Let God Out of the Box

Day 85: 2 Chronicles 27-31

I'm curious why most of the kings in the Old Testament who followed the Lord became powerful and successful. For example, King Jotham walked steadfastly with the Lord and he grew powerful. King Hezekiah restored the temple and God blessed him with financial wealth, glory, and honor. The Bible even says that since everything he undertook was for God, he prospered.

On the other hand, those kings who did not walk with the Lord and were unfaithful to him were punished. They were taken prisoner, like King Ahaz, were struck down with a disease, or were killed in war.

One generation was faithful and the next was not. This story is repeated over and over again. What we can learn is that even when one generation was unfaithful to the Lord, the Lord was still faithful to his people--even if he still disciplines and punishes the faithless.

Nevertheless, what I still perplexes me is the message that this pattern sends: if you are good, you will be blessed; if you are "bad" (or unfaithful), you will be punished. And these consequences aren't something that happen "when you get to heaven"; they happen here on earth (at least in the case of the textual examples). So, I don't understand it.

Did good things always happen to good people in the Old Testament? Or did bad things happen, too, but because the person was faithful to the Lord, the biographer/narrator of the books reflects back in a postive way (and likewise for the "bad" people)?

Or maybe the words "blessing" and "prospered" meant something different in OT times. They sure have various meanings today. I don't know. But I don't think we can equate doing good with blessing and doing bad with harm and pain. If we do so, we put God in a box and when trials comes, God cannot get out of that box because we won't let him.

Instead, I think we should try to live in the moment so that we feel what God intends for us to feel at any given time. Sometimes, we are supposed to cry. Other times we are supposed to rejoice and be glad. Still other times call for anger, frustration, and disappointment. God wants us to feel what we feel, but He also wants us to realize that He is working for the good for those who love him, even if "good" people have to go through pain and suffering. If we recognize this when we are not experiencing pain, then when we do experience it, God will not be in a box, and during the midst of our suffering, we will, Lord-willing, not lose our faith.