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THE SUFFERING OF THE WICKED
TUESDAY, MAY 10
Job 18:12-21

Psalm 11

 

“…the righteous LORD

loveth righteousness…”

 

THE SUFFERING OF THE WICKED
 
Bildad continued to vividly portray the condition of those who opposed God. He was endeavouring to prove to Job once and for all that only the wicked suffered and only the righteous prospered.
 
We know that on this earth, the wicked do prosper at times so, in this, Bildad was wrong. The Psalmist spoke of his discouragement when he saw the prosperity of the wicked. Then, after fellowship with God, he was reminded of their terrible eternal punishment (Ps 73:2-3, 17).
 
We also know that on this earth, the righteous are often called upon to suffer great difficulties. Thus, in this, Bildad was also wrong (Heb 11:36- 38; 1 Pet 1:6).
 
However, the wicked do suffer very often and inwardly have great turmoil and anxiety even those who are rich and powerful. Hence, the description Bildad now gave of the wicked was sometimes true. It is a terrible thing to go through life without the Lord.
 
Step by step, these verses of Scripture, written in Hebrew poetic form, trace the course of the total destruction of the wicked. Calamity and misfortune are pictured as just a step away as death slowly takes its toll (Job 18:12-13). Everything that makes ungodly man happy – his home, his family and wealth – can be lost at any moment; even his hope of leaving behind some memory of himself through his children will be lost (Job 18:14-19). Finally, Bildad pointed out that those who followed such wicked men would eventually face God’s punishment of their sin (Job 18:20-21).
 
While this awful picture is true of the ultimate end of the lost, it had nothing to do with Job. His friends, unlike Job, knew nothing of righteousness which comes through faith in God’s mercy and salvation. In the midst of life’s difficulties, it is a joy for the child of God to know his sins are forgiven by God’s grace.
 
THOUGHT: What are some of the sufferings of the wicked?
PRAYER: Father, I confess that it is only by Thy grace that I can have eternal salvation.

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