1. Whirlwind: a storm of wind; tornado; great gusts of wind; hurricane

2. The point: a whirlwind leaves devastation in its wake.

a. It blows everything all away—especially if you lived in the Bible days in a tent in the wilderness.

b. A tornado can pick up a house and leave just the foundation.

c. It can pick up a car and drop it down the road a ways.

3. So is the wicked no more…

a. His point is that just as a whirlwind can take something away in an instant—so that it is gone… so, too, the wicked will be taken away in an instant… gone!

b. There is no safety or security for the wicked. None whatsoever.

c. Vs. 24 – that which they fear (being blown away!) SHALL COME upon them.
• For some it comes in this life.
• For all it comes as they stand before God to give account for their lives.

4. This is a partial answer from God to ongoing question in the minds of godly people: Why do the wicked prosper? Why do the ungodly seem to be so successful? Why do evil men seem to get away with murder?

a. God’s answer: They don’t!

b. Vs. 24 – that which they fear shall come upon them…

c. Vs. 25 – like a whirlwind they will be no more… blown away forever.

d. From our limited perspective in time, it APPEARS that the wicked prosper and get away with murder, but not from God’s perspective.

e. In fact, God is even USING their wickedness to bring His perfect plan to pass.

f. As awful as the tragedies of last week were, there was one tragedy that causes all others to pale in comparison: the crucifixion of Jesus Christ!
• Acts 2:23 – wicked men with wicked hearts performed the most wicked deed in all of history.
• YET—it was all according to God’s foreknowledge and determinate counsel.
• God used that deed for good.
• The wicked men will be judged for their wickedness… and will be taken away as a whirlwind one day.

g. But wicked men are not prospering from God’s perspective!
• At the cross, the devil seemed to triumph—he succeeded in putting Messiah to death.
• He bruised the heel of Messiah—and for a moment thought himself to be the victor.
• But in the very process, Christ arose from that mortal wound to crush the head of the serpent!
• Even the devil will be taken away like a whirlwind one day and cast into the Lake of Fire forever.
• Evil will NOT continue forever.
• The same is true for all evil men.

h. From our limited perspective in time, it may appear that the wicked prosper… but Solomon assures us that one day they will be no more…
• No more a threat to the righteous…
• No more able to propagate their evil plans…
• No more able to oppose God or God’s people…
• We should take heart from this passage: in the end, evil men are the losers and will be no more!
• All of his hopes, pleasures, opportunities for God’s grace will be swept away in a moment of time for every wicked man.

5. Many wicked men with their wicked plans have been carried away like a whirlwind.

a. In the days of Noah, wicked men were carried away like a whirlwind… in the flood.

b. In the days of Abraham, wicked men in Sodom and Gomorrah were taken away like a whirlwind—in a storm of fire from heaven.

c. In the days of Esther, the wicked Haman, who almost succeeded in a plan for worldwide genocide of the Jews was taken away in an instant—hung on the very gallows he had built for his enemy.

d. In the days of Daniel, wicked men devised a plan that landed Daniel in the lions den. However, the calamity suddenly fell upon the wicked and they and their families were torn to shreds by the lions!

6. Proverbs speaks of this principle often: sudden calamity that befalls the wicked.

a. 6:12-15 – he causes great calamity in the lives of others with his tongue… but his calamity shall come upon him suddenly.

b. 24:21-22 – those who seek to meddle with governments (rebels; traitors; those who seek to overthrow governments; terrorists; etc.) Their calamity shall come suddenly… and their ruin will be indescribable!

c. Don’t fret over evil men who seem to get away with their evil plans. Not one of them will get away with anything before God.

d. Perhaps their plans will blow up in their faces in this life. Perhaps it will not be exposed until they face God—but wicked men and their evil devices will all be carried away like a whirlwind one day.

7. I Thess. 5:2 – The coming of the Lord will bring sudden calamity upon the wicked—like a whirlwind… suddenly… unexpectedly…

a. Vs. 3 – they FEEL safe, but are not.

b. Wicked men often attempt to build for themselves a false sense of security.

c. The godly see the wicked who seem to prosper, seem to have not a worry in the world—yet the whirlwind is coming. It is a false sense of security derived from their wealth, power, and worldly mindset.

d. There is no escape when this whirlwind comes.

8. Matt. 7:26-27 – great was the fall of it…

a. Here the Lord Jesus describes the fall of the wicked.

b. The wicked fool built his house on sand…

c. It may be a beautiful house… well designed… well laid out… well furnished…an elaborate structure… with steel girders… fire extinguishers… an expensive house… that took years to build… the latest in safety features which give its builders a sense of great security…

d. But if it was built on sand, (by folly and wickedness) then that house will be swept away when the storm comes!

e. Its fall will be GREAT.

f. Here the Lord has in mind the ultimate coming to justice: standing before God at the Great White Throne Judgment.

g. What if we never find the evil men who have bombed our cities? Will they get away with murder?
• Maybe in this life, but not forever.
• As a whirlwind, they will be no more!
• No more around to carry out their evil deeds. They will be cast into the Lake of Fire.