“The light of the wicked indeed goes out” (Job 18:5).
Matthew Henry writes of Bildad’s response: “The rest of Bildad’s discourse is entirely taken up in an elegant description of the miserable condition of a wicked man, in which there is a great deal of certain truth, and which will be of excellent use if duly considered—that a sinful condition is a sad condition, and that iniquity will be men’s ruin if they do not repent of it. But it is not true that all wicked people are visibly and openly made thus miserable in this world; nor is it true that all who are brought into great distress and trouble in this world are therefore to be deemed and adjudged wicked men, when no other proof appears against them; and therefore, though Bildad thought the application of it to Job was easy, yet it was not safe nor just.”
Let us, then, shift our focus from the misapplication of Bildad’s words and examine the truths they contain. In studying this passage, one is impressed by the fearful state in which a sinner lives. If this truth alone could be imprinted upon the minds of fallen humanity, all men everywhere would cry out like the Philippian jailer, “What must I do to be saved?” As it is, though, sinners too often remain ignorant of their plight either because they hide from the declaration of the truth, or because many churches have failed in their duty to proclaim the whole counsel of God. Here in this passage we have a proclamation of the destiny of the wicked that many would do well to heed.
From Bildad’s misapplied, yet true, discourse, we learn that the wicked will not live forever, that his life will end one day because “the wages of sin is death.” We also discover that many of the snares he erects for himself in the course of his sinful life will fall upon his own head. He possesses no peace and his conscience is plagued with the terrors of his guilt. Destruction awaits him, if not in this life, then most certainly beyond the grave. There he will face the God’s judgment and be sent into eternal torment. What momentary sinful pleasure is worth the eternal agonies of hell? None. Turn, then, to Christ and find forgiveness. Repent of your sins and escape the coming wrath that will inevitably fall upon those who continue to sin instead of glorifying God.
Spend at least 15 minutes in a prayer of confession today. Examine your actions, your thoughts, your words. Confess everything you can think of. Ask God to reveal even your hidden sins to you. Confess those things that you have neglected to do in obedience to God. Try to spend time every day in sincere confession before God.
