- Though a sinner does evil a hundred times and prolongs his life, yet I know that it will be well with those who fear God, because they fear before him. But it will not be well with the wicked, neither will he prolong his days like a shadow, because he does not fear before God. -
Okay, we’ve gone over the first part of these two verses and now we are onto the second half.
I feel like that is a tongue twister? Hopefully the bolding is making it easier to follow than my descriptions.
Before God is an interesting concept based on which testament you are reading. Sometimes, we have a lot of biases regarding this phrasing.
What do I mean? Well, where do you think you are before God? Is that within the church’s walls? Can you only be before God when you kneel at the altar?
Hopefully that rings a little hollow to a Protestant. You probably think that to be before God is something akin to prayer.
It’s more of the attitude you have when praying. Are you treating prayer with the respect it deserves? Are you being selfish in the way you converse with God?
Do you actually want to hear from Him?
But, is that what Solomon meant? Perhaps, it is what God meant when He spoke through Solomon, or perhaps we are to read it within Solomon’s cultural context rather than our own.
With that being said, this could be a literal place where God’s presence dwelled, a place that Solomon helped construct in his lifetime.
Right, the Temple itself.
We have a little context for this idea. In verse 10, it talks about how the wicked man would go to the holy place and receive praise.
What is different between the righteous and wicked man when they go to the Temple? Solomon may be making the case here that the outward action does not reflect the interior of the heart.
What am I saying? That the traditions of a culture can be hacked by narcists to achieve their own ends. Why yes, I do have a fish bumper sticker, and I would love to give you a discount.
The wicked man arrives at church to simply cut a deal. He is a member of his society and pays his social dues as required to get what he wants.
The righteous man comes to the Temple and worships God for who He is rather than being concerned with other men. He has come to honor God, not himself or others.
Okay, but there is another way in which we might interpret this phrase, one that seems to be true for us modern day Christians and the Old Testament Jews.
Go back and re-read our verses again. Why is it well for those who fear God? Because they get to fear before God.
Why is this good? Do you remember what God said to Moses? No man may look upon me and live.
Perhaps this before God means after our death if we feared God we will be granted the opportunity to fear before Him, quite an intimidating concept.
The phrasing regarding the wicked man also takes on a new light. Perhaps he to fears God but not in His presence.
Choose this day whom you will serve.
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