57 The righteous man perishes, and no man takes it to heart;
And devout men are taken away, while no one understands.
For the righteous man is taken away from evil,
2 He enters into peace;
They rest in their [a]beds,
Each one who walked in his upright way.
3 “But come here, you sons of a sorceress,
Offspring of an adulterer and [b]a prostitute.
4 “Against whom do you jest?
Against whom do you open wide your mouth
And stick out your tongue?
Are you not children of rebellion,
Offspring of deceit,
5 Who inflame yourselves among the [c]oaks,
Under every luxuriant tree,
Who slaughter the children in the [d]ravines,
Under the clefts of the crags?
6 “Among the [e]smooth stones of the [f]ravine
Is your portion, [g]they are your lot;
Even to them you have poured out a drink offering,
You have made a grain offering.
Shall I [h]relent concerning these things?
7 “Upon a high and lofty mountain
You have made your bed.
You also went up there to offer sacrifice.
8 “Behind the door and the doorpost
You have set up your sign;
Indeed, far removed from Me, you have uncovered yourself,
And have gone up and made your bed wide.
And you have made an agreement for yourself with them,
You have loved their [i]bed,
You have looked on their [j]manhood.
9 “You have journeyed to the king with oil
And increased your perfumes;
You have sent your envoys a great distance
And made them go down to [k]Sheol.
10 “You were tired out by the length of your road,
Yet you did not say, ‘It is hopeless.’
You found [l]renewed strength,
Therefore you did not [m]faint.
Woah, that’s a graphic rebuke, after just a couple short verses speaking of the righteous. In those first verses, the righteous perish, and no one pays attention. Now, they are at peace, so we don’t mourn for them, though the loss causes sorrow for us who remain. I think of events of the last year, and the same has played out in our culture.
Only those who are also righteous have any care for the passing of a righteous man. The rest of mankind mocks and twists the truth to their own way of thinking, much like we see in these verses. These “sons of a sorceress and an adulterer do not fall far from the proverbial tree. Their every thought is selfish pleasure, deceit, and immorality.
Even towards the end (v. 10), they were not tired or weary. They found renewed strength to push on, thinking there must be more to indulge their whims, and satiate their lusts. Oh, there is more alright, more to life, but not where they are looking, not in the depths of Sheol, or in making deals with people in high places (v. 9).
When we give in to our fleshly desires, it is shocking the ends to which we will go. Or at least it ought to be, while we think nothing of it. In the end, what do we gain? God tells us plainly in v. 6 the result, a bunch of rocks, that’s how fruitful the pursuit of self will be. What’s the alternative? Peace, real and lasting, as we saw way back in v. 2.
Even in death, and beyond, there is peace for those who put away the desires of the flesh, and focus on God instead. Set your sights on what really matters, and stop putting yourself first. You don’t belong on the pedestal of your life, only God has any right to that high station. Place Him there, the first priority of your life, and pursue peace, real peace, lasting peace, His peace.