Bible study · Job 18:1-21
Job 18: The lamp of the wicked
Read Job 18:1-21 before you meet.
In a few lines
Bildad's "the light of the wicked will be put out" (18:5) and "His lamp above him will be put out" (18:6) use the Hebrew words of Proverbs' "the lamp of the wicked is snuffed out" (Proverbs 13:9). In chapter 21 Job uses them again: "How often is it that the lamp of the wicked is put out" (21:17).
The verse to carry
“Yes, the light of the wicked will be put out. The spark of his fire won’t shine.”
Job 18:5
To talk about
1. Bildad's words about the lamp of the wicked are close to Proverbs' (Proverbs 13:9), and he speaks them to Job after all that Job has lost (1:13-19). When someone spoke to you in a hard time, or you spoke to someone else, what helped and what hurt?
2. "His memory will perish from the earth. He will have no name in the street" (18:17). What do you hope people remember about you, and how much does it matter to you whether they do?
3. Jesus said, "I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in me may not remain in the darkness" (John 12:46). Where do you need that light this week?