Job 21 Devotional
by Pastor Mark Hudson
Job is getting more and more frustrated. Now Job is disagreeing with the arguments of his friends. Eliphaz in 15:20ff, Bildad in 18:5ff, and now Zophar in 20:5ff each claim that the wicked do not prosper in this life. Outwardly they suffer loss, are afflicted, and in the end will have nothing. How does Job react to these observations?
Job utterly rejects this type of thinking. In fact, Job’s observation is the exact opposite. He says their business prospers (21:10, 13), his family is stable and growing (21:811). The friends and Job disagree on this point. Job asks his friends, “You think the wicked suffer? Are you serious? They have a great life. They are free from troubles, unlike people like me. I don’t think we are looking at the same universe I am.”
I find verse 5 intriguing. Job says, “Look at me . . . .” Looking at a person tells you a lot about that person. That is why you learn much more about a person when you go to their home compared to just seeing them at work or at church. Sometimes if you are visiting someone in the last weeks of their life, it can be hard to look at them. But this is a good reminder of our calling – to be the body of Christ. Following Jesus Christ is not being in the limelight. Sometimes following Christ is being with the lonely, visiting a hurting friend, or sitting by someone who is experiencing loss.
Elder Brian Berkey and I visited Dallas Powell, a 100 year-old WW II veteran who is in the last days of his time on earth. He is one of the nicest, best men I know. He has a cancerous growth on both sides of his head but the left side is so bad, his entire ear is badged. Prior to that growth being covered is was frankly awful to look at. But that is nothing compared to Dallas having to endure that irritation. Imagine if you lost a child, witnessed the suffering of your spouse for months and months, endure chemo and the nausea the accompanies it, or lost your savings. A listening friend does not change or reverse your present or future. But that person, who looks at you with loving eyes, reminds you of God’s grace in Jesus Christ.
Job would like a little shuddering or a listening ear (21:3, 5, 6). But from his counsellors Job receives only empty nothings or falsehood (21:34). But consider our reaction to Job’s friends. Do we just listen to people and refrain from reading Scripture and pointing them to Christ? Do we always affirm and hold back on correction? This is the fallacy of the either/or. We can’t say a priori or before the event what to say or when to say it. We learn from our mistakes and learn from others. The Holy Spirit works on and in us as we focus on the other person. We don’t write 10 rules for caring for hurting people that work in every situation.
Notice verse 27, “Behold, I know your thoughts and your schemes to wrong me.” I’m not too sure Job is right about this accusation. I doubt the friends intended to wrong Job. On one hand, they travelled to see him, they sat with him for 7 days just quietly observing Job and being with him, and their words were their theology applied to a friend’s plight. They might have thought, “The earlier you repent, the quicker you get your life back.”
On the other hand, they seem to take shots at Job at his most vulnerable time. Read some of these verses in these early chapters to decide if you think they are fair: 4:7; 5:8; 8:2, 13; 11:2, 15:1-6, 9; 18:4. Job tells them to “mock on” in verse 3. When the person that you are trying to comfort says that to you, it is time to take another approach.
Regarding the envying of the wicked. I suppose it is fair to say that we fall into the trap of envying the wicked at one time or another. Sadly, this reveals our wayward heart. We have the words of eternal life, we have hope, forgiveness, and we know and love our Lord Jesus who is the King of kings and Lord of lords. Yet, we look with envy at those who have no hope, are under God’s judgment, in moral darkness, and have no life. While we know there will be tribulation, we don’t like it. When we compare our lives to the ungodly, we think they have it better. Sometimes, it seems that way. But we need the Holy Spirit to bring us back to reality. That in Christ, we have more than we could ever ask for. In Christ we have eternal life, forgiveness of our sins, and the gift of eternal life. And do we actually envy those who are described in 18:15 as “sulfur (or brimstone) is scattered over his habitation?”
Dear Father, we must confess that we envy those You hate. We want to be in their shoes although they have no life and no hope. At times, You can see how little we value You and the cross of our Lord Jesus. We know there is not one way You deal with the unrighteous or the righteous. It is far to complicated and frankly none of our business how You treat anyone else. Our eyes are on the only righteous One ever, Our Lord Jesus. We need to keep our eyes off others and how You treat them and keep our eyes on the Author and Perfecter of our faith. We pray in the name of the One who was treated unjustly for us. Amen.