My dear readers,

Proverbs 11:7 “When a wicked man dieth, his expectation shall perish: and the hope of unjust men perisheth.”

Life is like a vapour that appears in the morning and is gone by afternoon. Though our life is short, it can still be lived meaningfully, impacting others for good. For the righteous, God assures them that their work will follow them when their lives end. Revelation 14:13 “And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.”

However, Proverbs 11:7 is a warning, not to the righteous but to the wicked of the consequences of their lives.

All men like to be remembered. “So-and-so” was here! Etched permanently on the concrete walkway is the name of someone who wanted to be remembered, that he lived on this earth. Men and women have left their mark, indelibly etched in the history of mankind, through the global impact of their lives on society. Some of these men and women contributed to our daily lives for the better, whereas others harmed and devastated lives like despotic men that include Adolf Hitler who killed millions in his short lifetime. Men like Hitler will not be the last, as history has testified thus far. When evil men are given absolute power, the sinful mind and heart are corrupted absolutely. They become drunk with the absolute power given to them. Their depraved actions know no bounds. They take at will what their powers allow them to take, without restraint. They maim, kill and destroy lives ruthlessly as if there is no God to judge and condemn them. Since the fall of man, such a might-is-right mentality has been the bane of man’s sinful world throughout the ages. Tens of millions have had their hopes and dreams dashed, and many more died and lost loved ones because of these deranged tyrants.

Much worse than these earth-bound tyrants are the spiritual tyrants who do evil in the name of Christ!

Sinful men and women who sit in the pews may sow seeds of discord, one seed at a time, in one meeting at a time. The damage they do to the lives of their victims is real and can be very devastating, but it is limited to that one individual victim. These sinful individuals and their sinful behaviour can be stopped at the root, the moment they begin at these meetings. They can be counselled and helped. The people they slandered and maligned can even approach them to clarify all issues that may have caused such grief and pain in their lives, and with God’s help and merciful intervention, bring reconciliation.

But when the wicked are in power, such as the kings in Old Testament times, and in New Testament times, the leaders in churches, teachers and professors in theological institutions of higher learning with their diplomas in theology to intimidate and silence any nay-sayers, the damage they can do is immeasurable. A brief survey of church history reveals that numerous denominations and independent churches began as fundamental and conservative citadels of faith but have compromised so severely that they are now irreversible fortresses of falsehood. These evil men and women have cleverly entrenched themselves in positions of power, making them untouchable. Any slightest hint of disagreement, including righteous indignation, is quickly silenced through their publications and from the pulpit. Coupled with their powerful positions of influence, their wicked deeds, like poisonous weeds choking every sound doctrine, spread like wildfire, burning down every strong doctrinal fortress that the founding fathers established. These evil men and women think they can get away with murder. Their constant proclamations that they believe in the one living and true God are more like hot air than the gospel truth because the way their wickedness grows and blossoms, and the many lives they continue to ruin as if God is dead, is terrifying.

Do they not know that God knows all things, including what is in their evil minds and deceitful and wicked hearts? He hears every word and knows every sinful plot hatched behind closed doors! Hence, God warns, their expectations shall perish! Using synonymous parallelism in Proverbs 11:7, God emphasises His just and divine punishment. Expectations and hope are usually more extreme and fantastic than the realities of life. The former are part of man’s aspirations, of which few are actually fulfilled. The LORD said that even these hopeful thoughts and unfilled expectations will perish; how much more all the things the wicked have actually accomplished? God will destroy everything they do when He destroys the heaven and the earth!

Why would God say that the expectations and hopes of wicked men will perish, when they will not be realised in their lives?

The first reason is to highlight the origin of sinful words such as slander, gossip, deception and evil works. The heart, soul and mind of the wicked are characterised by sin. Man is born in sin. Unless their sinful nature is removed from their lives, they cannot do or say anything pleasing to God. Expectations and hopes originate from the heart.  When the heart is good and pure, so will be the expectations and hopes. As  the Bible says in James 3:10-12 “Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. 11 Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? 12 Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh.”

The second reason is to warn everyone to take heed of their motives behind every action, especially God’s people. All Christian activities, such as Sunday worship, Bible Study, Christian fellowship and service, fasting and prayers, are holy, very pleasing and acceptable to God’s people. But God sees and judges beyond the outward. He begins His holy judgement with the heart, so much so that when He sees a believer make a mistake and God’s love constrains his heart, He patiently and lovingly corrects. The believer will be ready to learn, repent of his wrongs, improve, and be better. But the wicked is not so. The motive is evil in God’s eyes, so even when he preaches or teaches God's Word, such Christian works will perish with him. 1 Samuel 16:6-7 “And it came to pass, when they were come, that he looked on Eliab, and said, Surely the LORD'S anointed is before him. 7 But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.” External deeds of holiness are pleasing to God only if they originate from hearts that are pure, holy and righteous. The righteous live in holiness because they love God. Their expectations and hopes are holy and righteous. The wicked will have wicked expectations and hopes.

Do not be wicked and die with nothing.

Yours faithfully in the Saviour’s Service

Rev Dr Quek Suan Yew, Pastor