Imagine a once-glorious city, filled with luxury and glory. Its buildings soar, its alleys are filled with laughter, and its inhabitants live in pride. However, over time, greed and injustice ran rampant. Leaders and the strong oppressed the weak, wealth was amassed by deceit, and the truth was silenced by the sound of lies. Until finally, disaster came, not from without, but from within. The city fell, not to the enemy, but to the sin of its own making. Today, it is nothing but ruins, a ghost town abandoned by its inhabitants.

In Job 15:26-35, Eliphaz gives a description of the fate of the wicked. He speaks of a man who challenges God with pride, covers himself with fat as a sign of prosperity, but ends up living in ruin. He may appear successful, but his success is a mirage, a false happiness that ultimately brings destruction. The wicked often appear prosperous. His wealth increases, his influence expands, and he seems invincible. However, none of this will last. Like an abandoned city, his house will become a ruin. What he builds with deceit will not stand firm.

As a woman conceives and eventually gives birth, so does evil. It conceives misery and gives birth to destruction. Evil does not need external judgment, it will be destroyed by itself. Like a city that falls because of its own corruption, the wicked will fall not because of enemies, but because of the sin he nurtures. In his imagination of the ungodly ruler, Eliphaz was advising Job not to fall into ungodliness and turn to God immediately.

Friends of the Bible, in our daily lives we often see how people who rely on wealth, power, and cunning seem to succeed. However, God's word reminds us that these things will not last. Corruption, injustice, and pride are fragile foundations. If our lives are based on vanity, we will experience destruction. The lost city in our illustration is not just a story of the past. It is a picture of a life built on vanity. Let us not be part of those who conceive disaster and give birth to evil. Instead, let us seek God, live in truth, and build something that will last for eternity.