Consider the House of the Wicked Prov. 21:12 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO

According to Prov 21:12 we are to consider the house of the wicked – that way we can learn from him – v.11 – we’ll learn not to be like the wicked.

In the first part of Prov 21, we find these things about the house of the wicked – the wicked:

Refuse to do judgment – v.7 – whereas in v.15 a just man considers it a joy to do judgment – the thief refuses the commandment “Thou shalt not steal” (the judgment) and he refuses the admonition to “work with your own hands.”  It is not that he doesn’t know the right judgment – it’s just that the judgment has no affect on him – a prisoner went to prison for a small drug and theft charge – he came out “smarter” – he said, “This time I’ll know how to do it and keep from getting caught.”  Wicked Pharaoh refused the judgment of Moses and Aaron – wicked Shimei refused Solomon’s judgment.

Refuse to do the right thing – the Pharisees were like that – so Jn 8:44 – Jn 3:19-20 – compare the man who wants to do right in Jn 3:21 – he wants to know what the judgment is so that he can do it – that’s his desire.

Desire to do evil – v.10 – so much so that even his neighbor isn’t safe (no favor) – they are looking for something bad to do – like a boy giving his brother a cigar when he was ten – he just wanted to do the wrong thing – wicked men find pleasure in it – I had a friend growing up that always tried to convince me to do wrong things – he delighted in it.  When the wicked get older they find a way to make money by getting you to sin – like the proliferation of pornography – they want to display the flesh and they want others to take the bait, to fall prey to immorality – you get hooked and they receive a steady stream of money and they could care less whether it ruins you and your family – booze companies say drink responsibly but they know that alcohol related deaths are amongst the highest each year [third] – 435,000 deaths due to tobacco 18.1 %, 400,000 due to poor diet and physical inactivity 16.6%, 85,000 due to alcohol 3.5% – they should stop making and selling deadly things – they can’t because they desire to do evil and so do the people who buy them – they could care less that what they sell ruins you and your family – AIDS/HIV 42,000,000 worldwide cases – New HIV cases/yr 5,000,000 – Deaths/yr 3,1,000,000 – and the wicked still desire to do evil.  A just man has a completely different idea – he wants to do what he can to help his neighbor.

Remain in the congregation of the dead – v.16 – Jesus told a would be disciple, “Let the dead bury the dead” – before we were saved we were dead in trespasses and sin – we don’t have life until 1 Jn 5:12.

Are overthrown by God – v.12 – 15 there is destruction to the workers of iniquity – 2 Thes 1:9 they die in flaming fire – they spend eternity in destruction – Rev 14 tells us about the fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God – Rev 20:15.  A wise man will consider this [v.11] and he will get saved and he will run from these things of the world that will kill a wicked man – he sees the punishment of the wicked and says, “I don’t want any of that.”