It Will Be Well For The Righteous

¹⁰ Tell the righteous it will be well with them,
for they will enjoy the fruit of their deeds.
¹¹ Woe to the wicked!
Disaster is upon them!
They will be paid back
for what their hands have done.

¹² Youths oppress my people,
women rule over them.
My people, your guides lead you astray;
they turn you from the path.

Righteous will Rest

In this section of scripture, the prophet Isaiah gives an interesting assurance to the righteous. They will enjoy the fruit of their deeds.  So often, the righteous receive hate for love, anger for help, and destruction for instruction.  The righteous are attacked by all who hate the light, and who bring the deeds of evil into the presence of the people.

We all inherently want to know the truth, but most people would rather hear a lie if the truth would make them feel bad.  This is completely out of character with the image-bearers of God.  Isaiah comforts the righteous with this truth, that when judgment comes, it will be well with them.  When the righteous are being oppressed, it is sometime easy to forget that God is watching over them, for their circumstances are dire indeed.

Disaster for the Depraved

The wicked, on the other hand, having embraced the lie, selfishly taking whatever they can, oppressing the righteous, and embracing the cover of darkness for their deeds, will not fare so well.  God will bring disaster upon them.  In that day, the Lord will enact His vengeance upon them, for God has said:

39 “See now that I myself am he! There is no god besides me. I put to death and I bring to life, I have wounded and I will heal, and no one can deliver out of my hand. 40 I lift my hand to heaven and solemnly swear: As surely as I live forever, 41 when I sharpen my flashing sword and my hand grasps it in judgment, I will take vengeance on my adversaries and repay those who hate me. 42 I will make my arrows drunk with blood, while my sword devours flesh: the blood of the slain and the captives, the heads of the enemy leaders.” 43 Rejoice, you nations, with his people, for he will avenge the blood of his servants; he will take vengeance on his enemies and make atonement for his land and people.

Teen Tyranny

There are some interesting activities going on during the judgment of God.  The youth will oppress God’s people.  We see flash mobs, the knockout game, and every other manner of wickedness being executed by our youth.  Wicked parents strap bombs on their children and send them into crowds yelling praise to false gods as they commit murder and suicide.  It begs the question:  are we being judged by God?

Role Reversal

As a preface to the next indication, let it be said for the record that God has made men and women equal.  But equal does not mean identical.  The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all co-equal as they are God; yet they are not identical to each other.  Each has a role, and they embrace their roles without complaint or deviation from their true purpose.  Men and women are equal, but have been assigned different roles by God.  When we engage in role-reversal, we are in effect saying that what God has instituted is not good (or good enough) for us.

God has seen fit to provide us with deaconesses, holy women in service to Him and the flock.  Deborah was a judge for His people.  Yet, God has squarely placed the role of leadership in the hands of men.  He has created men with the innate desire to conquer and rule, but with the desire to protect and cherish.  Because of the fall, the word “submission” now has a connotation of oppressive slavery and servitude.  Yet Jesus Christ fully submitted Himself to the Holy Spirit to show us how we were to submit to God.  Paul exhorts us to submit to one another out of reverence to Christ.  Jesus said that the one who would be great among us would be the servant to others, and the first will be a slave.

And so when women, who feel “oppressed” by men because men have refused to embrace the role that God provided to them with the proper attitude of servant-leadership, gain positions of leadership over men, the emotional stress of the perceived oppression (real or imagined) leads to an oppressive, dominating attitude that progresses towards the emasculation and punishment of men, even to those who have never interacted with the women in charge.  While this is not a rule, it is prevalent in the culture of militant feminism.  In this turn of events, God has removed the blessing of leadership of men, and has given it to the angry, vengeful women who now seek to rule over them.

Precarious Prediction

God warns us that our guides are leading us astray.  We need to carefully vet those who we permit to lead us to ensure that they are of God.  Additionally, we need to be like the Bereans, and search the scriptures to determine for ourselves if what they are saying both matches up with the word of the Living God, and is a proper interpretation and accurate representation of what God has said.

Seek the truth, and do not allow false teachers to mislead you.  Guard your hearts against lies, and embrace the truth, no matter how difficult it seems, or how much it challenges you.  For the word of God is like a sword, able to separate the truth from the lies within us, and give us a proper and accurate portrayal of what is deep within us.  And when we are challenged to rethink a position because of the word of God, let the word do its job, and purge us of all attitudes and beliefs that are contrary to God’s character and teaching.

A Qualifying Question

Let’s ask a question:  Am I prepared for the judgment of God, living as the justified child of God in faith?

A short prayer of preparation:

Father in Heaven, You are full of mercy and grace, a perfect balance to your holiness and justice.  Give us peace in our souls as You pour out Your judgment upon the nations.  Strengthen us as we are oppressed by the wicked, and may we be the light on a hill for all to see Your glory and grace.  Help me to overcome any fears of what man can do to me, and fill me with a healthy fear in reverence to You, oh God.  Let me be fearless when I am chosen for oppression, and give me Your peace that defies description as I suffer for Your name.  For I know that You, oh God, will bring glory to Your name, and You will make all things right in Your time.  I pray that Your Son will return, and do so soon.  Praise be to You!  Amen.

Want more?  Why not try A. B. Simpson or A. W. Tozer?