Micah 1:1–3:12, Acts 13:13–14:7, Job 22:14–30, 2 Timothy
3:12
I once thought that if I did everything God wanted, my
life would be blessed and trouble-free. Now I realize this is not true. Job is
the biblical example of a righteous man who suffered. So is Jesus Christ. He
was perfect yet crucified. I also realize that giving people a false message
will incur God’s wrath, but that does not mean that those who speak the truth
will live in peace and without trouble.
Some OT ‘prophets’ gave a false message and faced God’s
condemnation. Micah wrote, “Thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who lead my
people astray, who cry ‘Peace’ when they have something to eat, but declare war
against him who puts nothing into their mouths . . . . Hear this, you heads of
the house of Jacob and rulers of the house of Israel, who detest justice and
make crooked all that is straight, who build Zion with blood and Jerusalem with
iniquity. Its heads give judgment for a bribe; its priests teach for a price;
its prophets practice divination for money; yet they lean on the Lord and say, ‘Is not the Lord in the midst of us? No disaster
shall come upon us.’ Therefore because of you Zion shall be plowed as a field;
Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins, and the mountain of the house a wooded
height.” (Micah 3:5, 9–12)
God’s anger shows how important truth is to Him. However,
God’s mercy and patience mean that His judgments may not appear right away.
Some have described it this way: You can go through the supermarket of life
and pick up whatever you want, but eventually you have to go through the
checkout.
On the other hand, not all troubles are a result of
personal sin. Job’s trials were to test his faith, but his ‘friends’ thought he
was one of those wicked ones who had done something to deserve wrath. Eliphaz
said to Job, “Agree with God, and be at peace;
thereby good will come to you. Receive instruction from his mouth, and lay up
his words in your heart. If you return to the Almighty you will be built up; if
you remove injustice far from your tents, if you lay gold in the dust, and gold
of Ophir among the stones of the torrent-bed, then the Almighty will be your
gold and your precious silver. For then you will delight yourself in the
Almighty and lift up your face to God. You will make your prayer to him, and he
will hear you, and you will pay your vows. You will decide on a matter, and it
will be established for you, and light will shine on your ways. For when they
are humbled you say, ‘It is because of pride’; but he saves the lowly. He
delivers even the one who is not innocent, who will be delivered through the
cleanness of your hands.” (Job 22:21–30)
God later says that what these ‘friends’ spoke was not
right. The gospel is not about us pulling up our bootstraps and living perfect
lives. It is about being saved by grace, forgiven, given new life with Christ
so we can walk with Him.
Jesus is the only one who lived a perfect life, yet even
He did not live trouble-free. The jealous Jews found in Him no guilt worthy of
death, yet they still asked Pilate to have him executed. (Acts 13:28)
When Jesus rose from the dead and ascended to heaven, His
followers joyfully told everyone the good news. When whole cities gathered to
hear, the Jews “saw the crowds, they were filled
with jealousy and began to contradict what was spoken by Paul, reviling him.
And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, ‘It was necessary that the word
of God be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves
unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles,’ . . . . And
the word of the Lord was spreading throughout the whole region. But the Jews
incited the devout women of high standing and the leading men of the city,
stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their
district.” (Acts 13:44-46, 49–50)
They went to another city and many Jews and Greeks
believed. “But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the
Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers.” Still, they
stayed for a long time, speaking boldly! And “the
people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews and some with the
apostles.” Both Gentiles and Jews were determined to mistreat them, even
to stone them to death. (Acts 14:1–5)
God blesses obedience, but He does not bribe His people to
obey Him with promises of a carefree life. As His Word says, “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ
Jesus will be persecuted.” (2 Timothy 3:12). I am learning to obey God because
I love and trust Him, not because He rewards my efforts.