Topical Bible: The Wicked are Compared to Chaff

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In biblical literature, the imagery of chaff is frequently employed to describe the fate and character of the wicked. Chaff, the husks and straw removed from grain during threshing, is lightweight, insubstantial, and easily carried away by the wind. This metaphor vividly illustrates the transient and ultimately futile nature of the wicked in contrast to the righteous, who are often likened to fruitful trees or solid foundations.

Psalm 1:4-5: The psalmist draws a stark contrast between the righteous and the wicked, stating, "Not so the wicked! For they are like chaff driven off by the wind. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous." . Here, the wicked are depicted as lacking stability and permanence, easily swept away by divine judgment.

Job 21:18: In the discourse of Job, the wicked are described as being "like straw before the wind, and like chaff swept away by a storm" . This passage underscores the vulnerability and inevitable destruction of those who oppose God, emphasizing the futility of their pursuits.

Isaiah 17:13: The prophet Isaiah uses the imagery of chaff to describe the fate of nations that rise against God, stating, "The nations rage like the rushing of many waters, but He will rebuke them, and they will flee far away, chased like chaff on the mountains before the wind, like a rolling tumbleweed before a gale" . This metaphor highlights the powerlessness of the wicked before the sovereign will of God.

Hosea 13:3: Hosea prophesies the fleeting existence of the wicked, saying, "Therefore they will be like the morning mist, like the early dew that disappears, like chaff swirling from a threshing floor, or like smoke escaping through a window" . The imagery here conveys the idea of impermanence and the swift passing of those who turn away from God.

Matthew 3:12: In the New Testament, John the Baptist uses the metaphor of chaff to describe the coming judgment, proclaiming, "His winnowing fork is in His hand to clear His threshing floor and to gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire" . This passage emphasizes the ultimate separation and destruction of the wicked at the hands of the Messiah.

Theological Implications: The comparison of the wicked to chaff serves as a powerful reminder of the moral and spiritual realities presented in Scripture. It underscores the transient nature of evil and the certainty of divine justice. The imagery calls believers to pursue righteousness and align themselves with God's will, avoiding the fate of those who are ultimately deemed worthless and cast aside.

In summary, the biblical metaphor of chaff effectively communicates the futility, instability, and inevitable judgment awaiting the wicked. It serves as a sobering warning and a call to righteousness, urging individuals to seek the enduring and fruitful life found in obedience to God.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

Job 21:18
They are as stubble before the wind, and as chaff that the storm carries away.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Psalm 1:4
The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind drives away.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Matthew 3:12
Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

The Chaff Driven Away
... And the wicked are compared to chaff"think for a moment, of two or three reasons. ...
Again, the wicked are compared to chaff because it is base and worthless. ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 5 1859/the chaff driven away.htm

They Shall be Called the Children of God
... They are vile persons. I will make thy grave for thou art vile' (Nahum 1:14). Therefore
the wicked are compared to chaff (Psalm 1:4), to dross (Psalm 119:119). ...
/.../the beatitudes an exposition of matthew 51-12/19 they shall be called.htm

The Fan. Matthew iii. 12
... What has it to show, compared with the amount of patient ... God can make wheat out of
chaff. ... when you get into the bottomless pit, some of the wicked spirits will ...
//christianbookshelf.org/champness/broken bread/liv the fan matthew iii.htm

Letter Liii. (AD 400. )
... who are throughout the world mingled with the chaff or tares ... their own mouth they
had condemned as wicked and impious, and whom they compared to those ...
/.../augustine/the confessions and letters of st/letter liii a d 400.htm

Therapius of Bulla Said: "If a Man Gives up and Betrays the ...
... See how therein were compared to the traitor Judas, all who ... and secondly, because
we hold that the wicked in no ... unity, until at the last the chaff be separated ...
/.../chapter 25 48 therapius.htm

Psalm XCIV.
... when separated from the chaff, will be great: the grains are few, but when compared
with the chaff, still many in themselves. When therefore the wicked cry out ...
/.../augustine/exposition on the book of psalms/psalm xciv.htm

Matt. Iii. 7
... no one be tossed to and fro, nor lie exposed to wicked desires, blown ... to be small
and mean; forasmuch as the wheat also compared with the chaff is less in ...
/.../chrysostom/homilies on the gospel of saint matthew/homily xi matt iii 7.htm

Articles vii and viii: of the Church.
... that the wicked are not to be separated from the Church, since John has compared
the Church to a threshing-floor on which wheat and chaff are heaped together ...
/.../melanchthon/the apology of the augsburg confession/part 11 articles vii and.htm

Letter cxxii. To Rusticus.
... that weeping must be which deserves to be compared to a ... laid down that the wickedness
of the wicked shall not ... sin and if the finest wheat had chaff mixed with ...
/.../jerome/the principal works of st jerome/letter cxxii to rusticus.htm

Letter Lxxvi. (AD 402. )
... Lord's field unto the harvest, or the chaff to remain ... really feared to associate
with the wicked, you would ... of schism to whom you have compared the followers ...
/.../augustine/the confessions and letters of st/letter lxxvi a d 402.htm