SUMMARY
A fed up audience asks the prophet what is the point of worshiping God, if God does not protect and save people? God responds by describing the fates of the righteousA righteous person is one who is ethical and faithful to God's covenant. Righteousness in the Old Testament is an attitude of God; in the New Testament it is a gift of God through grace. In the New Testament righteousness is a relationship with God... More and wicked.
ANALYSIS
The people claim – arrogantly, in the mind of the prophet – that following God is pointless because the righteous die, and the wicked prosper, even when they test God. The prophet responds by describing a God who knows what is said and done in secret, and who will reward the righteous. This reward may not come in this life, but the righteous will be written in the “book of remembrance.” God will claim them, and have compassion on them. Heaven and/or the afterlife are not discussed explicitly here. But there is some sort of giving of compassion for those who have been mourned and are remembered.
