11.h. “The nations shall see and be ashamed of all their might”

Micah 7:13  But the earth will be desolate because of its inhabitants, for the fruit of their deeds. Shepherd your people with your staff, the flock of your inheritance, who dwell alone in a forest in the midst of a garden land; let them graze in Bashan and Gilead as in the days of old.  As in the days when you came out of the land of Egypt, I will show them marvelous things.  The nations shall see and be ashamed of all their might; they shall lay their hands on their mouths; their ears shall be deaf; they shall lick the dust like a serpent, like the crawling things of the earth; they shall come trembling out of their strongholds; they shall turn in dread to the LORD our God, and they shall be in fear of you.

Job 4:8    As I have seen, those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap the same.

Proverbs 1:31    therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way, and have their fill of their own devices.

Isaiah 3:10-11    Tell the righteous that it shall be well with them, for they shall eat the fruit of their deeds.  Woe to the wicked! It shall be ill with him, for what his hands have dealt out shall be done to him.

Jeremiah 17:10    “I the LORD search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.”

Jeremiah 21:14    I will punish you according to the fruit of your deeds, declares the LORD; I will kindle a fire in her forest, and it shall devour all that is around her.”

Galatians 6:7-8   Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.  For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.

There is a time coming when all mankind will be held accountable for their deeds.  Some will see in their lifetime the fruit of their deeds falling back on them.  Others will pass on into eternity and it will be seeming to us that they beat the judgment due them.  God is not mocked and their deeds will catch up to them in eternity at the Great White Throne Judgment.  They are the ones who reject redemption through Jesus Christ, reject their sin, reject their need for repentance and forgiveness, and reject the gracious and merciful gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ.  They have chosen wisdom of this world over the understanding, knowledge, and truth proclaimed in God’s Word.  We all were in this state before God, but He somehow softened our heart to the message of the gospel.  We were just like those who still reject Jesus Christ.  It is hard to say how God’s Word and Gospel cut straight into our heart but it most certainly did.  I still don’t know how a person could have had their eyes, heart, mind, and soul opened up to the gospel and the need for salvation, forgiveness, and redemption and then reject it.  But scripture is clear that there are those who do exactly that.  For those born again, their deeds should all be for the honor and glory of Jesus Christ. Our Savior bought and paid for our sin at a great price and we should ever be mindful to live to honor that great sacrifice and gift of eternal life.

4.q. The Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment,

Job 4:7  “Remember: who that was innocent ever perished? Or where were the upright cut off? As I have seen, those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap the same. By the breath of God they perish, and by the blast of his anger they are consumed. The roar of the lion, the voice of the fierce lion, the teeth of the young lions are broken. The strong lion perishes for lack of prey, and the cubs of the lioness are scattered.

Hosea 10:13   You have plowed iniquity; you have reaped injustice; you have eaten the fruit of lies. Because you have trusted in your own way and in the multitude of your warriors,

2 Peter 2:9     then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment,

Matthew Henry – “Eliphaz reminds Job, that no affliction comes by chance, nor is to be placed to second causes. The difference between prosperity and adversity is not so exactly observed, as that between day and night, summer and winter; but it is according to the will and counsel of God. We must not attribute our afflictions to fortune, for they are from God; nor our sins to fate, for they are from ourselves. Man is born in sin and therefore born to trouble. There is nothing in this world we are born to, and can truly call our own, but sin and trouble. Actual transgressions are sparks that fly out of the furnace of original corruption. Such is the frailty of our bodies, and the vanity of all our enjoyments, that our troubles arise thence as the sparks fly upward; so many are they, and so fast does one follow another. Eliphaz reproves Job for not seeking God, instead of quarreling with him. Is any afflicted? let him pray. It is heart’s ease, a salve for every sore. Eliphaz speaks of rain, which we are apt to look upon as a little thing; but if we consider how it is produced, and what is produced by it, we shall see it to be a great work of power and goodness. Too often the great Author of all our comforts and the manner in which they are conveyed to us are not noticed, because they are received as things of course. In the ways of Providence, the experiences of some are encouragements to others, to hope the best in the worst of times; for it is the glory of God to send help to the helpless, and hope to the hopeless. And daring sinners are confounded, and forced to acknowledge the justice of God’s proceedings.”