Monday, March 9, 2015

Job 21: Why Do Good Things Happen To Bad People?

Job's complaint in chapter 21 is a meditation on the inverse of his own situation.  While he, a righteous man, has undergone terrible suffering, Job is instead grappling with the problem of why it seems the wicked so often prosper.

In the first few verses, Job asks for a "time out" from his friends' badgering.  He knows that he won't convince them; all he's asking for is to be heard.

Then Job launches into his bitter reflection that the wicked do not suffer enough in this world.  (He is somewhat of an expert on suffering by this point!)  Job claims to have seen evil people happy and content with life, even enjoying families and riches all the way to the grave.  Where is this "divine justice upon the unrighteous" that Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar have been going on and on about?  Job hasn't seen it!

Even so, Job has refused to join the wicked.  He knows their prosperity does not lie in their own hands (vs. 16).  Nevertheless, he claims to have refuted the case of his three so-called friends (vs. 34)!


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