Inquiry:
Do the righteous live or not? Psalm 92:12 reads, “The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree.” However, Isaiah 57:1 says, “The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart.” Is there a contradiction?
Response:
Psalm 92:12 is an expression of the steadfastness of those who serve the Lord. The text acknowledges that the blessings of God shall be upon the righteous (v 13-14). To serve the Lord will bring about a life of blessing, whether it is long or short. More important, the righteous shall receive life eternal (Matthew 25:46).
As regards Isaiah 57:1, as is most often the case, the questioner has taken a verse out of it’s context and attempted to set it against other Scripture. Let it first be noted that nowhere are the righteous promised that they will not die physically. In fact, the Lord warned His disciples that some of the would be put to death (Luke 21:16). The Lord has promised eternal life (spiritual) to His followers (John 10:28; Romans 2:7).
Of the text, the Matthew Henry Concise Commentary states,
“The rightesous are delivered from the sting of death, not frmo the stroke of it. The careless world disregards this. Few lament it as a public loss, and very few notice it as a public warning. They are taken away in compassion, that they may not see the evil, nor share in it, nor be tempted by it. The righteous man, when he dies, enters into peace and rest.”
Notice in the context, the unrighteous nature of the watchmen (56:10-12) gives occasion for the righteous to be killed. However, their being taken away is a blessing, as punishment was to come upon the nation Israel (Isaiah 56:9, 57:13). It is as the apostle John recorded, “…Blessed are the dead wich die in the Lord from henceforth: yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours, and their works do follow them.” (Revelation 14:13).
There is no contradiction.
This article is a response to Skeptic’s Annotated Bible
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