell away from the grain.
The picture provided a sobering description of what happened to people who devote themselves to wickedness.
The outcome of uselessness for the wicked became even more pronounced with the picture of winnowing.
Farmers would use a tool similar to a pitchfork to throw grain in the air.
The heavy kernels would fall back on the threshing floor,
while the wind would blow the chaff away.
Later, the farmers burned the empty shells
because they served no purpose.
For that reason,
chaff often illustrated spiritual worthlessness
(Ps. 35:5; Isa. 17:13; Hos. 13:3; Matt. 3:12).