TELL THE RIGHTEOUS: IT SHALL BE WELL WITH YOU!
Sermon by Ps. WISEBORN AGYARE-ACQUAH
Isaiah 3:1-11
For, behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water,
The mighty man, and the man of war, the judge, and the prophet, and the prudent, and the ancient,
The captain of fifty, and the honourable man, and the counsellor, and the cunning artificer, and the eloquent orator.
And I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them.
And the people shall be oppressed, every one by another, and every one by his neighbour: the child shall behave himself proudly against the ancient, and the base against the honourable.
When a man shall take hold of his brother of the house of his father, saying, Thou hast clothing, be thou our ruler, and let this ruin be under thy hand:
In that day shall he swear, saying, I will not be an healer; for in my house is neither bread nor clothing: make me not a ruler of the people.
For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen: because their tongue and their doings are against the LORD, to provoke the eyes of his glory.
The shew of their countenance doth witness against them; and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not. Woe unto their soul! for they have rewarded evil unto themselves.
Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him: for they shall eat the fruit of their doings.
Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him: for the reward of his hands shall be given him.
Job 1:1-5, 8-10
There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.
And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters.
His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east.
And his sons went and feasted in their houses, every one his day; and sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them.
And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually.
And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?
Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?
Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every
Job 42:10
And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before.
The book of Job opens with a powerful lesson on godliness. How does Job please God? He fears God and shuns evil (Job 1:1). God does not itemize a list of Job’s good deeds for us but draws attention to Job’s heart attitude. Job’s entire life centers around his desire and goal to please his Creator. From this attitude of trust, submission, and humility, he takes care to behave in a manner that pleases God.
Job models godliness in his concern for his adult children. Scripture does not describe a father attentive only to the behavior of his sons and daughters; it shows us a man zealous for their heart attitudes toward God: “Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, ‘Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.’” (Job 1:5) Job understood the principle which Jesus later articulated:
What comes out of a man is what makes him ‘unclean.’ For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man ‘unclean.’ (Mark 7:20-23)
In handing grief Job models godliness for us. In one terrible day Job loses all ten children,
most of his servants, all his oxen, all his donkeys, all his sheep, and all his camels. How does he react? While some misguided people today try to convince believers that we must face all tragedies with smiles, Job models the God-given gift of sorrow: “Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head.” (Job 1: 20). He mourns. According to the custom of his day, he tears his robe and shaves his head. Throughout Scripture, God gently teaches us we may mourn at hard times.
When Moses and Aaron died, the Israelites mourned for thirty days after each death (Numbers 20: 29 and Deuteronomy 34: 8). Hannah expressed such “great anguish and grief” while in prayer concerning her barrenness that Eli thought she was drunk and rebuked her before learning the truth. (I Samuel 1: 12-16) When Naomi and her daughters-in-law were deciding their destinations after the deaths of their husbands, the women “wept aloud.” (Ruth 1: 9) Mary cried at Jesus’ tomb (John 20: 11). Even Jesus wept (John 11: 33-45).
Those who trust in God, however, do not “grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope.” (I Thessalonians 4: 13) Those who hope in God move from sorrow to humility, submission, worship, and praise. Notice Job’s example. He wept for the loss of loved ones and for the loss of the fruit of his labors, not with anger or resentment or despair, but with acceptance and reverence and praise: Then he fell to the ground in worship and said:
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised. (Job 1:20-21)
Praise? How could Job move from sorrow to praise? How can you or I move from deep grief to praise? Why does God, in fact, command us (Deuteronomy 5:29, Psalm 33:1, Psalm 50:23, Psalm 147:1) to move from sorrow to praise?
Job praises God. He moves from focusing on the loss he sees and feels to focusing on the God he knows and trusts. He sets an example for all who would move from sorrow to complaining, or from sorrow to bitterness, or from sorrow to hopelessness. He focuses his eyes, his hope, his heart on the proven character and faithfulness of the LORD.
The Lord has great provisions for His children, we have been called to be light to this world. If only we will walk blamelessly and righteously, then it shall be well with us.
Benefits of Living A Righteous Life
- The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous (Psalm 34:15)
- The Lord listens to the cry of the righteous
- God will never forsake the righteous
- There is an everlasting remembrance of the righteous (Psalm 112:6)
- The steps of the righteous are ordered by God. He leads us to a place of peace (Psalm 37:23)
- The descendants of the righteous never lack (Psalm 37:25)
- The Lord will uphold the righteous
- The ways of the righteous are known by God
But be aware that anyone who seeks to live a righteous life will be persecuted.
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