There's wheat, and then there's chaff . . .

Yesterday we were looking at the fact that true prosperity is found in God, but that it's not a "here-you-go-here's-all-the-money-you-need-plus-a-guarantee-that-your-life-will-be-sunshine-and-roses" blank check, already signed by our heavenly Father.

It's quite possible that as we deal with our lives, we may have difficulties, and we may look across the way at a person who is not interested in having God in their life, but who is apparently raking in the good things of this world and is frolicking about in their happiness.

Don't you believe it.

Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction. (Psalm 1:4-6)

In the verses we ended with yesterday, we see a contrast. The righteous person is like a sturdy, well-watered, fruitful tree: green and growing. The wicked is like chaff from wheat. The psalmist is not showing us man's perception; from our human viewpoint, many who leave God out of their lives are living glamorous, exciting, happy lives. God's view is different; He takes eternity into account and He says, "Those who leave me out of their lives are like chaff."

Like chaff?

Yup.

It all goes back to growing and harvesting wheat. After you harvest the stalks of wheat, with the kernels on the top end, you must separate the stalks from the precious kernels. Only then do you have a valuable commodity; the kernels can be ground to make flour for baking and cooking.

In the ancient world, farmers would make a threshing floor by picking out a low place or depression in the ground, or they would carefully dig one, if necessary. They usually would find a place on a hill where breezes could be caught. The soil would be watered and packed down so it became very, very hard, and smooth. Around the edges of the new threshing floor, rocks would be placed to keep the grain in place. The stalks of wheat would be arranged on the floor, and an ox would be led about, dragging a heavy piece of wood behind. This served to separate the kernels from the straw. The stalks of the wheat, or straw, would be dry and would be broken into tiny pieces or even ground into a dusty powder. That's chaff. It's worthless.

The farmer would take a winnowing fork and throw a pile of grain and powdery chaff into the air. The breeze would blow the chaff away, while the kernels of wheat, being heavier, would fall back to the floor. This would be done again and again until there was no chaff left behind - just good and useful wheat. 

Those who leave God out of their lives have no substance. They may be great before men, but before God they will be blown away like chaff in the final judgment.

Hosea spoke of the wicked:

Therefore they will be like the morning mist,
    like the early dew that disappears,
    like chaff swirling from a threshing floor,
    like smoke escaping through a window. (Hosea 13:3)

If only the people who are running away from God could understand this. But they cannot because they won't listen; they think the things of God are foolish. Unbelievers will face God's judgment but will not stand its test. Only those who are covered by Christ's righteousness will be able to stand before God's throne. We will have the eternal blessings, the eternal prosperity of God's presence.

Some people will scoff. They will call our faith "pie in the sky when you die." In a word, no. It's not a cop-out. It's plain teaching that all must stand before Him:

Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him. (Hebrews 9:27-28)

In verse six, the psalmist calls our attention to two ways -- two paths. 

For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.  (v. 6)

This is a pretty concise picture of the destiny of two groups of people. A long while back, we studied the Proverbs and camped out on this verse for a while:

There is a way that appears to be right,
    but in the end it leads to death. (Proverbs 14:12)

Isaiah said this about the way of the wicked:

Their feet rush into sin;
    they are swift to shed innocent blood.
They pursue evil schemes;
    acts of violence mark their ways. (Isaiah 59:7)

In contrast, the way of the righteous is the way of the Lord, Who described Himself as "the way, the truth, and the life." There's something noteworthy about the verse from Psalm 1: it doesn't say that the Lord watches over the righteous and punishes the wicked. . . . instead, it says the Lord watches over "the way" of the righteous and that "the way" of the wicked will perish.

I wondered why the emphasis was on the path, and not on the people.

We are blessed or condemned on the basis of one decision, the way in which we choose to walk. There are only two ways from which to choose; we are all following one way or the other. The judgment some will receive is a result from the decision they've made to walk in the way of the wicked. 

 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." (Matthew 7:13-14)

Our heavenly Father does not play favorites. He blesses some and condemns others on the basis of the way in which they have chosen to walk. The psalmist is trying to get it into our heads that the way of blessing is the way of righteousness -- the avoidance of worldly counsel and sinful actions, and the running toward an intimate knowledge of God through His Word. 

If we desire the blessing of God in our lives . . . . if we desire true happiness . . .  then we must walk in His way.