RTW January 24

The Benefits of Righteous Living

“Don’t you realize that from the beginning of time, ever since people were first placed on the earth, the triumph of the wicked has been short lived and the joy of the godless has been only temporary?”
Job 20:4-5

 

 

My Takeaways

Something Old

The Benefits

  • The prosperity of the wicked will end (Job 20:4-5), but the righteous will enjoy God’s abundant life on earth and reap the riches of heaven for all eternity. Jesus warns us of the evil one in John 10:10, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy;” (NIV) and exhorts the life God wants us to savor, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (NIV) The righteous know God, and have received everything needed for a life of godliness. (2 Peter 1:3)
  • The wicked perish (Job 20:6-9), but the righteous will live forever. There is no fear in life, nor fear of death for the righteous. Jesus came to earth to live a perfect life, die a perfect death and ascended to heaven to prepare a place for those who believe and accept Him as Savior. (John 14:3) Those who choose to do evil will not inherit anything from heaven. (1 Corinthians 6:9)
  • The wicked relish in their own success (Job 20:10-21), but the righteous recognize blessings are from God. Those who walk closely with God recognize every good and perfect gift comes from above (James 1:17) and nothing gained on earth has been achieved by human efforts. The righteous can be confident that God will supply every need. Self-sufficiency is a myth made up by the wicked.
  • The wicked suffer. (Job 20:22-26) The righteous also suffer, but not as those who have no hope. The righteous have the hope of complete restoration and healing. (1 Peter 5:10) Jesus promises through His peace we will overcome suffering because He has overcome the world. (John 16:33)

Something New

The ways of the wicked deliver temporary pleasures. When we live by God’s ways we diffuse joy throughout our lifetime, even through the inevitable suffering this world affords. The righteous reap the benefits of a life lived by faith. (Romans 1:17) Let’s be reapers!

Something to Do

Enjoy the benefits of the righteous, because I am, and they belong to me.

 

 

 

©2019 RTW is a membership Online Bible study. The material is copyrighted and intended for the sole use of RTW members. Materials are not available for reprinting or distribution. All video teachings are intended for the sole use of RTW members. They are not available for copy and distribution on of any kind. Thank you.  All Rights Reserved.

9 Comments

  1. Have you ever had one of those ah ha moments, summarizing in your thoughts about the sufferings of Job, his friends and then Job’s wife comes to the forefront! Wait a minute, something is missing here, as Wendy had said “reading through the lines”. Did God love Jobs wife as much as He loved Job, I sure hope so as I can relate to her. I too lost much; our house, our cars, a functioning home, you name it, I saw my life collapse before my eyes.

    The traditional interpretation of what she said is urging Job to curse God, that the use of the term “Baruch Elokim” is a colloquial expression for “Curse God”. This fits with other texts and Job’s own response which is to chastise her as “foolish”. Even in this version, we need to revisit her role in the story. She has seen her life collapse: she has lost 10 children, seen the family fortune disappear, and at this point in the story her husband has a rather nasty disease but still she stands by him.

    She may speak from out of anger with God or with her husband’s piety in the face of this tragedy; but to her credit she also had a horrendous lose. Sometimes we get so focused on the players in the plot we overlook those struggling in the background like Job’s wife whose needs were real as were mine. Sorry to say at that time in my life I was in the background just like her.

    Jesus was real in my life but my friends were few and far between. Divorce in the church world at that time was a dirty word and I must have been the worst sinner on earth. Through my tears, I heard God’s voice speak to my spirit “my grace is sufficient for thee”!

    1. Thank you for your personal comment. It was so clearly from your heart! I relate and appreciate your sharing. It is one of my favorite things to do….to notice the often unnoticed or less noticed people in the Bible, for with God there are NO insignificant people. How I love that! Often in my times of seeming aloneness…..God reminds me….I never am alone. So glad you posted this.

  2. Yesterday our family had a Job moment. My daughter- in -law’s Aunt past away early afternoon and less than 2 hours after her passing her Uncle’s mom past. Within 2 hours her Uncle lost his wife and mother. Her cousins lost their mom and grandma. Though sadden with sorrow her family found comfort knowing that Jesus will come again and He will bring salvation. Like Job, her family does not understand why. But they know that they must be faithful and patient, because they know and believe that Christ is alive, that He is molding them into His image, allowing circumstances in their life for His good purposes, that He has redeemed them with His love, and that one day He will return to gather them to Himself. What joy they brought to an unbelievable situation. Watching and listening to her family made today’s verse in Job 19:25-27 stand out “But as for me, I know that my redeemer lives, and he will stand upon the earth at Last. And after my body has decayed, yet in my body I will see God! I will see him for myself.”
    I am quickly reminderd that those same thoughts have to be the hope of my heart and the joy and pleasure I have on this earth.
    “My Redeemer Lives” by Nicole C. Mullen is a great song and very comforting in what has taken place in the last 24 hours.
    My something to do is to praise God because I know and my daughter-in -law’s family knows that our Redeemer, Jesus Christ, lives! He stood on the earth, suffered and died for my sins on the cross, was raised from the dead and now sits at the right hand of the Father in heaven. Thank you Jesus for this wonderful knowledge and pray that I don’t keep it to myself but spread the word to others.

  3. I love these verses from the reading today: “But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and he will stand upon the earth at last. And after my body has decayed, yet in my body I will see God! I will see him for myself. Yes, I will see him with my own eyes. I am overwhelmed at the thought!” – Job 19:25-27. I felt like Job had a revelation from God at that moment. Despite how depressed and upset he was, he saw the big picture and mentioned eternal life. In earlier verses, he didn’t seem to have hope of eternal life, so that’s why it made me wonder if God revealed this to him in this dark moment of his life. These are some of my favorite verses!

    1. These are the verses that stood out for me also. Especially in light of his desire for a
      mediator between himself and God in previous chapters.

    2. The But in the that verse showed Job’s faith. That it was still hanging on even so. I noticed that too. I felt hopeful because of it too. I have not suffered in anyway similar to what Job has, but if he can hope then I can remember him and remember My Redeemer too in hard times.

  4. Job 19:4 stood out to me…”Even if I have sinned, that is my concern, not yours.” My job is not to judge anyone’s sin. I am not too make others sins my concern. At times God my lay it on my heart to approach someone on a sin issues but this should only be done with great time in prayer and Holy Spirit leading. To assume I know people’s sin and why they are facing trials is not my concern. Only God knows all and is worthy to judge.

Comments are closed.