A Refuge in Death

When calamity comes, the wicked are brought down, but even in death the righteous have a refuge.

Proverbs 14:32

This proverb begins by saying “When calamity comes…” It’s not a question of if but when. Calamity will knock at your door sooner or later. It may come in the form of disease or injury or financial trouble or the loss of a relationship or even death, but it will come. The question is this…when calamity comes for you, will you be ready? Will you have a refuge to run to?

The proverb says that “when calamity comes the wicked are brought down.” The wicked person lives their life balanced on a razor’s edge. Their lifestyle seems exciting and thrilling but it leaves them exposed to danger. And sooner or later, when even the smallest calamity comes their way, they will fall on that razor’s edge that they walk every day.

The wicked person has no refuge in the time of trouble. They can’t expect to receive any help from the God they have spent their life mocking. They can’t expect to receive any help from the family they have caused so much heartache. Nor do they have a single true friend to come to their aid because they have never been a true friend themselves. The wicked man or woman is profoundly susceptible, at risk of being brought down by even the slightest difficulty that enters their life. 

But not so with the righteous! The righteous person has a refuge. It says that even in death, the worst calamity that life throws at us, the righteous have a refuge. Who or what is it? It is their God!

The truth, however, is that none of us are fully righteous on our own. But God has revealed a righteousness from Heaven that comes by faith and not by works (Romans 1:17). And all we must do to receive it is to acknowledge our wickedness and throw ourselves on the mercy of the Heavenly court seeking God’s grace and forgiveness. We must believe on Jesus’s death and resurrection and begin living in obedience to His commands. When we do this our sin is credited to Jesus’ account and Jesus’ righteousness is credited to ours. From that moment on when God looks at us He sees the righteousness of Christ. Then we too will have a refuge even in death.

Grass Season (W.o.W. Rewind)

It's lawn mowing season again. It's time for Dads everywhere to bust out their short shorts, dark socks, and white tennis shoes. It's time to do manly stuff in the yard while simultaneously showing the world that our pasty legs haven't seen the sun since last summer. There are a few things we can be certain of this time of year. 1) Our daughters will be mortified by our lack of fashion sense. 2) Our allergies will flare up mercilessly. 3) And the grass will grow endlessly. That means that this is a good time of year to consider what God's Word says about the wicked. Psalm 92:7 says, "Though the wicked sprout like grass and all evildoers flourish, they are doomed to destruction forever." It often appears that those who disobey God's commands are winning in the game of life. Their popularity, fame and riches increase and we're tempted to envy them. But we must remember that they are like the grass which is easily scorched in the heat of the summer. In ancient Palestine dry grass was even used as fuel for fires due to lack of firewood (ESV Footnote on Luke 12:28). So what Jesus says is true. The grass that is alive in the field today is thrown into the oven tomorrow (Luke 12:28). The psalmist uses this image to remind us that God's has already pronounced judgment on the wicked. Though they shoot up quickly, like the grass they will be mowed down in their prime.

Compare this fate of the wicked to what the psalmist has to say about the righteous. Psalm 92:12-14 says, "The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. They are planted in the house of the LORD; they flourish in the courts of our God. They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green." The palm tree that the psalmist compares the righteous person to is probably the date palm which has a long life and produces fruit (ESV Footnote on Psalm 92:12-15). These are two things that grass does not do. But why does the psalmist compare the righteous to a cedar of Lebanon? Cedars of Lebanon were widely considered to be the best trees in the world for use in building.

Though the selection of these trees may seem insignificant to you, they allow the psalmist to add a beautiful layer of double meaning for his original readers. I believe this psalm may have been written at a time when Solomon's temple was still standing because the author is drawing on images from that temple. The psalmist speaks of the righteous being "planted in the house of the LORD" and "flourishing in the courts of our God." According to I Kings 5 and 6, both of these trees played a key role in Solomon's temple. The temple itself was constructed out of cedars of Lebanon overlaid with gold while the inside of the temple was covered with carvings of palm trees. The psalmist's ultimate point is that the righteous will enter God's presence, but he uses a powerful image to make that point. In essence, he says the righteous are like the cedars used to make God's house, they are like the palm trees engraved on the walls of the temple. In Heaven they will get to spend every day in God's presence, watching what He is doing. What a beautiful image! How much better is the end of the righteous man than that of the wicked!

So when your progress in this life seems slow, when it appears that the wicked are passing you by, and when you are tempted toward despair or envy- remember the grass. Remember what the wicked man's end will be. They will be cast out of God's presence into outer darkness (Matthew 22:13). And remember the end of the righteous, dwelling in the midst of God's glorious presence forever. May this motivate us all to persevere in the way we should go.

What if We Believed?

For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous

and his ears are attentive to their prayer,

but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil. (I Peter 3:12)

What if we really believed this was true? How different would our lives be?

If we really believed that God's eye was watchful over the righteous person to prosper and protect them, then we would strive all the harder to make ourselves righteous. The fact that salvation is based on grace does not mean that wickedness and righteousness amount to nothing any more. It does not mean that our righteous and holy God suddenly stopped caring about just judgment and righteous rewards. No! Grace should drive us toward righteous living, not away from it. Grace sets us free to obey God. It doesn't give us a license to sin (Romans 6:15). But so many treat it that way. Righteousness still matters, believer! It still counts for something! As the psalmist says, "The righteous person may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all (Psalm 34:19)."

If we really believed that God's ear is tuned to listen attentively to the prayer of the righteous person how would it change the way we live? How would it change the way we pray and who we ask to pray for us? This verse states that God is more apt to hear and answer the prayers of the righteous person. Has God been ignoring your prayers, believer? Perhaps there is a reason. If you will not listen to God and heed His instruction by obeying His commands, then tell me why the Almighty should bend His ear to listen to you and heed your requests? That isn't likely to happen, but as James says "the prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working" (James 5:16). 

And if we really believed that the Lord sets His face against those who do evil to punish and oppose them, then we would all shutter at the thought of willfully disobeying Him. We would finally know why Scripture calls blessed those men who "do not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers" (Psalm 1:1). We would know why the psalmist set his heart to delight in the law of the Lord and meditate on it day and night (Psalm 1:2). And perhaps we would for the first time begin to see how important the instruction of God's Word is. For it is a lamp to our feet and a light to guide us down the paths that lead to eternal life (Psalm 119:105). If you turn aside from it into wickedness, "you can be sure that your sin will find you out" (Numbers 32:23).

So read this verse one more time, and this time...believe it!

For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous

and his ears are attentive to their prayer,

but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil. (I Peter 3:12)

Am I Wicked?

“There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.”

Isaiah 57:21

Memorize this verse! Roll it over in your mind. "Write it on the tablet of your heart" as the Scripture says. Do this because this little verse reveals something important about God.

God opposes the wicked. Those that break His laws, who go against His commands, He will not prosper. The world may celebrate them, they may even appear to thrive for a short time, but their end is destruction (see Psalm 73). They will not know peace. Psalm 146:5-9 elaborates on this same point. As you read it take note of all the types of people God helps and notice that there is only one type of person He disappoints.

How blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,

Whose hope is in the Lord his God...

Who executes justice for the oppressed;

Who gives food to the hungry.

The Lord sets the prisoners free.

The Lord opens the eyes of the blind;

The Lord raises up those who are bowed down;

The Lord loves the righteous;

The Lord protects the sojourners;

He supports the fatherless and the widow,

But He thwarts the way of the wicked.

God doesn't take the sin in your life lightly, so you shouldn't either! Run from wickedness! Avoid temptation. Focus less on identifying who the wicked are around you and focus more on asking yourself the question, "Am I wicked?". 

For further reading...

• Asaph considers the apparent prosperity of the wicked in a powerful psalm- Psalm 73.

Grass Season

It's lawn mowing season again. It's time for Dads everywhere to bust out their short shorts, dark socks, and white tennis shoes. It's time to do manly stuff in the yard while simultaneously showing the world that our pasty legs haven't seen the sun since last summer. There are a few things we can be certain of this time of year. 1) Our daughters will be mortified by our lack of fashion sense. 2) Our allergies will flare up mercilessly. 3) And the grass will grow endlessly. That means that this is a good time of year to consider what God's Word says about the wicked. Psalm 92:7 says, "Though the wicked sprout like grass and all evildoers flourish, they are doomed to destruction forever."

It often appears that those who disobey God's commands are winning in the game of life. Their popularity, fame and riches increase and we're tempted to envy them. But we must remember that they are like the grass which is easily scorched in the heat of the summer. In ancient Palestine dry grass was even used as fuel for fires due to lack of firewood (ESV Footnote on Luke 12:28). So what Jesus says is true. The grass that is alive in the field today is thrown into the oven tomorrow (Luke 12:28). The psalmist uses this image of grass to remind us that God's judgment has already been pronounced on the wicked. They shoot up quickly like the grass, but just like the grass they will be mowed down in their prime.

Compare the wicked to what the psalmist has to say about the righteous. Psalm 92:12-14- "The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. They are planted in the house of the LORD; they flourish in the courts of our God. They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green." It appears that the palm tree the psalmist compares the righteous to is the date palm which has a long life and produces fruit (ESV Footnote on Psalm 92:12-15). These are two things that grass does not do. But why the cedar? Cedars of Lebanon were widely considered to be the best trees in the world for use in building. But there is more to it than this.

Though the selection of these trees may seem insignificant to you, they allow the psalmist to add a beautiful layer of double meaning for his original readers. I believe this psalm may have been written at a time when Solomon's temple was still standing because the author is drawing on images from that temple. The psalmist speaks of the righteous being "planted in the house of the LORD" and "flourishing in the courts of our God." According to I Kings 5 and 6, both of these trees played a key role in Solomon's temple. The temple itself was constructed out of cedars of Lebanon overlaid with gold while the inside of the temple was covered in carvings of palm trees. The psalmist ultimate point is that the righteous will enter God's presence but he pulls in a powerful image to accomplish it. In essence, he says the righteous are like the cedars used to make God's house, they are like the palm trees engraved on the walls of the temple. In Heaven they will get to spend every day in God's presence, watching what He is doing. What a beautiful image! How much better is the end of the righteous man than that of the wicked!

So when your progress in this life seems slow, when it appears that the wicked are passing you by, and when you are tempted toward despair or envy- remember the grass. Remember what the wicked man's end will be. They will be cast out of God's presence into outer darkness (Matthew 22:13). And remember the end of the righteous, dwelling in the midst of God's glorious presence forever. May this motivate us all to persevere in the way we should go.