How does Job 18:21 connect with Proverbs 10:27 on the wicked's fate? Text of the Two Verses • Job 18:21: “Surely such is the dwelling of the wicked, and this is the place of one who does not know God.” • Proverbs 10:27: “The fear of the LORD prolongs life, but the years of the wicked will be cut short.” Key Links Between the Two Verses • Common subject – “the wicked.” • Common outcome – divine judgment resulting in loss, whether of place (Job) or of time (Proverbs). • Negative contrast – Job contrasts the wicked with the God-knowing; Proverbs contrasts them with those who fear the LORD. • Certainty of fulfillment – both state the result as fixed facts, not possibilities. What Bildad Pictures, Solomon Promises • Job 18 paints a vivid scene of the wicked’s end—darkness, terror, roots dried up, reputation wiped out (vv. 5-20). Verse 21 summarizes: their “dwelling” becomes ruin. • Proverbs 10:27 takes the same truth and applies it to one’s lifespan—“cut short.” • Together they reveal a two-fold loss: – Loss of habitation, stability, and legacy (Job). – Loss of longevity and future opportunity (Proverbs). • Literal judgment in this life foreshadows eternal separation from God (cf. Matthew 25:41, 46). Shared Themes on the Wicked’s Fate • Divine justice is immediate and ultimate (Psalm 37:9-10). • Sin shortens life and destroys security (Proverbs 11:19; Romans 6:23). • True knowledge of God and fear of the LORD are lifesaving (Proverbs 14:27; John 17:3). Wider Biblical Echoes • Psalm 1:4-6 – the wicked are like chaff, lacking place “in the assembly of the righteous.” • Proverbs 24:20 – “the evil man has no future; the lamp of the wicked will be extinguished.” • Isaiah 57:20-21 – no peace for the wicked. Takeaway for Today • God’s Word speaks plainly: wickedness erodes both our homes and our years. • Respectful, obedient fear of the LORD lengthens and enriches life—now and forever. • The passages call each reader to forsake wickedness, know God, and walk in reverent fear, enjoying the security and longevity He faithfully grants. |
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