Jewels From Job
Job – Chapter #21
Job chapter 21 could be outlined:
1. Job wants to be heard. (verses 1-6)
2. The good life of the wicked. (verses 7-16)
3. God’s view of the wicked. (verses 17-26)
4. Future judgment of the wicked. (verses 27-34)
1 Then Job answered and said: 2 "Listen carefully to my speech, And let this be your consolation. 3 Bear with me that I may speak, And after I have spoken, keep mocking. 4 "As for me, is my complaint against man? And if it were, why should I not be impatient? 5 Look at me and be astonished; Put your hand over your mouth. 6 Even when I remember I am terrified, And trembling takes hold of my flesh. Job 21:1-6 (NKJV)
JOB WANTS TO BE HEARD
Job speaks again. Remember that Zophar has just spoken and has told Job that the wicked will perish. Job would agree with this statement. The wicked will perish. Job however feels that he is suffering – not because of his sin – but unjustly. Again the theology of the day is that when a person suffers it is due to their own sinfulness – God does not allow suffering to come upon the innocent.
In verse two – in the Hebrew the same word is used twice at the beginning of the sentence. It could be translated: “Hear, hear to my words.” or “Listen, listen to my words.” Barnes translates it: “Hearing hear” - that is, hear attentively. What Job was about to say was worthy of their solemn consideration.
One of the greatest problems in communication is not speaking – it is listening. We need to move beyond what is being said to get to the meaning of what is being said. “Hearing hear.”
In verses two and three Job makes a request that his friends listen carefully to him. “Let me speak - without interruption.” But he also believes that after he speaks they will keep on ridiculing him. He will give them solid arguments but they will mock him anyway.
Job says that his complaint is not against man – it is against God. If his complaint was against man – he would have every right to be impatient. By now other men would have answered him. Other people he could talk to face to face. This is not the case with God. You can pray to God – but it up to Him when He will answer. As severe and cutting as the words of Job’s friends were, what troubled him much more was that God seemed to be treating him as if he were a great sinner. He could not understand this. He was perplexed and troubled by the mysterious dealing of God. Job thought his friends aught to listen patiently to what he had to say.
The last part of verse five is saying: “Put your hand over your mouth and listen.” Putting the hand on the mouth, or the finger on the lips, is still the token of silence.
Job believes that if his friends would consider his situation, from his point of view, they would be astonished – to the point that they would say – “Wow!” Job goes on to say, “As I think about this I am shocked! My knees begin to shake.” The Message Bible says it this way, “When I look back, I go into shock, my body is racked with spasms.” Job 21:6 (MSG)
7 Why do the wicked live and become old, Yes, become mighty in power? 8 Their descendants are established with them in their sight, And their offspring before their eyes. 9 Their houses are safe from fear, Neither is the rod of God upon them. 10 Their bull breeds without failure; Their cow calves without miscarriage. 11 They send forth their little ones like a flock, And their children dance. 12 They sing to the tambourine and harp, And rejoice to the sound of the flute. 13 They spend their days in wealth, And in a moment go down to the grave. 14 Yet they say to God, ’Depart from us, For we do not desire the knowledge of Your ways. 15 Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him? And what profit do we have if we pray to Him?’ 16 Indeed their prosperity is not in their hand; The counsel of the wicked is far from me. Job 21:7-16 (NKJV)
THE GOOD LIFE OF THE WICKED
Here is Job’s observation of the wicked:
1. The wicked live long lives and become old.
2. The wicked become powerful.
3. The wicked see generations of their descendants with their own eyes.
4. The wicked feel safe.
5. God’s punishment is not upon the wicked.
6. The wicked’s livestock is always fertile and productive.
7. The wicked have lots of decedents who enjoy life.
8. The wicked’s children dance, sing and rejoice.
9. The wicked’s family live in wealth.
10. The wicked die without suffering.
In verse fourteen we find the words of the wicked. They have no desire for God. In fact they say that God should, “depart from them.” They do not want His knowledge. They do not want to know Him. They have no understanding of Him for they ask, “Why should we serve Him, and what will we gain by pleading with Him?” They believe that their future is in their own hands. But this is not what God says. God says that their “prosperity is NOT in their hand”.
The knowledge of the wicked is far from the knowledge and wisdom of God. Here we find a very true statement. Listen to the foolishness of those who don’t know God. Listen to the foolishness of “Christians” who are outside of God’s will. Sometimes you just have to shake your head in wonder. How could anyone do such stupid stuff – yet we all have. I have heard the statement – “there is no cure for stupidity.” In actually there is! If you follow God’s Word you will not be stupid. He not only offers us salvation but also knowledge and wisdom. (Remember that knowledge without wisdom is still foolishness.)
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow His instructions have good insight. His praise endures forever.” Psalms 111:10 (HCSB)
In verse fifteen Job says that the wicked ask two questions:
1. Who is God that we should serve Him?
2. What profit do we get from praying to God?
In verse fifteen you find the language of the human heart. As humans we believe that our existence is all about “us”. This is not the case. As Rick Warren has said, “It’s not about me.” Yet as humans we think that it is. Man seeks to deny the authority of God over him. He wants to be independent. The Christian life is simply this: Learning to depend on God in every aspect of our lives.
Who is God? He is the one who created you. He is the one who sustains you. He is the one who has every right to have dominion over you.
The second question is very self centered:
“What’s there in it for us?’ Job 21:15 (MSG)
Here is a short list:
1. Pardon from sin.
2. A peace which is beyond understanding.
3. Support in the time of need.
4. A restored relationship.
5. Direction when making decisions.
As I said – this is a “short” list. You could add much more.
With all the boasting and bragging – only God leads to riches. Perhaps not worldly wealth – but wealth beyond what any safe or vault could hold. That is why Jesus said:
“Don’t collect for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But collect for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves don’t break in and steal.” Matthew 6:19-20 (HCSB)
Job affirms in verse sixteen that the wicked are living a life of foolishness and that he does not follow their wisdom of the wicked.
17 "How often is the lamp of the wicked put out? How often does their destruction come upon them, The sorrows God distributes in His anger? 18 They are like straw before the wind, And like chaff that a storm carries away. 19 They say, ’God lays up one’s iniquity for his children’; Let Him recompense him, that he may know it. 20 Let his eyes see his destruction, And let him drink of the wrath of the Almighty. 21 For what does he care about his household after him, When the number of his months is cut in half? 22 "Can anyone teach God knowledge, Since He judges those on high? 23 One dies in his full strength, Being wholly at ease and secure; 24 His pails are full of milk, And the marrow of his bones is moist. 25 Another man dies in the bitterness of his soul, Never having eaten with pleasure. 26 They lie down alike in the dust, And worms cover them. Job 21:17-26 (NKJV)
GOD’S VIEW OF THE WICKED
Job asks a question in verse seventeen, “How often have you seen the wicked destroyed? How often does destruction come upon those who are sinners? How often does God respond in His anger?” Some have translated this, "Not so often is the candle of the wicked put out.’’ I am sure glad that:
“The Lord is slow to anger and rich in faithful love, forgiving wrongdoing and rebellion.” Numbers 14:18a (HCSB)
Job does say that the wicked will be punished. They are like straw and chaff that the wind blows away. In verse seventeen Job points out that punishment will come to the next generation. Again here is the remainder of Numbers chapter fourteen verse eighteen:
“But He will not leave [the guilty] unpunished, bringing the consequences of the fathers’ wrongdoing on the children to the third and fourth generation.” Numbers 14:18b (HCSB)
In verses twenty and twenty one Job gives his opinion about the wicked. “Let his own eyes see his demise; let him drink from the Almighty’s wrath!” Job 21:20 (HCSB) Why should God be so slow? If the wicked deserve punishment – let it be today! The wicked don’t even care about future generations. They need to be destroyed now.
It is a good thing that God is slow to anger. If He were to destroy us the moment that we sin – the earth would be empty of the human race. Thank you Lord for Your mercy and grace. Thank you for your patience with us.
What a great question Job asks in verse twenty two. “Can anyone teach God knowledge?” Which is greater – the Creator or the created. Do we think that we can out think God who created our minds? He knows our thought process even more than we know it ourselves.
“For as heaven is higher than earth, so My ways are higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:9 (HCSB)
Shall we tell God how to govern the world? Shall we tell Him that He must punish the wicked and reward the faithful? No – He is God and we are not!
In verses twenty three through twenty six Job states that as humans we are all in the same boat. One person dies in good health, with prosperity and strength and another dies in bitterness and discord. Yet for both types of people – they both will be covered with dirt and eaten by worms. We all know that, “it is appointed for people to die once—and after this comes judgment.” Hebrews 9:27
27 "Look, I know your thoughts, And the schemes with which you would wrong me. 28 For you say, ’Where is the house of the prince? And where is the tent, The dwelling place of the wicked?’ 29 Have you not asked those who travel the road? And do you not know their signs? 30 For the wicked are reserved for the day of doom; They shall be brought out on the day of wrath. 31 Who condemns his way to his face? And who repays him for what he has done? 32 Yet he shall be brought to the grave, And a vigil kept over the tomb. 33 The clods of the valley shall be sweet to him; Everyone shall follow him, As countless have gone before him. 34 How then can you comfort me with empty words, Since falsehood remains in your answers?" Job 21:27-34 (NKJV)
FUTURE JUDGMENT OF THE WICKED
God knows the thoughts of men. He knows that all would try to wrong Him. “The Lord knows man’s thoughts; they are meaningless.” Psalms 94:11 (HCSB) “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23 (HCSB)
Those who live in prosperity one day may live in poverty the next. Even the stranger walking down the road knows this fact.
Verses thirty through thirty three tells us that the wicked will have their day. Their punishment is sure – but it may not be in this life. The “reservation” is made – the check in will take place later.
Who confronts the wicked to their face? Who repays them for what they have done? The judgment is reserved for God alone. The grave awaits us all. The earth will seem sweet – and everyone will follow as they have for generations – as it has been since the beginning of time.
Then Job asks his “friends” – “Why do you keep coming to me with empty words? What you are telling me is not the truth.”
Is the punishment of the wicked in the here and now – or is it in the future? Do men suffer because of there sin here in the present or do you see those who live an ungodly life living in prosperity? This world does not give a clear reflection of things to come. Things in this world are distorted. This world is “broken” – where sometimes the wicked prosper and the righteous suffer. Thank God that there will come a day when God will set things right.
