Job 18:5-21 “Yea, the light of the wicked shall be put out, and the spark of his fire shall not shine. The light shall be dark in his tabernacled, and his candle shall be put out with him. The steps of his strength shall be straightened, and his own counsel shall cast him down. For he is cast into a net by his own feet, and he walketh upon a snare. The gin shall take him by the heel, and the robber shall prevail against him. The snare is laid for him in the ground, and a trap for him in the way. Terrors shall make him afraid on every side, and shall drive him to his feet. His strength shall be hungerbitten, and destruction shall be ready at his side. It shall devour the strength of his skin: even the firstborn of death shall devour his strength. His confidence shall be rooted out of his tabernacle, and it shall bring him to the king of terrors. It shall dwell in his tabernacle, because it is none of his: brimstone shall be scattered upon his habitation. His roots shall be dried up beneath, and above shall his branch be cut off. His remembrance shall perish from the earth, and he shall have no name in the street. He shall be driven from light into darkness, and chased out of the world. He shall neither have son nor nephew among his people, nor any remaining in his dwellings. They that come after him shall be astonied at his day, as they that went before were affrighted. Surely such are the dwellings of the wicked, and this is the place of him that knoweth not God.”
Ephesians 5:15 “See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise.”
This second scathing condemnation from Bildad to Job is as harsh as it gets. It is a pile-on opportunity by a supposed friend to kick a man when he is down. Yet, there are some important doctrinal truths contained herein about the path of those who fail to follow after God or who diverge from His carefully laid path, though this was not the case in the life of Job.
Such individuals shall live in darkness, fall into looming traps and pitfalls, be plagued by terrors on every side, face imminent destruction, and endure persistent weakness and insecurity. Such a life is characterized by instability, a lack of enduring impact, and an absence of credibility. All the while, these individuals struggle through life missing a true and reliable support structure. Certainly, no one would enter into such a situation willingly and knowingly – they must have gotten into their situation through no fault of their own.
Except, the root cause of wickedness often comes from within – a thought perfectly aligned with the PLUS post from mid-March entitled “Concerns on the Inside.” In verses 7 and 8, Bildad points that “his own counsel shall cast him down” and “he is cast into a net by his own feet.” What a powerful and poignant warning to all of us to carefully watch where we walk, what we think, who we follow, what we watch, and where we go. If we fall, it won’t often be someone else’s fault. Instead, it will likely be by the failings of our own counsel and through a pitfall of our own making.
PLEASE PRAY FOR AMERICAN CHRISTIANS TO LIVE OUR LIVES WITH GODLY CARE AND WISDOM. May we think wisely and walk circumspectly.
“Concerns on the Inside” can be found at:
