Isaiah 57:1-2 - "The righteous perish, and no one takes it to heart; the devout are taken away, and no one understands that the righteous are taken away to be spared from evil.2 Those who walk uprightly enter into peace; they find rest as they lie in death."
I find this verse very interesting. It is talking about the righteous being taken away, in the sense of death. It seems to indicate that they were taken away early while still young, and no one understands. You must realize at this time it was taught that the righteous lived long. If we skip to verse 4, we will see that the unrighteous were mocking the righteous. Therefore, God had to explain why they were dieing in the prime of life. It was that they might be spared from evil. Also, he tells the mockers that the death of the righteous is not a bad thing. They enter into peace and find rest.
You may know of a righteous person (a godly believer) who was taken in the prime of his life. We often wonder why God let this happen. It may be because God wanted to spare them from something worse than death. Maybe God took them quickly to spare them from a long agonizing illness. It could be because great suffering was coming to their country, and God wanted to deliver them from this, which I believe is the case in this passage. Maybe God new that if he allowed the person to continue to live on earth that the person would fall away from him. Finally my favorite, God promoted them and honored them for their faithfulness. God had accomplished everything he wanted in them and through them. He gave them an early retirement.
Whatever the reason God take someone home early. We know it is for our best. It is not a failure on God's part.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment