God who rewards
Psa
18:24
The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness,
according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.
In
the West at least, we know of rewards. Rewards are given for finding
lost pets, or providing information leading to convictions of criminals,
or even for being loyal to a particular supermarket chain. A reward
is something given in return for something good done, a way of saying
thank-you. So what does the Bible say about rewards and God?
God
listened to Leah, and she became pregnant and bore Jacob a fifth son.
Then Leah said, "God has rewarded me for giving my maidservant
to my husband." (Gen
30:17,18). Leah saw that her seeking to bless her husband had come
back on her, by her also being rewarded with a child herself.
Then men will say, "Surely the righteous still are rewarded;
surely there is a God who judges the earth."
(Psa 58:11) Here the concept of God rewarding the righteous comes
right out in the open as God assesses people's lives and rewards those
who are good.
Solomon
wrote: The faithless will be fully repaid
for their ways, and the good man rewarded for his
(Prov 14:14) which is another way of saying, God
cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows (Gal 6:7).
The apostle Paul had this in mind when he also wrote: The
man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will
be rewarded according to his own labor (1 Cor 3:8), a
hint that we will be given according to what we do.
Paul
also had this in mind when he was expounding his foundation for salvation:
God will give to each person according
to what he has done. To those who by persistence in doing good
seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. But
for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow
evil, there will be wrath and anger. (Rom 2:6-8) where
he quoted Psa 62:12 and Prov 24:12. We thus see that receiving according
to what you do is a very common Scriptural teaching.
In
the Beatitudes, in the Sermon on the Mount, (Mt 5:3-10) Jesus indicates
rewards for different people, e.g. the meek will inherit the earth
(v.5), the pure in heart will see God (v.8). At the end of time this
principle will be applied: Then I saw a
great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled
from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the
dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were
opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead
were judged according to what they had done as recorded in
the books. (Rev 20:11,12) and "Behold, I am coming
soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according
to what he has done (Rev 22:12).
David
was able to say, The LORD has rewarded me
according to my righteousness and the same will be true
for us. David was not claiming perfection; simply that, unlike his
enemies, he had faithfully sought the Lord. We who are Christians
today have been declared righteous through the work of Christ on the
Cross when we came to Him. It is this righteousness that is the basis
for the rewards we have been considering. For a classic example of
rewards being apportioned, read Rev 2 & 3 and see Jesus' words
to the seven churches of Asia Minor, especially his promises to those
who overcome (2:7,11,17,26-28, 3:5,12,21); these are clear rewards
for faithfulness, which is what we are called to.