Job 21

In Job 21, Job starts to dispute the basic premise of his friends that good happens to those that follow after God and bad happens only to the wicked.  Job declares that often the wicked go free in this lifetime.  Something many will dispute, but the Bible supports.  Further, Job will tell his friends that their words are meaningless and provide little truth.  Job’s statements are in line with what the psalmist stated in Psalm 73.  It is a tough pill to swallow, but it is true.  Fulfillment for the believer is not in having good things happen, but rather it is in God’s presence.

Job 21:1-3

¹But Job answered and said, ²Hear diligently my speech, and let this be your consolations. ³Suffer me that I may speak; and after that I have spoken, mock on.

Job has asked for a moment to speak without interruption.  However, he has made it clear what he thinks of his friends’ opinions.  He told them to just mock on.  Job tells them to keep ridiculing him, it has no meaning for him.

Job, who God stated in the end has spoken right, tells them that they are making a mockery of the situation.  Job finds little comfort and even less value in the words of his friends.  Sometimes wisdom is only for the wise.  This is because many are too shallow or are unwilling to listen.  They do not take the time to meditate upon the word.

Job 21:4

⁴As for me, is my complaint to man? and if it were so, why should not my spirit be troubled?

Job stated that his complaint is not to man.  Complaint may even be too strong of a word for the context of the discussion.  It might have been better translated communication, meditation or prayer.  Job never asked anyone for understanding.  Job knew from the beginning that man would not have a reasonable answer for his situation.  Most of Job’s comments have been directed to the Almighty and not his friends.  Therefore, these who are answering Job’s questions have placed themselves in a conversation that did not involve them.  In doing this, they have taken the place of God by assuming they have an answer.

Job 21:5-6

⁵Mark me, and be astonished, and lay your hand upon your mouth. ⁶Even when I remember I am afraid, and trembling taketh hold on my flesh.

Job is going to give them something to think about.  If they so decide to listen, as opposed to mocking on without considering his words which is exactly what they have been doing.  They have not even considered the possibility that Job could be right.  Job does not agree with their conclusion, as he is about to state in Job 21:7.

⁷Wherefore do the wicked live, become old, yea, are mighty in power?

It is evident even today that the wicked live to a ripe old age.  It would be easy to come up with a list of people who are far from God, yet live out their years comfortably.  Job will continue to express his understanding with further details, Job 21:8-9.

⁸Their seed is established in their sight with them, and their offspring before their eyes. ⁹Their houses are safe from fear, neither is the rod of God upon them.

For the wicked, their property and homes are safe.  When the wicked do not oppress the people of God, God leaves them alone.  Paul writes in Ephesians 2:1-2

¹And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; ²Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:

Prior to being born of the spirit, an individual is dead to God.  Unless the spirit is working on an individual or they are interfering with the plan of God; God is not too concerned with the wicked.  God does not chastise the wicked.  It is recorded in Hebrews 12:8.

⁸But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.

God does not chastise the wicked they are not His sons.  God allows the world system to take care of that.  He does not need to concern himself with the wicked.  The wicked operate in a different system than most believers.  As such, they are under the chastisement of the world.  Which is often random, at best.

Job 21:10-15

¹⁰Their bull gendereth, and faileth not; their cow calveth, and casteth not her calf. ¹¹They send forth their little ones like a flock, and their children dance. ¹²They take the timbrel and harp, and rejoice at the sound of the organ. ¹³They spend their days in wealth, and in a moment go down to the grave. ¹⁴Therefore they say unto God, Depart from us; for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways. ¹⁵What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? and what profit should we have, if we pray unto him?

Job has a much different summation of the wicked than his friends.  Job’s friends like so many today have this simplistic view of the world.  If one is wicked then things go bad and if one is a believer of God, all things are good.  However, that is not what one sees in the world.  Quite often in the world, life is good for the wicked.

The truth is Job’s assessment agrees with what the psalmist stated in Psalm 73.  This was discussed earlier in Chapter 8.  It seems that the wicked triumph in this lifetime.  The psalmist backs up Job in Psalm 73:3-9

³For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. ⁴For there are no bands in their death: but their strength is firm. ⁵They are not in trouble as other men; neither are they plagued like other men. ⁶Therefore pride compasseth them about as a chain; violence covereth them as a garment. ⁷Their eyes stand out with fatness: they have more than heart could wish. ⁸They are corrupt, and speak wickedly concerning oppression: they speak loftily. ⁹They set their mouth against the heavens, and their tongue walketh through the earth.

It appears that the wicked live a pretty good life and truthfully do not care for God.  What does God have to offer the wicked?  Many have houses and plenty of money.  Their problems are far from them.  They have children and grandchildren, many times they are just as loving as other people’s offspring.  However, they have missed the most important reason to walk with God.  It should never be for what one gets.  Psalmist writes in Psalm 27:8

⁸When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek.

It is not the hand, but the face.  It is in the relationship with God that is the real benefit of life.  It is in the peace and not the pieces one has.  Following God, walking in His ways makes the journey worth it.  It is in the quality of eternal life and not the quantity.  It is the peace that surpasses all understanding.

Job 21:16

¹⁶Lo, their good is not in their hand: the counsel of the wicked is far from me.

Job puts himself outside the sphere of the wicked, unlike his friends.  This fact is true, but not understood by his critics.  Too many over time have associated Job with the wicked.  How far have Job’s critics fallen from the truth.  Hopefully, it is clear by this chapter that Job was unjustly accused.

Job did make an error.  The same error many have made, which will be explained in a later chapter.  However, what Job did is not what so many assume.

Job 21:17

¹⁷How oft is the candle of the wicked put out! and how oft cometh their destruction upon them! God distributeth sorrows in his anger.

Job stated that the wicked are not subject to destruction as often as many would like or assume.  Job’s position is that just because you are a child of God, it does not mean bad things will not happen to you.  Further, even the wicked can live a life that appears to be essentially free of severe punishment.  It is a very shallow understanding of scriptures to think that if you are good, good things happen to you and if you are bad, bad things happen to you.

Then Job stated at the end of Job 21:17, that sorrow seems to befall all mankind.  Sometimes this happens without reason.  This is similar to Yeshua’s statement in Matthew 5:45.

⁴⁵That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

There are times when all are blessed or cursed.  Often it does not pertain to the individual, it seems to be random at times.  This occurs not because God is indiscriminant, it is because there is a natural order to life.  This is similar to gravity, gravity does not care if you are righteous or wicked, it operates the same for all people.  If one operates within the boundaries of life, often they can avoid the calamities of life.  Conversely, one who does not learn this order, will be subject to calamities; because they failed to operate within the boundaries of life, regardless of whether or not they are righteous.

It is not what happens to us that matters, it is how we deal with it.  The righteous know that God will deliver them from all their troubles, Psalm 34:17-19.

¹⁷The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles. ¹⁸The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. ¹⁹Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.

This is the confidence that the righteous have.  God is an ever-present source of help.  For the righteous, God will never leave nor forsake them.  For the wicked, God is not there for them.

Job continues to describe what happens when God distributes sorrows, Job 21:18.

¹⁸They are as stubble before the wind, and as chaff that the storm carrieth away.

If one does not safeguard against the seemingly random occurrences of life, they too can very easily end up on the short end of life.  There is only one thing that safeguards against the random occurrences of life, it is the hedge as described in Job 1.

Next, Job changes his subject and discusses what occurs for the children of God, Job 21:19.

¹⁹God layeth up his iniquity for his children: he rewardeth him, and he shall know it.

God reserves chastisement for his children.  This is exactly what is written in Hebrews 12:5-8.

⁵And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: ⁶For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. ⁷If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? ⁸But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.

God disciplines those that are His.  He is not too concerned with those of the world, they are under a different system of chastisement that is much more random.  Now he does this all for a reason, Hebrews 12:11.

¹¹Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.

As discussed several times before, God does not chasten the believer randomly.  If one does not live by God’s standard, God will chasten his children so that they will live by the standard that leads to righteousness.  Believers have an option, God forewarned in Deuteronomy 30:15-20.

¹⁵See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil; ¹⁶In that I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it. ¹⁷But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them; ¹⁸I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it. ¹⁹I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: ²⁰That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.

One has a choice as a child of God.  They can choose life or they can choose death.  One can choose to live by God’s standard, walking in His ways and loving God.  However, if one choses anything other than God’s ways, they have chosen death.  If one fails to understand God’s standard, regardless of what they may believe, they have chosen death.  All were warned long ago in Hosea 4:6.

⁶My people are destroyed lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.

One can choose not to study and ignore God’s warning.  If they do, they will pay a price.  So many today have chosen this path and find their lives to be disappointing.  So many today find that they are not blessed as they would have liked.  They believe they are doing the right thing; however, they follow their own standard as oppose to God’s.  One cannot continue to do what they want, contrary to God’s warning and expect things to work out for them.  That is living a life of inconsistences.  If one wants blessings in their life, they must educate themselves in His word and not man’s opinions.  And when they are properly educated, they must walk in that word regardless of what others may think.

Job explains further what happens to those that do not choose life, Job 21:20-26.

²⁰His eyes shall see his destruction, and he shall drink of the wrath of the Almighty. ²¹For what pleasure hath he in his house after him, when the number of his months is cut off in the midst? ²²Shall any teach God knowledge? seeing he judgeth those that are high. ²³One dieth in his full strength, being wholly at ease and quiet. ²⁴His breasts are full of milk, and his bones are moistened with marrow. ²⁵And another dieth in the bitterness of his soul, and never eateth with pleasure. ²⁶They shall lie down alike in the dust, and the worms shall cover them.

This is what will eventually happens to those of God that choose other than the ways of God.  It is not what many would like, but God has warned the believer.  It can be avoided, when one willingly walks in God’s ways.

Job confronts his friends in the next verse, Job 21:27.

²⁷Behold, I know your thoughts, and the devices which ye wrongfully imagine against me.

Job has listen to his so-called friends, each of them at least twice.  He has careful considered what they have said.  Not that he agreed, but he has taken time to understand their position.  That is what this chapter is about, it is their contradictory understanding of God.  Job is informing them that they are wrong.

Job is correct, but his friends are unwilling to consider Job’s position.  They are like so many who are lockstep in their doctrine and do not even consider the possibility of being wrong.  Considering another’s position does not mean one is unsure of themselves.  Quite the contrary, only when one is confident of their position can they consider what others state and honestly compare.

Next, Job will question his friend’s statements regarding him.  Job is going to confront them in a way he had not previously, Job 21:28.

²⁸For ye say, Where is the house of the prince? and where are the dwelling places of the wicked?

He asks where are these wicked that they refer to.  They make comments; however, there are no examples of what they profess.  It is merely some doctrine they believe that has no substance in reality.

This is no different than what many claim today.  They put forth doctrines to appeal to the masses; for example, the prosperity doctrine.  People flock to this doctrine, because many are looking for an easy way to alleviate the problems of today.  If only one had money, it would solve all their problems.  They could pay off their bills, would not have to worry about a job, they could basically do what they want.  There are many problems with this doctrine, not the least of which, it is absolutely counter to the Bible, 1 Timothy 6:5-6.

⁵Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself. ⁶But godliness with contentment is great gain.

Paul is telling us to stay away from those that would profess gain is godliness.  There is no absolute relationship between being wealthy and being righteous.  One who is righteous could be wealthy, but wealth is no indication of our closeness to God.  We should pursue being content, as Paul stated of himself in Philippians 4:11-13.

¹¹Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. ¹²I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. ¹³I can do all things through Messiah which strengtheneth me.

It should never be that, if I have money, I am satisfied.  It should be no matter the condition, I am content, because I have God and God has me.

Job’s friends, like many, are looking to increase the number of their followers and tithe dollars.  One should never follow a doctrine because it makes them feel good or because others believe in it.  What one does in life, they should do, because it is right in the eyes of God.

Job 21:29

²⁹Have ye not asked them that go by the way? and do ye not know their tokens,

Job questions if they have any proof for what they believe.  Job now explains why often the wicked do not see harm in the day they are living, Job 21:30-31.

³⁰That the wicked is reserved to the day of destruction? they shall be brought forth to the day of wrath. ³¹Who shall declare his way to his face? and who shall repay him what he hath done?

When Job speaks of the day of destruction or wrath, Job is referring to the day of the Lord or the millennium.  I have previously discussed the resurrection of the just and unjust.  This is when the wicked come back for Judgment Day.  It is then that their fate will be decided.  Until that time, they are not subject to the judgment of God, only the world system.

God does not overly concern himself with the wicked.  Scriptures are very clear God is blind to the wicked, they are dead in sin.  The only time the wicked are of consequence is when they interfere with the plan of God.  The wicked’s time has not yet come.

Job 21:32-33

³²Yet shall he be brought to the grave, and shall remain in the tomb. ³³The clods of the valley shall be sweet unto him, and every man shall draw after him, as there are innumerable before him.

The grave is sweet because judgment has not come.  It seems as if the wicked have gotten away with not following God.  This is not so, their time has not come.  Job is building a case that what happens to the wicked is unlike what has happened to him.  Job stated that there is a day for the wicked.  As proclaimed in Proverbs 16:4

⁴The Lord hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.

Further, Job is telling them that the wicked are followed and admired by many for their wealth.  This was clear in the discussion of Psalm 73, Asaph initially thought that his life was in vain.  Asaph had gone without to serve God.  Many have done that too, but one should not despair, 1 Corinthians 15:58.

⁵⁸Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

What one does in God is never in vain.  However, in the future, many may discover that much of their works were dead works.  One needs to pursue God as He would have us pursue Him.  One needs to ensure that what they are doing is of God and is not of themselves.  One can only do that when they know His Word and His Spirit.

To this very day, many have scorned and scoffed at Job.  Remember that God praises Job in the beginning and the end.  If one is looking for the praises of men, their life will be less than what they had desired.  Paul speaks of why Job suffered at the hands of man in 2 Timothy 3:12.

¹²Yea, and all that will live godly in Messiah Yeshua shall suffer persecution.

Job was a righteous man rather than wicked.  That is the premises of the book, that is why God offered up Job.  Had Job not been as God stated in the beginning, there would be no Book of Job.  Job, who followed God, was persecuted for his righteousness.  His friends were just waiting for the opportunity.

Job 21:34

³⁴How then comfort ye me in vain, seeing in your answers there remaineth falsehood?

One needs to see beyond the words of Job’s friends to their true motive.  We must ask ourselves, were Job’s friends there to help and provide compassion?  Or, were they taking advantage of a situation?  Job, who was greatly respected, fell on hard times.  Did his friends see an opportunity to displace Job as the man of wisdom?  Were they attempting to draw his disciples after themselves?

His friends, who claimed that they came to comfort Job, conspired against him from the beginning.  They had decided even before they had arrived, Eliphaz stated in Job 5:27.

²⁷Lo this, we have searched it, so it is; hear it, and know thou it for thy good.

It seems as if they had waited for an opportunity to denounce Job.  This is why they could provide no answers, they never intended to comfort Job.

As one ponders the true motive of Job’s friends, we ought to take a look at ourselves and ask the very same questions.  What motivates us in this lifetime?  Are we like Job in Job 2:10?

¹⁰But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.

Do we seek good in our life to serve ourselves or do we seek to serve God?  Do we serve the seen or the unseen?

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