Solid Feet

“Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh. For the LORD shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken.” (Pr 3:25-26 AV)

There are two ideas as to what this desolation of the wicked might be.  The first is the desolation which the wicked bring upon the righteous.  The second would be desolation brought upon the wicked.  The first would conflict with the promise to the righteous.  Desolation, would by nature, move the foot of the righteous.  However, if the desolation is upon the wicked, the promise makes complete sense.  We also know desolations do come upon the righteous either because of God’s chastening hand, or persecution brought by the wicked.  So, the promise of God would be mute if desolations do move the foot.  I believe the desolations spoken of here are the desolations brought on the wicked of which the righteous are observers.  This would stand the test of biblical examples.  Egypt suffered greatly but God protected Israel.  Assyria, Babylon, and the Medes and Persians all suffered and their kingdom died off.  But Israel remains.  Rome, once the greatest empire on earth, was conquered and died off.  Yet, Israel remains. 

God is bound to judge the wicked.  His holiness demands it.  The people of God will be judged as well.  But for a different reason.  Our sin was judged on Mount Calvary.  Our judgment will be for the purpose of exposing our service, or lack thereof, towards the LORD.  When the LORD does judge those around us, it can be very scary.  It could be judgment by natural forces.  It could be judgment by enemy attacks.  It could be judgment by financial collapse.  It could be judgment by internal unrest.  Whatever the judgment, separation is the key to the promise.  If we are separated from the wicked, in as much as we can be, then the judgment will not come upon the righteous.  Take Israel while in Egypt as an example.  They remained in the ghettos all the while Egypt was being judged.  The plagues had no effect on them.  This is the promise if God understood by Abraham as he argued for Lot’s safety.  The LORD will not judge the righteous with the wicked.

This brings to mind the coming judgment upon the earth.  The rapture of the church will remove us from the wrath of God to come.  In more particular application, as righteous as our nation might be when compared to others, we still have major issues that must be judged.  The tolerance and promotion of same gender relationships along with the murder of millions of innocent human beings while in the sanctity of their mother’s womb demands the judgment of God.  It will come.  We cannot promise for certain no harm will come to God’s people.  Surely Israel felt some effect of the plagues upon Egypt.  But the bulk of the wrath of God was not upon them.  Which brings us to the most important point of all.  If you are reading this and you have never accepted Christ as your Savior, I would implore you to do so, now.  The promise above is only for those who have repented of their sin, calling out to Christ and Christ alone, to save them.  If that has never happened for you, then the Bible states the wrath of God abides upon you.  The only way to escape the wrath of God is to trust Jesus as the One who took upon Himself the wrath of God for you so that you don’t have to experience it.  Won’t you do that now?