The Bible’s Reference to Righteousness
In the Bible, righteousness is something God rewards man for through his faith and deeds. The Bible’s first reference to righteousness is in the story of God’s covenant with Abram. This account shows that Abram was faithful in believing in God’s promise of an offspring for him in the future. After the covenant was made, Abram was called the father of many nations. Abram also believed that God’s plan for his people would not fail regardless of his actions.
Job
Job is the story of a man who loved God and lived according to the Law. However, despite all his righteous deeds, Job had an inherent sin in his heart. This sin was unrecognized by him and he had lived with it for a very long time. This sin made it difficult for God to protect Job from his conspirators. Moreover, Job did not acknowledge his sin until a minister of God pointed it out.
Job’s struggle against the wicked was not easy, but it did not stop him from being righteous. Though the evil and powerful are always in opposition to him, he never gave up. Even if his friends had told him this, they were talking in vain. Job was a man of God despite the fact that he did not belong to a clan or family that had made a covenant with God.
Abraham
Abraham is righteous because of his faith in God. This faith is not new. It was affirmed long before he met God. He had expressed his faith to God before and that faith is the reason he continues to trust Him now. In fact, Paul uses Abraham’s faith as the basis of a whole chapter on Abraham’s justification by faith.
Abraham’s faith in God is demonstrated when he receives repeated promises from God and receives a covenant from God. He is told that his seed would be blessed, and is then given power to establish a nation. He has a son by his wife, Hagar, but he also has a legitimate son by God, Isaac. He is prepared to sacrifice Isaac as a test of his faith, but God substitutes a ram for the boy. Abraham also purchased the cave of Machpelah near Hebron as the family’s burial place.
Job’s life
The book of Job contains a section called Job 1:13-19. In this section, we learn about Job’s life as a righteous man. Satan is a real force in this world. His work was done by working through fallen men. Job’s life was not perfect. But it was certainly better than most.
Job was well aware of the Law of God. He knew that the curse would come if he did not walk in God’s ways. But he thought he was a righteous man. In fact, Job asks God and his friends to tell him what he did wrong.
Job’s obedience to God
Job’s obedience to God led him to trust God’s ability, wisdom, and perfection. He repented, recognizing that he had spoken about things he didn’t know. Even though he was sick, he did not give in to his pride and started questioning God’s choices.
Despite Job’s suffering, he continued to praise God. Satan may have been able to test Job because he thought that his obedience to God was proportional to the blessings he had received from God. But God’s sovereign control over Satan limits his tests.
Josiah
The Bible describes Josiah as a righteous king who walked in the ways of David his father. His righteousness was unparalleled in that time. He had no inclinations toward evil, which is ironic because Judean society was even worse than the nations God had destroyed. Despite his righteousness, God still chose to punish him for his failure.
Josiah’s righteousness was evident in his response to the Law of God. He found it while working on the Temple and recognized its importance. He had godly sorrow for Judah’s sins and sincerely desired to study the word of God.