Once again, in Proverbs 12:7, we see the contrast between the wicked and the righteous.
The wicked are overthrown and perish, but the house of the righteous will stand.
We must ask ourselves, who is it that overthrows the wicked? How do they come to perish?
The passive voice shouldn’t be ignored. There’s no subject in this sentence doing the overthrowing. Rather, is the wicked being overthrown. But by whom?
They are overthrown by their own wickedness, because men sow what they reap. This is a principle God embedded in His creation. Men of unbelief condemn themselves by their unbelief. By the same token, the wicked undo themselves by their wickedness. And their ultimate destination is to perish.
The House of the Righteous Will Stand
On the other hand, the house of the righteous will stand.
The righteous, of course, is Jesus Christ. But what is His house?
We are, for it says in 1 Corinthians 3:16—the Apostle Paul speaking to the Christians in the Corinthian church—that the saints are themselves the temple of God. He meant that collectively.
Later, in chapter 6, verse 19, he says
your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit in you, whom you have from God
In that sense, he speaking singularly, to the individual Christian.
In other words, we are, as individuals, the temple (or house) of the Holy Spirit and, collectively, the temple of God. We are God’s dwelling place.
This has stark and profound implications in the way we should live. By making ourselves, individually and collectively, His personal abode, He has given us a unique and holy purpose—the privilege of residing with Him the house of His righteousness. For we are that house, and He is our righteousness.
And not even the gates of Hades will prevail against us.
Are you getting your strength from His righteousness, or your own?