If the righteous receive their due here on earth, how much more the ungodly and
the sinner! ~Proverbs 11:31
And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. ~Matthew 6:5-6
The sins of some are obvious, reaching the place of judgment ahead of them; the sins of others trail behind them. In the same way, good deeds are obvious, and even those that are not cannot be hidden. ~1 Timothy 5:24-25
So, we are now in the second day of Holy Week. Jesus has made His triumphal entry, cleansed the temple, gone back to spend the night at the home of Mary, Martha, and the newly raised Lazarus, and is now back in the temple court yard where He will continue to do a lot of sparring with the religious.
The self-righteous are crowding round him, but the crowd also contains the poor, the sick, and many foreigners. It’s a noisy, busy time with the bleats of frightened lambs and the clink of money to add to the cacophony of sound all around Him. Jesus was always trying to warn His disciples not to be overly impressed by those who were religious by man’s standards. He often referred to their self-important attitudes and teachings as yeast that should be avoided.
Those proud, impressive Pharisees were respected and even feared by the people. The Pharisees liked it that way. They needed no other reward. They were important and impressive in their own eyes too, and that was quite enough. Next to them, the disciples probably felt small and unimpressive. If this were the case, Jesus would want them to know that their feelings were lying to them. After all, He had chosen them to be His companions on this earth, now, and in eternity.
The religious, who were standing around, praying on the street corners for all to see, also received the only reward they would get for behaving that way, the knowledge that they were impressive to “lesser” humans. On the other hand, Jesus assured His disciples, “Go in private when you want to talk with Me. I am with you. I hear you and that is your reward.”
Now, again, here is the question, who are the truly righteous and what reward do they receive here on earth, and who are the ungodly and the sinner and what is their reward, really? I am so glad that God knows the heart and knows what each one’s reward should be. Sometimes, we really don’t know.
Yes, it is true that it was mostly the religious that argued with Jesus and, in the end were the ones most responsible for His death. However, in that group was also Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea, who would show a great kindness in four days to Jesus that the disciples could not have shown. Perhaps their true reward, on this earth, is having their devotion recorded in the Gospel of John so that no one would forget their kindnesses. On the other hand, among the disciples was one who helped set the whole plot in motion and he would receive his reward also within the week.
I think that what Solomon is trying to say here in his proverb can be boiled down to, don’t fret, God is paying attention, and everyone will get their due in His proper time. We’ve already discussed earlier this year that true righteousness in and of itself has many rewards that we will experience here on earth before we die and the same can be said of those who choose to live in an ungodly manner.
And look how he says it, “If the righteous receive their due here on earth, how much more the ungodly and the sinner!” The righteous may indeed receive some reward on earth, success and recognition are rewarding. But since the world approves of the ungodly, they seem to get more! However, the ungodly, if they are rewarded at all, only get earthly reward and nothing heavenly! On the other hand, the righteous get so much more. They get eternity too.
One could also see it this way. Since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, all are due the penalty of suffering. The righteous do endure some suffering on earth. It builds character. But the ungodly receive so much more! Their reward for their ungodly behavior is eternal suffering!
As hard as it may be at times, we just need to keep moving forward, focused on Christ and tuning into His instructions and priorities. Who knows what exactly the reward might be? But if it’s from Him, you know it will be good. I know that, especially now, it may be challenging. Job loss, reduced income, reduced freedom, makes it harder to be patient and keep on, but now, is the time of discipline setting in, putting into practice the principles that Solomon, through God’s wisdom, keeps reminding us will work.
Prayer: Father, all I can say is thank You again for the gospel, that by faith in Jesus I am rewarded with eternal life that I could never earn or deserve by any good behavior of my own. I trust completely in What Christ has done for me. But let me now live for You, and with You, to bring honor and glory to Your name. And please Lord, open doors of opportunity for me to speak to others about this love You have for them too. I'll go with You. In Jesus' name, I pray, amen,
Song: Love Was When
And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. ~Matthew 6:5-6
The sins of some are obvious, reaching the place of judgment ahead of them; the sins of others trail behind them. In the same way, good deeds are obvious, and even those that are not cannot be hidden. ~1 Timothy 5:24-25
So, we are now in the second day of Holy Week. Jesus has made His triumphal entry, cleansed the temple, gone back to spend the night at the home of Mary, Martha, and the newly raised Lazarus, and is now back in the temple court yard where He will continue to do a lot of sparring with the religious.
The self-righteous are crowding round him, but the crowd also contains the poor, the sick, and many foreigners. It’s a noisy, busy time with the bleats of frightened lambs and the clink of money to add to the cacophony of sound all around Him. Jesus was always trying to warn His disciples not to be overly impressed by those who were religious by man’s standards. He often referred to their self-important attitudes and teachings as yeast that should be avoided.
Those proud, impressive Pharisees were respected and even feared by the people. The Pharisees liked it that way. They needed no other reward. They were important and impressive in their own eyes too, and that was quite enough. Next to them, the disciples probably felt small and unimpressive. If this were the case, Jesus would want them to know that their feelings were lying to them. After all, He had chosen them to be His companions on this earth, now, and in eternity.
The religious, who were standing around, praying on the street corners for all to see, also received the only reward they would get for behaving that way, the knowledge that they were impressive to “lesser” humans. On the other hand, Jesus assured His disciples, “Go in private when you want to talk with Me. I am with you. I hear you and that is your reward.”
Now, again, here is the question, who are the truly righteous and what reward do they receive here on earth, and who are the ungodly and the sinner and what is their reward, really? I am so glad that God knows the heart and knows what each one’s reward should be. Sometimes, we really don’t know.
Yes, it is true that it was mostly the religious that argued with Jesus and, in the end were the ones most responsible for His death. However, in that group was also Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea, who would show a great kindness in four days to Jesus that the disciples could not have shown. Perhaps their true reward, on this earth, is having their devotion recorded in the Gospel of John so that no one would forget their kindnesses. On the other hand, among the disciples was one who helped set the whole plot in motion and he would receive his reward also within the week.
I think that what Solomon is trying to say here in his proverb can be boiled down to, don’t fret, God is paying attention, and everyone will get their due in His proper time. We’ve already discussed earlier this year that true righteousness in and of itself has many rewards that we will experience here on earth before we die and the same can be said of those who choose to live in an ungodly manner.
And look how he says it, “If the righteous receive their due here on earth, how much more the ungodly and the sinner!” The righteous may indeed receive some reward on earth, success and recognition are rewarding. But since the world approves of the ungodly, they seem to get more! However, the ungodly, if they are rewarded at all, only get earthly reward and nothing heavenly! On the other hand, the righteous get so much more. They get eternity too.
One could also see it this way. Since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, all are due the penalty of suffering. The righteous do endure some suffering on earth. It builds character. But the ungodly receive so much more! Their reward for their ungodly behavior is eternal suffering!
As hard as it may be at times, we just need to keep moving forward, focused on Christ and tuning into His instructions and priorities. Who knows what exactly the reward might be? But if it’s from Him, you know it will be good. I know that, especially now, it may be challenging. Job loss, reduced income, reduced freedom, makes it harder to be patient and keep on, but now, is the time of discipline setting in, putting into practice the principles that Solomon, through God’s wisdom, keeps reminding us will work.
Prayer: Father, all I can say is thank You again for the gospel, that by faith in Jesus I am rewarded with eternal life that I could never earn or deserve by any good behavior of my own. I trust completely in What Christ has done for me. But let me now live for You, and with You, to bring honor and glory to Your name. And please Lord, open doors of opportunity for me to speak to others about this love You have for them too. I'll go with You. In Jesus' name, I pray, amen,
Song: Love Was When
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