He was the wealthiest man in the whole eastern region, but despite his astute wealth, he remained very humble. He was never overbearing, neither was he oppressive, even to the least of his servants. Everyone around would agree that Mr. Upright lived a blameless life- He was in the good books of all and sundry; even the Almighty was pleased with him as the sweet smelling savour of his blameless demeanour had risen to the Heavens. Mr. Upright was the perfect epitome of 'a man whom the Lord hath blessed'. Indeed, he was blessed! He had farm animals in their thousands and had numerous workers under his authority. What about children? He had ten kids; Seven healthy boys and Three pretty girls. This man had it all going for him, the people loved him, and God, yes God was impressed with his lifestyle, so much that he commended him before the heavenly host and ‘the accuser of the brethren’. The Almighty told Mr. Accuser about how blameless and God-fearing His beloved was, stating in fact, that there was none like him on planet earth. Mr. Accuser couldn't deny all that God said, but he brought forth an argument; he claimed that Mr. Upright lived reverently towards God because life was so good for him, but God knew Job too well to doubt his wholehearted commitment to Him, so He gave the Accuser a chance to try him and see for himself. God was well assured that in the face of trials, Mr. Upright wouldn't curse Him to His face as the Accuser had claimed he would. NO! Not Mr. Upright. Mr. Accuser set out excitedly, having his agenda planned out with resolute determination to prove the Almighty wrong. He unleashed the first attack: IN ONE DAY, Mr. Upright lost his source of livelihood, business investments, children and virtually all his servants. “Surely, no mortal would not hurl curses at God after such a great calamity befalls him”, Mr. Accuser thought to himself, but Mr. Upright's unexpected reaction proved to be the shocker of the century. He worshipped.... worshipped God! The Accuser didn't stop there; he also attacked Mr. Upright's body with permission from the wise Almighty. His lustrous skin was ravaged with sore boils all over. In fact, his life became utterly miserable, such that his better half advised him to curse God and die, for death was better than such a miserable existence. Mr. Upright remained upright still, and chose to stay put on the path of righteousness. Despite how tragic this story may have been so far, the good thing is it has a happy ending. YES, it does. You know what? The latter end of our heroic character, Mr. Upright was far better than his beginning; he had everything restored to him in a greater measure. See how the Bible described his end in Job 42: 12-17:
“The Lord blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the former part. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys. And he also had seven sons and three daughters. The first daughter he named Jemimah, the second Keziah and the third Keren-Happuch. Nowhere in all the land were there found women as beautiful as Job’s daughters, and their father granted them an inheritance along with their brothers. After this, Job lived a hundred and forty years; he saw his children and their children to the fourth generation. And so Job died, an old man and full of years.”
The following scriptures portray God's plan over the Righteous and Upright. God is true to His promises and would never forsake those who are righteous and upright.
“For thou, LORD, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield.”- Psalm 5:12 (KJV)
“He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly.”- Proverbs 2:7 (KJV)
“For the LORD is righteous, he loves justice; the upright will see his face.”- Psalm 11:7 (NIV)
“The righteousness of the upright delivers them, but the unfaithful are trapped by evil desires.”- Proverbs 11:6 (NIV)
“Even in darkness light dawns for the upright, for those who are gracious and compassionate and righteous.”- Proverbs 112:4 (NIV)
IT PAYS TO BE RIGHTEOUS AND UPRIGHT!