Lenten Study Job Ch 21
Chapter twenty-one marks the halfway point in our journey through Job this Lenten season, but we still have more time for us to mark the temporal halfway point. This is by no means the midpoint for Job. He passed that point long ago. His conversation with Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar is at or near the end of his trials.
"There was a man in the land of Uz" by andrevanb is marked with CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.Caption
1 Then Job answered,
2 “Listen carefully to my speech, And let this be your way of consolation.
Job 21:1-2 (NASB)
This is all Job ever wanted from his friends; for them to listen to him simply.
3 “Bear with me that I may speak; Then after I have spoken, you may mock.
Job 21:3 (NASB)
Job also knows they won’t just listen to him.
4 “As for me, is my complaint to man? And why should I not be impatient?
5 “Look at me, and be astonished, And put your hand over your mouth.
6 “Even when I remember, I am disturbed, And horror takes hold of my flesh.
Job 21:4-6 (NASB)
Job’s implication is that these horrible things have happened to a righteous man. God’s Word says these things do not happen to the righteous, yet Job insists through implication again that he is righteous. Job’s point is that all these things happening to someone who has not broken God’s laws should astonish everyone. I wonder how often we see “bad things happening to good people,” and it is like the case with Job, it really is Satan or evil trying to drive good people away from God? That also begs the question, how often are those people not actually “good people,” and they really have done something deserving for which God is merely delivering the consequences of choices and actions?
7 “Why do the wicked still live, Continue on, also become very powerful?
8 “Their descendants are established with them in their sight, And their offspring before their eyes,
9 Their houses are safe from fear, And the rod of God is not on them.
10 “His ox mates without fail; His cow calves and does not abort.
11 “They send forth their little ones like the flock, And their children skip about.
12 “They sing to the timbrel and harp And rejoice at the sound of the flute.
13 “They spend their days in prosperity, And suddenly they go down to Sheol.
Job 21:7-13 (NASB)
The activities Job lists are just things everyone of his day did. They are daily tasks for which they seek the blessings of the Lord. Yet, they all watched the ungodly prosper despite not following God’s Laws, His ways, and His Word. This is no different for us today. We see people who are not Christians having prosperity in their lives despite not believing, and it makes us wonder how much truth is in scripture? The thing we have to remember is that God is not just of this earth, He is also of Heaven and eternity, everything that comes after this earth. The ungodly are prosperous only on this earth and nowhere else.
14 “They say to God, ‘Depart from us! We do not even desire the knowledge of Your ways.
15 ‘Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him, And what would we gain if we entreat Him?’
Job 21:14-15 (NASB)
It seems like more and more people like this in the world every day. That doesn’t change who I am, though. The idea that more people disbelieve God each day should not dissuade me from believing or following His Word.
16 “Behold, their prosperity is not in their hand; The counsel of the wicked is far from me.
Job 21:16 (NASB)
True prosperity does not lie on earth. It is in Heaven, and who goes there is controlled by God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. We should remember that when deciding what we want to do, who we want to follow, and the advice we think is wise.
17 “How often is the lamp of the wicked put out, Or does their calamity fall on them? Does God apportion destruction in His anger?
18 “Are they as straw before the wind, And like chaff which the storm carries away?
Job 21:17-18 (NASB)
We do not see all, know all, and understand all. We do see just deserts happen from time to time, but that is not where we should draw our strength. Doing what is right is where we should draw our strength, not in the downfall of others; whether they are righteous or wicked, it makes no difference.
19 “You say, ‘God stores away a man’s iniquity for his sons.’ Let God repay him so that he may know it.
Job 21:19 (NASB)
When we see the chastisement of the Lord or do not see it makes no difference. Justice lies with God. We need to remember it is in His authority to make these decisions, not ours.
20 “Let his own eyes see his decay, And let him drink of the wrath of the Almighty.
21 “For what does he care for his household after him, When the number of his months is cut off?
Job 21:20-21 (NASB)
Difficulties are different from one person to another. What you or I might find simple or easy might be hard or impossible for someone else. The same is true the other way around. Some things we find extremely hard are accomplished very easily by someone else.
22 “Can anyone teach God knowledge, In that He judges those on high?
Job 21:22 (NASB)
This is a rhetorical question. No, we cannot teach God anything. As such, He can judge people one-hundred percent right.
23 “One dies in his full strength, Being wholly at ease and satisfied;
24 His sides are filled out with fat, And the marrow of his bones is moist,
25 While another dies with a bitter soul, Never even tasting anything good.
26 “Together they lie down in the dust, And worms cover them.
Job 21:23-26 (NASB)
Death comes for us all regardless of what kind of life we have led. Eventually, we all return to the dust of the earth from which we were taken. It is the great equalizer of life.
27 “Behold, I know your thoughts, And the plans by which you would wrong me.
28 “For you say, ‘Where is the house of the nobleman, And where is the tent, the dwelling places of the wicked?’
29 “Have you not asked wayfaring men, And do you not recognize their witness?
Job 21:27-29 (NASB)
This seems to me as Job confronting his three friends. He explains that he is aware they plan to impugn his character further. Everyone knows that Job has done no wrong, not been in the company of the wicked people who do, and is blameless even though he is still suffering.
30 “For the wicked is reserved for the day of calamity; They will be led forth at the day of fury.
Job 21:30 (NASB)
Job refers to the day of judgment. On that day, everyone will have to stand for the things they did, they said, and did not do. We will all be judged for our actions, one person at a time. On that day, the unrepentant wicked will be judged, and it will be a day of anguish and pain.
31 “Who will confront him with his actions, And who will repay him for what he has done?
Job 21:31 (NASB)
Another rhetorical question from Job. We all know Jesus will judge the quick and the dead. God will abide by Christ’s judgment. Those judged worthy will enter Heaven while those judged unworthy will be cast into Hell and the Lake of Fire.
32 “While he is carried to the grave, Men will keep watch over his tomb.
33 “The clods of the valley will gently cover him; Moreover, all men will follow after him, While countless ones go before him.
Job 21:32-33 (NASB)
People on earth will do what the living always do, continue living as best they can. However, everyone before and after will end up in the grave. It is the one constant human beings have. We will all die. There is nothing, absolutely nothing any of us can do about this fact.
34 “How then will you vainly comfort me, For your answers remain full of falsehood?”
Job 21:34 (NASB)
The vanity of his friends is that they believe they are right and Job is wrong. Job knows they are incorrect. He also knows that one day they will know it as well. Knowing how his friends intend to address him is also of little comfort because it is all lies. I’m not sure if Job is accusing his friends of being “wicked” because they refuse to see that he is not or if he is threatening them to reconsider what they think, or if he has just given up altogether and is venting his anger knowing it will do no good?