The Lamp of the Wicked
How often is it that the lamp of the wicked is put out? That their calamity comes upon them? That God distributes pains in his anger? That they are like straw before the wind, and like chaff that the storm carries away? You say, ‘God stores up their iniquity for their children.’ Let him pay it out to them, that they may know it. Let their own eyes see their destruction, and let them drink of the wrath of the Almighty. For what do they care for their houses after them, when the number of their months is cut off?
Job 21:17–21
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The Lamp of the Wicked
Job’s friends had asserted that the lamp of the wicked would be snuffed out in this lifetime (Job 18:5). He Job questions this assertion. He asks how often this actually happens. In fact, the evidence points to the contrary. The lamps of the wicked seem to burn the brightest and the longest. When we look to our own world today this seems to ring even truer. The glow of the screen brings pixilated debauchery into the homes of every person. The colors of the rainbow have been corrupted and fly proudly from the tops of every capitol building each year in celebration and endorsement of sin. A city in the desert known as Sin City illuminates the night sky beckoning all to the promise of easy money and the fulfilment of every lustful thought. The lamp of the wicked surely seems to be burning bright with no evidence of its dimming. Still, even in these dark days which are lit by the lamp of sin, there is yet another brighter more powerful light which drowns out the darkness and scatters the shadows where evil lurks. God’s Word penetrates even the thickest darkness and brings the life-giving light of Christ to those in faith. “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (119:105). In faith we follow the path lit for us. We rest secure in the warmth of Christ presence. And we need not fear the singe of the lamps of the wicked for Jesus assures us, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (Jon 8:12).
Job 21:17–21
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The Lamp of the Wicked
Job’s friends had asserted that the lamp of the wicked would be snuffed out in this lifetime (Job 18:5). He Job questions this assertion. He asks how often this actually happens. In fact, the evidence points to the contrary. The lamps of the wicked seem to burn the brightest and the longest. When we look to our own world today this seems to ring even truer. The glow of the screen brings pixilated debauchery into the homes of every person. The colors of the rainbow have been corrupted and fly proudly from the tops of every capitol building each year in celebration and endorsement of sin. A city in the desert known as Sin City illuminates the night sky beckoning all to the promise of easy money and the fulfilment of every lustful thought. The lamp of the wicked surely seems to be burning bright with no evidence of its dimming. Still, even in these dark days which are lit by the lamp of sin, there is yet another brighter more powerful light which drowns out the darkness and scatters the shadows where evil lurks. God’s Word penetrates even the thickest darkness and brings the life-giving light of Christ to those in faith. “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (119:105). In faith we follow the path lit for us. We rest secure in the warmth of Christ presence. And we need not fear the singe of the lamps of the wicked for Jesus assures us, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (Jon 8:12).
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