Job 21 – God’s dealing can come in different ways

Zophar seemed to have adopted the popular philosophy that suffering belongs to all sinners and prosperity to all righteous man. In what he said to Job, he was actually propagating this viewpoint. Job repudiated this thinking. It’s true that the wicked are destroyed by their sin yet there are some who seem to experience otherwise. Job, in verses 6-16, insisted that he had seen wicked men flourish, their stock increasing and their children established. They were not religious and God was never part of their lives, yet their pleasure seemed to be abounding. And they died in peace. This however, was not always the case. In verses 17-21, Job also had seen other wicked utterly destroyed. Job’s point was this: the experiences of life indicate no set pattern is cast in stone. Thus, it was wrong for Zophar to typify every case so definitively. Just as wicked men do not always suffer, neither will good man always prosper. In verses 22-34, Job set out to remind Zophar and his other two friends that they were not wiser than God. Therefore, they should not impose their thinking on God. Neither should they so flippantly propagate their viewpoint and insist that God has only one fixed way of dealing with men.  

What principles can we glean for our life in this Job 21? We should never be weary to stand for God and the truth. When we align our allegiance with God we have the best ally in our life. Here we are taught not to be so dogmatic. We must hold gently and lightly to what we know. Be sure to practice what is clear obediently, but trust God to eventually provide the answer for those experiences we do not clearly comprehend. Be assured that in His time, God will make all things beautiful. Know that the best soul on earth does not automatically preclude hard times. We can never be free from facing tough situations and answering hard questions in life. But we can be sure God’s best gifts are equally open to all, saint and sinners. This is proven in the Gospel. It tells us that God commended His love towards us while we were yet sinners. Someone said it it’s better to be God’s wheat than the devil’s chaff, because bruising may come upon the wheat, but the chaff will be blown away or gathered as fuel for fire.