Job 21-23

Job 21

Job's Response

Why Do the Wicked Have It So Good?

 ^1-3Job replied: "Now listen to me carefully, please listen,
   at least do me the favor of listening.
Put up with me while I have my say—
   then you can mock me later to your heart's content.

 ^4-16 "It's not you I'm complaining to—it's God.
   Is it any wonder I'm getting fed up with his silence?
Take a good look at me. Aren't you appalled by what's happened?
   No! Don't say anything. I can do without your comments.
When I look back, I go into shock,
   my body is racked with spasms.
Why do the wicked have it so good,
   live to a ripe old age and get rich?
They get to see their children succeed,
   get to watch and enjoy their grandchildren.
Their homes are peaceful and free from fear;
   they never experience God's disciplining rod.
Their bulls breed with great vigor
   and their cows calve without fail.
They send their children out to play
   and watch them frolic like spring lambs.
They make music with fiddles and flutes,
   have good times singing and dancing.
They have a long life on easy street,
   and die painlessly in their sleep.
They say to God, 'Get lost!
   We've no interest in you or your ways.
Why should we have dealings with God Almighty?
   What's there in it for us?'
But they're wrong, dead wrong—they're not gods.
   It's beyond me how they can carry on like this!

 ^17-21 "Still, how often does it happen that the wicked fail,
   or disaster strikes,
   or they get their just deserts?
How often are they blown away by bad luck?
   Not very often.
You might say, 'God is saving up the punishment for their children.'
   I say, 'Give it to them right now so they'll know what
      they've done!'
They deserve to experience the effects of their evil,
   feel the full force of God's wrath firsthand.
What do they care what happens to their families
   after they're safely tucked away in the grave?

Fancy Funerals with All the Trimmings

 ^22-26 "But who are we to tell God how to run his affairs?
   He's dealing with matters that are way over our heads.
Some people die in the prime of life,
   with everything going for them—
   fat and sassy.
Others die bitter and bereft,
   never getting a taste of happiness.
They're laid out side by side in the cemetery,
   where the worms can't tell one from the other.

 ^27-33 "I'm not deceived. I know what you're up to,
   the plans you're cooking up to bring me down.
Naively you claim that the castles of tyrants fall to pieces,
   that the achievements of the wicked collapse.
Have you ever asked world travelers how they see it?
   Have you not listened to their stories
Of evil men and women who got off scot-free,
   who never had to pay for their wickedness?
Did anyone ever confront them with their crimes?
   Did they ever have to face the music?
Not likely—they're given fancy funerals
   with all the trimmings,
Gently lowered into expensive graves,
   with everyone telling lies about how wonderful they were.

 ³⁴ "So how do you expect me to get any comfort from your nonsense?
   Your so-called comfort is a tissue of lies."

Job 22

Eliphaz Attacks Job—The Third Round

Come to Terms with God

 ^1-11 Once again Eliphaz the Temanite took up his theme:

"Are any of us strong enough to give God a hand,
   or smart enough to give him advice?
So what if you were righteous—would God Almighty even notice?
   Even if you gave a perfect performance, do you think
      he'd applaud?
Do you think it's because he cares about your purity
   that he's disciplining you, putting you on the spot?
Hardly! It's because you're a first-class moral failure,
   because there's no end to your sins.
When people came to you for help,
   you took the shirts off their backs, exploited their helplessness.
You wouldn't so much as give a drink to the thirsty,
   or food, not even a scrap, to the hungry.
And there you sat, strong and honored by everyone,
   surrounded by immense wealth!
You turned poor widows away from your door;
   heartless, you crushed orphans.
Now you're the one trapped in terror, paralyzed by fear.
   Suddenly the tables have turned!
How do you like living in the dark, sightless,
   up to your neck in flood waters?

 ^12-14 "You agree, don't you, that God is in charge?
   He runs the universe—just look at the stars!
Yet you dare raise questions: 'What does God know?
   From that distance and darkness, how can he judge?
He roams the heavens wrapped in clouds,
   so how can he see us?'

 ^15-18 "Are you going to persist in that tired old line
   that wicked men and women have always used?
Where did it get them? They died young,
   flash floods sweeping them off to their doom.
They told God, 'Get lost!
   What good is God Almighty to us?'
And yet it was God who gave them everything they had.
   It's beyond me how they can carry on like this!

 ^19-20 "Good people see bad people crash, and call for a celebration.
   Relieved, they crow,
'At last! Our enemies—wiped out.
   Everything they had and stood for is up in smoke!'

 ^21-25 "Give in to God, come to terms with him
   and everything will turn out just fine.
Let him tell you what to do;
   take his words to heart.
Come back to God Almighty
   and he'll rebuild your life.
Clean house of everything evil.
   Relax your grip on your money
   and abandon your gold-plated luxury.
God Almighty will be your treasure,
   more wealth than you can imagine.

 ^26-30 "You'll take delight in God, the Mighty One,
   and look to him joyfully, boldly.
You'll pray to him and he'll listen;
   he'll help you do what you've promised.
You'll decide what you want and it will happen;
   your life will be bathed in light.
To those who feel low you'll say, 'Chin up! Be brave!'
   and God will save them.
Yes, even the guilty will escape,
   escape through God's grace in your life."

Job 23

Job's Defense

I'm Completely in the Dark

 ^1-7 Job replied:

"I'm not letting up—I'm standing my ground.
   My complaint is legitimate.
God has no right to treat me like this—
   it isn't fair!
If I knew where on earth to find him,
   I'd go straight to him.
I'd lay my case before him face-to-face,
   give him all my arguments firsthand.
I'd find out exactly what he's thinking,
   discover what's going on in his head.
Do you think he'd dismiss me or bully me?
   No, he'd take me seriously.
He'd see a straight-living man standing before him;
   my Judge would acquit me for good of all charges.

 ^8-9 "I travel East looking for him—I find no one;
   then West, but not a trace;
I go North, but he's hidden his tracks;
   then South, but not even a glimpse.

 ^10-12 "But he knows where I am and what I've done.
   He can cross-examine me all he wants, and I'll pass the test
      with honors.
I've followed him closely, my feet in his footprints,
   not once swerving from his way.
I've obeyed every word he's spoken,
   and not just obeyed his advice—I've treasured it.

 ^13-17 "But he is singular and sovereign. Who can argue with him?
   He does what he wants, when he wants to.
He'll complete in detail what he's decided about me,
   and whatever else he determines to do.
Is it any wonder that I dread meeting him?
   Whenever I think about it, I get scared all over again.
God makes my heart sink!
   God Almighty gives me the shudders!
I'm completely in the dark,
   I can't see my hand in front of my face."

(Job 21-23, The Message)

Finally, after beating about the bush for all this time, Eliphaz comes out and says straight-out what he, Bildad, and Zophar have been implying: "Do you think it's because he cares about your purity that he's disciplining you, putting you on the spot? Hardly! It's because you're a first-class moral failure, because there's no end to your sins." (22:4-5) Ouch. Eliphaz was convinced he was speaking the truth (he wasn't), but he certainly didn't speak it in love. Even though he knew Job to be a good man whose heart thirsted for God, he was unable to let that evidence penetrate–never mind contradict–his tightly held belief that God materially rewards the righteous and punishes the unrighteous. Period. Without exception. Instead he impugned his friend's character. I can only imagine the betrayal Job must have felt.

Even though Job was confident that he had lived in obedience to God, he still trembled at the prospect of standing before Him (23:13-17)–a good reminder, I think, that, though He created us for relationship with Him, He is infinitely more holy than any of us will ever be this side of Heaven.