Do not lie in wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous; Do not plunder his resting place; For a righteous man may fall seven times And rise again, But the wicked shall fall by calamity. Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, And do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles; Lest the Lord see it, and it displease Him, And He turn away His wrath from him. Do not fret because of evildoers, Nor be envious of the wicked; For there will be no prospect for the evil man; The lamp of the wicked will be put out.
Proverbs 24:15-20 NKJV
1) Openly rebellious wicked men plunder, kill destroy, rejoice in evil, and rejoice when others stumble – Their lamp shall be put out.
2) The truly vile and abominable, the sly, prideful and self righteous man, lies in wait against those who are justified and who rest in Christ, hoping to plunder his faith with doubt, replacing his trust with guilt and shame
These two wicked men will die by calamity, they will be risen not to salvation but to judgement. But there is another man. A man who God has chosen to call His own, a man who has died to self so that Christ can live and abide within his daily life. This man is not righteous of his own works, no. This man is not standing in judgement and accusation over his fallen brothers, no. This man is not praying, “Thank you, Lord, that I am not like these sinners.”
No, this man prays,
“Lord, I am but a humble sinner saved by the blood of your precious Son, by the Blood of the Lamb. I have nothing of value to offer a holy and righteous God. I do not have silver or gold of my own, because it is all yours that you have given me, Lord. I do not have power or glory, because the only good in me comes from you, Lord. I can offer only the ashes of this life and my love, which I can’t even boast of because it is simply a weak reflection from you first loving me.
Lord, come live with me, stay with me, never leave me. I fear even to ask to be your lowly servant, even though you welcome me as your son. What, Lord? Did you really say, Arise my Son? Did you really mean such a foreign and incomprehensible thing as you spoke in my direction? Surely this may have just been me overhearing your love towards another? No? You mean me?
I am broken by the weight of your mercies, Lord! I am crushed by the weight of your grace!
But, I stumble, Lord! He says, I know, I’m teaching you to know and recognize sin and darkness, and avoid it, and even see it flee from you. Get up, and learn from it. Keep walking.
How foolishly I want to repay you for such an undeserved gift and realize again that I have nothing to offer but love in return. To which you respond, that’s the only treasure worth anything here, Son. Come sit with me, my good and faithful sevant, my child, my love.”
Harold J. Ballinger 