The Reward

“Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him: for they shall eat the fruit of their doings. Woe unto the wicked! It shall be ill with him: for the reward of his hands shall be given him.” Isa 3:10-11.

There are different kinds of rewards for different kinds of services depending on what is/are employed as the yardstick(s) for the evaluation. There are rewards for excellence, loyalty rewards, promotional rewards, etc. However from the above passage, there are just two forms of rewards: “It shall be well.” and “It shall be ill.” And the input is what determines the output.

The only reason why it shall be well with the righteous is because he sowed a good seed whereas the evils of the wicked will yield to him the reverse of the righteous’ reward. Gal 6:7 makes us understand clearer that there is no magic that will make a farmer harvest cocoa where he planted kola. And the basic reason why this is not possible is because God is involved. It could be possible with man but God is infallible in all His ways. He does not have to do any research before He knows the intent of the heart of a man. Unlike man, He will never celebrate mediocrity or have a miss up when rewarding any man. He is a perfect judge, the reason He cannot be mocked.

Another reason why it shall be well with the righteous is because he is a friend of God. The righteous is a friend of God because he takes pleasure in observing and doing His commandment (John 15:14; Josh 1:8-9; Jam 1:25). The pre-requisites for benefitting from the blessings of the Almighty God in Deuteronomy 28:1-13 are hearkening to the voice of God, continuous observance and doing of His commandment and not serving other god. It therefore implies that the wicked as referred to in Isaiah 3:11 is one who exhibits none of these requirements and the curses in Deuteronomy 28:15-68 shall be his lot. Those who fulfill the requirements in part are also considered to be wicked. You are either in or out, you cannot be both in and out at the same time and immediately God notices your double-standardness, you are cast into the other side without delay (Rev 3:15-16).

Who are the righteous? The righteous are those who abhor evil and take delight in the laws of the Lord God (Ps 1:1-3); those who fear the Lord (Ps 128); those whose sins are forgiven (Rom 4:7-8) and those who have the mind of Christ (Phil 2:5-8; Matt 11:28-30). However the righteous do not obtain righteousness by their strength or skills, but through faith in Christ Jesus. The righteousness of man is like a filthy rag before God but Jesus is the perfection of God’s righteous, whose righteousness is imputed unto all who accept Him as Lord and Saviour (Rom 4:7-13).

Although there is none who is righteous by his/her own standard, the wicked is succinctly described in Rom 3:10-18 and their end is nothing short of what God has promised “Woe!” However, it is possible to receive a different reward if the wicked turn from their evil ways and turn to God; the merciful God shall show the mercy, forgive their sins and cleanse them in the precious blood of Jesus (Isa 55:7; Eze 18:21-24).

Which quadrant do you belong? Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he falls.