Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him: for the reward of his hands shall be given him.
It will go badly for the wicked because they will receive back what their own hands have done and suffer the consequences of their deeds. Good and evil do not come to the same end, for it is well with the righteous but it is not well with the wicked. The unrepentant cannot gain the happiness of heaven but face just retribution, because God opposes sin and His curse rests on the evildoer. What people think and do brings its own harvest upon them, so that persistent indulgence in sin brings fearful consequence and inevitable ruin. It is therefore wrong to tell the wicked that all will be well when God has declared it will be ill with them, and faithful warning that pictures sin in its abhorrent character is care for their souls.
Meaning and Historical Setting
To the wicked is pronounced woe, meaning it shall be ill with him because the reward of his hands shall be given him, so that he will suffer the consequences of his own deeds and receive what those deeds deserve. That same law is seen in that life's harms are the harvest of what people think and do, with each deed bringing its fruit upon the doer. In its original setting Jerusalem and Judah had fallen because their words and deeds were against the Lord and they openly displayed their sin.
That prophecy applies to the last days. There its warning accompanies reproof of those who value appearance and display and yield to worldly influences. As a lesson in character building, a life built on an insecure foundation will fall when God's judgment comes, and that ruin is eternal.
Just Retribution for Evil
The reward of the hands divides into two opposite outcomes, for it is well with the righteous but ill with the wicked who receive the consequence of their own deeds. Good and evil do not come to the same end, and no evildoer receives the same well-being promised to the righteous. The unrepentant do not enter the happiness of heaven but meet just retribution measured to what their deeds deserve. God stands opposed to sin, and His curse rests on the evildoer so that the sinner brings the consequences of his own deeds upon himself.
The harms of life are the harvest of what people think and do, with each deed bringing its own fruit back upon the doer. Sin persisted in is a thing of fearful consequence, destined to bring inevitable ruin upon those who indulge in it. In its first setting this ruin fell on Jerusalem and Judah because their words and deeds were against the Lord and they openly displayed their sin. That same return of evil upon the doer appears in sexual incontinence and other corrupt practices, which bring bodily corruption, disease, and misery.
Drunkenness and debased appetite that strip men of reason and decency are also evils they bring upon themselves. Even in that degraded state they may still overcome through the grace of Christ. The same self-brought judgment falls on those who follow their own ideas and unsanctified judgment instead of heeding God's messages and following Jesus. This includes those regarded as responsible people, who by pursuing their own course bring the curse and its consequences on themselves.
Warning Instead of Reassurance
It is wrong to tell the wicked, the sinner in Zion, or the unrepentant sinner that all will be well with him, when God has declared that it shall be ill with him and has pronounced a curse upon him. Good and evil do not have the same outcome, for the righteous fare well but the wicked receive the consequence and reward of their own deeds. God opposes sin and brings upon the evildoer what his own hands have done, so to assure him that all is well is to encourage him in wrongdoing and to treat sin lightly.
False teachers gloss over terrible deeds of iniquity and excuse them on the plea of charity. From the pulpits they prophesy smooth things, saying it shall be well with the transgressor, and with sham liberality, false doctrines, and soul-destroying heresies they call darkness light and light darkness. That message is unmasked as falsehood, for sin must be pictured in its abhorrent character as a thing of fearful consequence destined to bring inevitable ruin upon those who persist in its indulgence. Multitudes are resting in sin, unmindful of solemn warnings and examples, and they must be warned that the reward of their hands shall be given them.
Faithful correction that warns people of their danger rather than encouraging them in wrong is an act of care for their souls. Indulging children's wrong conduct effectively gives them that false assurance, contrary to God's judgment. Likewise, to flatter and retain one whose work and influence harm God's cause, by calling a sinner's condition good, contradicts the warning that it is not well with the wicked.
It will go badly for the wicked because they will receive back what their own hands have done and suffer the consequences of their deeds. Good and evil do not come to the same end, for it is well with the righteous but it is not well with the wicked. The unrepentant cannot gain the happiness of heaven but face just retribution, because God opposes sin and His curse rests on the evildoer. What people think and do brings its own harvest upon them, so that persistent indulgence in sin brings fearful consequence and inevitable ruin. It is therefore wrong to tell the wicked that all will be well when God has declared it will be ill with them, and faithful warning that pictures sin in its abhorrent character is care for their souls.
Meaning and Historical Setting
To the wicked is pronounced woe, meaning it shall be ill with him because the reward of his hands shall be given him, so that he will suffer the consequences of his own deeds and receive what those deeds deserve. That same law is seen in that life's harms are the harvest of what people think and do, with each deed bringing its fruit upon the doer. In its original setting Jerusalem and Judah had fallen because their words and deeds were against the Lord and they openly displayed their sin.
That prophecy applies to the last days. There its warning accompanies reproof of those who value appearance and display and yield to worldly influences. As a lesson in character building, a life built on an insecure foundation will fall when God's judgment comes, and that ruin is eternal.
Just Retribution for Evil
The reward of the hands divides into two opposite outcomes, for it is well with the righteous but ill with the wicked who receive the consequence of their own deeds. Good and evil do not come to the same end, and no evildoer receives the same well-being promised to the righteous. The unrepentant do not enter the happiness of heaven but meet just retribution measured to what their deeds deserve. God stands opposed to sin, and His curse rests on the evildoer so that the sinner brings the consequences of his own deeds upon himself.
The harms of life are the harvest of what people think and do, with each deed bringing its own fruit back upon the doer. Sin persisted in is a thing of fearful consequence, destined to bring inevitable ruin upon those who indulge in it. In its first setting this ruin fell on Jerusalem and Judah because their words and deeds were against the Lord and they openly displayed their sin. That same return of evil upon the doer appears in sexual incontinence and other corrupt practices, which bring bodily corruption, disease, and misery.
Drunkenness and debased appetite that strip men of reason and decency are also evils they bring upon themselves. Even in that degraded state they may still overcome through the grace of Christ. The same self-brought judgment falls on those who follow their own ideas and unsanctified judgment instead of heeding God's messages and following Jesus. This includes those regarded as responsible people, who by pursuing their own course bring the curse and its consequences on themselves.
Warning Instead of Reassurance
It is wrong to tell the wicked, the sinner in Zion, or the unrepentant sinner that all will be well with him, when God has declared that it shall be ill with him and has pronounced a curse upon him. Good and evil do not have the same outcome, for the righteous fare well but the wicked receive the consequence and reward of their own deeds. God opposes sin and brings upon the evildoer what his own hands have done, so to assure him that all is well is to encourage him in wrongdoing and to treat sin lightly.
False teachers gloss over terrible deeds of iniquity and excuse them on the plea of charity. From the pulpits they prophesy smooth things, saying it shall be well with the transgressor, and with sham liberality, false doctrines, and soul-destroying heresies they call darkness light and light darkness. That message is unmasked as falsehood, for sin must be pictured in its abhorrent character as a thing of fearful consequence destined to bring inevitable ruin upon those who persist in its indulgence. Multitudes are resting in sin, unmindful of solemn warnings and examples, and they must be warned that the reward of their hands shall be given them.
Faithful correction that warns people of their danger rather than encouraging them in wrong is an act of care for their souls. Indulging children's wrong conduct effectively gives them that false assurance, contrary to God's judgment. Likewise, to flatter and retain one whose work and influence harm God's cause, by calling a sinner's condition good, contradicts the warning that it is not well with the wicked.