Proverbs 4:19, The Devil’s An Ass!
February 18, Proverbs 4:19
Rom. 1:18-2:1; 9:31-33 Let us not be ignorant of Satan’s deceptive devices.
The Devil’s An Ass!
One cannot miss the stark contrast between verses 18 and 19, between a path of shining light and another of deepest darkness, between expanding joy or advancing danger (Matt. 6:22-23)! The word darkness used here is the same as in Exodus 10:22 to describe the supernatural darkness of God’s judgment. While it may not be entirely correct to suggest that the Devil is an ass, it is assuredly true of the dupes who follow him! Sin is a dark path, even darkness itself, and carries with it the idea of evil and misery. Sin is, after all, a fatal attraction.
- Sin is Deceptive. It leads to an opposite end to what it promises. It yields no lasting or true happiness. Sin is the stupidest thing in the universe. The future of sinners grows darker and darker until there is only deceptive darkness (Ps. 53:2-5; Jer. 13:15-17). Because of the deceptiveness of sin, the light of youth is gradually eclipsed leaving them stumbling on as if we [they] had no eyes (Isa. 59:10).
- Sin is Defective. Worse still, its victims know not that what they stumble (Jn. 12:35). Why, is it for want of light; for want of sight; or for want of right? No, they are without excuse. God has given light, and they chose darkness (Jn.8:12; 3:19). They have sight yet they do not realise how defective it is. At noonday brightness they shut their eyes, and are wrapped in their sin-imposed gloom. God revealed the right, but they preferred the wrong, and at the same time they hold down the truth in unrighteousness (Rom. 1:18). They meet with (run into) darkness in the daytime, and grope in the noonday as in the night (Job. 5:14).
- Sin is Destructive. They go on stumbling to their destruction. Jesus said, If a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him (Jn. 11:10). “A dark place on the path might be got over; but darkness in his own heart the traveller carries with him wherever he goes” (Arnot). Providence puts certain barriers in the path of sinners, and many warnings are given to alert them of their danger, but their evil heart of unbelief imprisons them in a destructive darkness.
- Sin is Decisive. The Rock of Salvation is turned into “a stumbling stone and a rock of offence” to the shipwreck of their immortal souls (Isa. 8:14; 1 Cor. 1:18-25). What a dreadful thought to be crushed against Him who came to deliver from the darkness of sin! The wages of sin are decisive unless God’s grace intervenes! Call NOW upon that Grace and Light will shine upon your path. Then you will be able to sing, “Once I was blind, but now I can see. The Light of the World is Jesus.”
Thought: “Sin may open bright as the morning, but it will end dark as night.”
Prayer: Lord, bring yet many out of darkness into Thy marvellous light.