Job 21:1-34

Job responds to the argument that those who suffer are wicked and godless by arguing just the opposite.  He points out that the wicked and godless often do not suffer at all.  He points out that many of the wicked live in peace for very long lives and with great prosperity.  There is danger in exaggeration.  Zolphar exaggerated when he said that it is only the wicked who suffer.  Now Job is exaggerating when he says that the wicked never suffer.  These overstatements make it easy for the two sides to point out the error in the statements and so disregard the truth in what the other is saying.  Balance is a very hard but very important quality for which all of us should strive.  Instead Job makes two basic overstatements.

THE WICKED LIVE LONG: Job points to the many godless and wicked people who have lived long and peaceful lives.  They grow old and give no thought to God because they have no need of God.  They don’t suffer from illnesses and it seems as if God simply chooses to ignore them.  Job’s statements are true of some of the wicked, but surely not all of the wicked.  Scripture is full of examples of wicked men who died at a very young age simply because they were wicked and did not follow the Lord’s commands or live in fear of Him.  We must remember that a long life on earth for the wicked is simply the grace of God at work that gives the wicked ample time to hear of Christ and repent.  However, that long life is also the judgment of God at work so that those who reject the Lord will suffer greatly in their eternal condemnation knowing that they had ample opportunity.  Long life is not always a sign of the blessings of God; just like a short life is not always a sign of the judgment of God.


THE WICKED LIVE LARGE: Job also points to the wealth and prosperity that the wicked enjoy.  Their cattle give birth, their crops are abundant and their investments do not fail.  These blessings allow them to live lives of ease, comfort and celebration.  They throw large parties where God is ignored or even blasphemed and yet God does nothing to judge them.  Once again this statement is true in some or even many cases, but it is not true in all cases and not even in most cases.  Many who are trapped in the bonds of sin are brought down to ruin by the consequences of sin.  Many suffer great humiliation, live on the streets, have no friends and groan in great misery.  Certainly not all are this way; but neither are they all living in the lap of luxury.  A large and prosperous life is not, in and of itself, a demonstration of blessing nor is it the proof of evil.  The truth is that the wicked and the righteous suffer greatly while others enjoy great comforts.  We must always remember that these seeming injustices on earth will be made right in eternity.

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