As Yom Kippur approaches we are told to examine our conduct and meditate on what is good and evil in our lives. The first Psalm in The Book of Psalms tells us what is good and what is evil, and their consequences.

First the psalm describes what is good:

Happy is the man that hath not walked in the counsel of the wicked.

And it continues by describing a good man's behavior:

And in his law doth he meditate day and night.
And he shall be like a tree planted by streams of water,
That bringeth forth its fruit in season,
And whose leaf doth not wither;
And in whatsoever he doeth he shall prosper.

The right side of the painting shows a holy man reading the law and under a fruit tree in bloom fed by many streams of water.

The Psalm continues by describing what is bad:

Not so the wicked;
But they are like chaff which the wind driveth away.

The left side of the painting shows the wicked being blown away by a strong wind. There is a windswept landscape which is in sharp contrast to the good man reading the law.

So far, this picture seems to say that in this world the good are rewarded and the evil are punished. But is this true? The answer can be found in The Book of Job.

Painting and Text by Irv Davis

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