Wickedness

[245 words] There are over 200 verses in the Bible which contain the words “the wicked.” The wicked, of course, practice “wickedness” and there are 121 occurrences of this word. Synonyms for wickedness are also numerous in scripture: “evil” (533 times), “iniquity” (229), “sin” (1467), and “malice” (6). In addition to these words we read of the contrast between “what is good and what is bad.” Goodness is the opposite of wickedness. The Bible is a book about the wickedness of mankind and the consequences of such. In Deuteronomy 9:4-5 God told the Jews that the reason He would destroy the nations of Palestine and give them their land was because those nations were filled with wickedness. Remember God told the Jews to kill all the people of those nations. But what were those nations doing that is classified as wickedness? Two things stand out: first they disregarded the God…