Amazing Facts Daily Devotional April 7th The Wicked Rejoice. On October 28, 1886, one of the most iconic images in modern history made its debut on a small island a few miles from New York City. The Statue of Liberty was a gift to the United States from France, a memorial to their friendship and in honor of the new country’s victorious independence on July 4, 1776, an independence so deeply prized yet so woefully elusive in France. Interestingly, the woman featured is, you might recall, a version of the same character sacrilegiously worshiped during France’s Festival of Reason, the Goddess of Liberty. Is it irony or foreboding that France gave the symbol of its rejection of Christianity to a country whose coveted independence was founded on that very faith? In today’s verse, people are similarly sending gifts, which culturally was a sign of great rejoicing—over the suppression of the Bible! As we’ve seen, the French certainly “[made] merry” over the de-christianization of their nation, the Festival being one of the most raucous celebrations. While it might seem strange that the Bible could ever torment anyone, the Scriptures indeed tell us that “the word of God is … sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow” (Hebrews 4:12). Jesus declared, “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword” (Matthew 10:34). The Bible divides because it calls everyone to choose to either follow God’s law or continue in sin. If you choose to live in sin, then God forewarns, “There is no peace … for the wicked” (Isaiah 57:21). Your own guilty conscience will torment you. Indeed, in Revelation, the phrase “those who dwell on the earth,” one scholar said, always refers to the wicked. (See Revelation 3:10; 6:10; 13:8, 14; 17:8.) Scripture additionally recounts a time when the wicked celebrated another death, the death of Jesus, the Word made flesh. Said Jesus concerning His crucifixion, “You will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice” (John 16:20). Lord Jesus, You prayed, “Your word is truth.” Keep us immersed in that Word and help us never to reject its message! For Further Study: Matthew 10:22; John 7:7; Revelation 18:7 KEY BIBLE TEXTS And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth. Revelation 11:10