It must not surprise us when wicked men act like wicked men. It also cannot be something that bothers us, for they will get what is coming. We can rest assured of that. We should also give thanks for the Lord’s mercy that we have not gone likewise.

Good Morning!  In family worship last night we read a story that I’m sure all y’all know well. In Genesis 39 we have Joseph fresh off the betrayal of his brothers being sold into slavery in Egypt by the Ishmeelites, who were merely the middle-men in the providential plan of the Lord. Yet what you probably remember most about that situation is the attempted seduction by Potiphar’s wife. We aren’t told her name (a quiet way that Moses judges her actions), but every bit of her conduct is deplorable. Not only does she use her position to attempt to extract sexual favors from a servant of her husband, we also see her lie about why Joseph’s garment is in her hands. After all this nonsense what happens? The one man doing right ends up in prison.
Surely no good deed goes unpunished.
In today’s prayer and worship help we are going to think through a little bit about why those who do what the Lord requires often suffer, while those who do evil end up seemingly blessed for their efforts. Looking into that kind of thing of course is nothing new. It was a common lament of the Psalmist and other folks in the Bible. In Psalm 73 Asaph says, “For I was envious of the boastful, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.” and Jeremiah likewise calls out to the Lord in his distress, “Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all who are treacherous thrive?” In each of these cases faithful men are drawn to the apparent incongruity of the situation. Asaph is a Levite charged by David to be a singer in the Temple and is likely referring to the rebellion of Absalom and the civil disruptions caused by those events.  Jeremiah is a prophet of the Lord sent to warn Judah of falling into the same trap as their Northern sister, to no avail. For someone like Asaph who is concerned about the worship of God to see the duplicity of Absalom and his compatriots and to know his friend and king David is out on the run because of it must have caused him some serious heartburn. Yet after this he reminds himself, and us, about the truth.
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Are we concerned enough about our sin to not only want Jesus to pay for it, but to rid ourselves of it for good? Do you want to be holy? I mean really holy, not just “enough to get into Heaven holy,” but holy as the Lord is holy.

Of the many passages of Holy Scripture that give me pause every time I come across them none give me more trouble than 1 Peter 1:15-16. There the apostle says, “…but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, ‘Be holy, for I am holy.’”
That is a pretty tall order. Yet because the Christian grace which is granted to us in the Holy Spirit is our power and strength we have no excuse to not be holy as the Lord is holy. The issue is not one of ability, but of desire. Many times we use our remaining sinful nature as an excuse for not giving up the things which keep us from experiencing the blessings of holiness. We are to be holy, for Jehovah God is holy. The standard is the standard. No amount of nuancing our way out of it is going to change the fundamental truth of the Bible. As the prophet Obadiah notes the church of Christ should be known for being a place of obedience and love for God, “But on Mount Zion there shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness.”
As a believer in the Lord Jesus we are called to be set apart from the world and not to be as the world, and are to, as the previous verses note:
 …gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance.
Not only do we have the grace to be holy, but the Lord has given to us in His mercy means by which to improve on that gift. Prayer, praise, and fellowship are but the main avenues of that blessing. The first expression in the verse above is one we have heard before. It is almost always used for a man getting ready for battle. In the days before pants everyone wore a long dress. As any lady will tell you running in an evening gown is not going to gain you many medals in track and field. What the men would do is tie up the extra cloth around their waist so as to create a sort of military onesie to help with maneuverability in battle. They had to be ready for the fight and it took some preparation to get there. What does that have to do with being holy? Well, think about all the language in the Bible about the warfare between good and evil. There is no real question as to whether or not we are going to be involved in it. The Scriptures know nothing about a spiritual Switzerland. You are either for the Lord or for the Devil. Either Jehovah is your Father or Satan is. Two teams. Two outcomes. If you were going to choose on which side to fight what would be your banner of truth?
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