Proverbs 13:9 (NKJV) — 9 The light of the righteous rejoices, but the lamp of the wicked will be put out.

The righteous light and the wicked lamp. Light emanates from a source such as a lamp. A lamp is a source of light itself. What emanates from the life of a righteous person is joyous and affects others in an uplifting way. Light bears the same relationship to a lamp as fruit to a branch. For this purpose, we may compare the light of the righteous to the fruit of the Spirit. (See Galatians 5:22-23.) Such fruit is certainly joyous, having a positive impact both on the person who bears the fruit and others around that person. The source of the fruit is the Spirit of God within; the Spirit is also the source of the light that shines forth from a righteous person.

While the light of the righteous is alive, vibrant, rejoicing, the lamp – the original source – of the wicked shall be put out. It will be turned off. It will fail. The wicked do what they do by the power of their own efforts. They do not have the Spirit of God within them to empower them, to give them life and light. Jesus Christ is “the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world” (John 1:9). If a person does not have Christ within, that person does not have genuine light. (See Romans 8:9.) The lamp of the wicked, frail and feeble, is their own strength. But human efforts will fail. (See Zechariah 4:6.)

Reminder

The Daily Wisdom posts are drawn from my book titled Ancient Wisdom for Today’s World: A Commentary on the Book of Proverbs. The book is published by Word Aflame Press and is available at pentecostalpublishing.com, amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, and as an Apple Book.

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