April 8, 2024

What Do I Do When I Feel Like the Wicked Aren't Being Punished?

Job 21

Andrew Brinkman
Monday's Devo

April 8, 2024

Monday's Devo

April 8, 2024

Monday's Devo

April 8, 2024

Monday's Devo

April 8, 2024

Big Book Idea

God is at work even when we can't see it.

Key Verse | Job 21:17

"How often is it that the lamp of the wicked is put out?
That their calamity comes upon them?
That God distributes pains in his anger?"

Job 21

Job Replies: The Wicked Do Prosper

1 Then Job answered and said:

2  “Keep listening to my words,
    and let this be your comfort.
3  Bear with me, and I will speak,
    and after I have spoken, mock on.
4  As for me, is my complaint against man?
    Why should I not be impatient?
5  Look at me and be appalled,
    and lay your hand over your mouth.
6  When I remember, I am dismayed,
    and shuddering seizes my flesh.
7  Why do the wicked live,
    reach old age, and grow mighty in power?
8  Their offspring are established in their presence,
    and their descendants before their eyes.
9  Their houses are safe from fear,
    and no rod of God is upon them.
10  Their bull breeds without fail;
    their cow calves and does not miscarry.
11  They send out their little boys like a flock,
    and their children dance.
12  They sing to the tambourine and the lyre
    and rejoice to the sound of the pipe.
13  They spend their days in prosperity,
    and in peace they go down to Sheol.
14  They say to God, ‘Depart from us!
    We do not desire the knowledge of your ways.
15  What is the Almighty, that we should serve him?
    And what profit do we get if we pray to him?’
16  Behold, is not their prosperity in their hand?
    The counsel of the wicked is far from me.

17  How often is it that the lamp of the wicked is put out?
    That their calamity comes upon them?
    That God 1 21:17 Hebrew he distributes pains in his anger?
18  That they are like straw before the wind,
    and like chaff that the storm carries away?
19  You say, ‘God stores up their iniquity for their children.’
    Let him pay it out to them, that they may know it.
20  Let their own eyes see their destruction,
    and let them drink of the wrath of the Almighty.
21  For what do they care for their houses after them,
    when the number of their months is cut off?
22  Will any teach God knowledge,
    seeing that he judges those who are on high?
23  One dies in his full vigor,
    being wholly at ease and secure,
24  his pails 2 21:24 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain full of milk
    and the marrow of his bones moist.
25  Another dies in bitterness of soul,
    never having tasted of prosperity.
26  They lie down alike in the dust,
    and the worms cover them.

27  Behold, I know your thoughts
    and your schemes to wrong me.
28  For you say, ‘Where is the house of the prince?
    Where is the tent in which the wicked lived?’
29  Have you not asked those who travel the roads,
    and do you not accept their testimony
30  that the evil man is spared in the day of calamity,
    that he is rescued in the day of wrath?
31  Who declares his way to his face,
    and who repays him for what he has done?
32  When he is carried to the grave,
    watch is kept over his tomb.
33  The clods of the valley are sweet to him;
    all mankind follows after him,
    and those who go before him are innumerable.
34  How then will you comfort me with empty nothings?
    There is nothing left of your answers but falsehood.”

Footnotes

[1] 21:17 Hebrew he
[2] 21:24 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain
Table of Contents
Introduction to Job

Introduction to Job

Timeline

Author and Date

The unknown Israelite author of this book presents Job as a person living in Uz (see note on 1:1). Job’s godliness (1:1) matches the ideals of Israelite wisdom literature. He clearly knows Yahweh (1:21). The events of the book seem to be set in the times of the patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob).

Theological Themes

The book of Job concerns itself with the question of faith in a sovereign God. Can God be trusted? Is he good and just in his rule of the world? The book shows that the reasons for human suffering often remain a secret to human beings.

In the book of Job, God seems both too close and too far away. On the one hand, Job complains that God is watching him every moment so that he cannot even swallow his spit (7:19). On the other hand, Job finds God elusive (9:11). Though God is greatly concerned about humans, he does not always answer their most agonizing questions.

At the same time, Job’s friends offer no real help. They come to “comfort” him (2:11), but Job ends up declaring them “miserable comforters” who would console him “with empty nothings” (21:34). These friends represent an oversimplified view of faith. They think that all human troubles are divine punishments for wrongdoing. Their “comfort” consists largely of urging Job to identify his sin and repent of it. These friends are negative examples of how to comfort those who are suffering.

The book illustrates that one does not need to fully understand God’s will in order to be faithful while suffering. Those who suffer need not be afraid to express to God their confusion and questions.

Purpose

The book of Job was written to those who struggle with the question of how God can be good when the world is filled with suffering.

The author does not provide a formal defense of God’s justice. Rather, as Job’s friends offer their inadequate answers, the author shows how their reasoning fails. Then, in chs. 38–41, the Lord speaks in his own defense, bringing Job to fuller understanding (ch. 42).

Even during his suffering and confusion, before God finally speaks, Job can triumphantly declare, “I know that my Redeemer lives” (19:25).

Outline

  1. Prologue: Job’s Character and the Circumstances of His Test (1:1–2:13)
  2. Dialogue: Job, His Suffering, and His Standing before God (3:1–42:6)
    1. Job: despair for the day of his birth (3:1–26)
    2. The friends and Job: can Job be right before God? (4:1–25:6)
      1. First cycle (4:1–14:22)
      2. Second cycle (15:1–21:34)
      3. Third cycle (22:1–25:6)
    3. Job: the power of God, place of wisdom, and path of integrity (26:1–31:40)
    4. Elihu: suffering as a discipline (32:1–37:24)
    5. Challenge: the Lord answers Job (38:1–42:6)
  3. Epilogue: The Vindication, Intercession, and Restoration of Job (42:7–17)
The Global Message of Job

The Global Message of Job

Universal Questions

With its story of one man’s life and suffering, the book of Job raises universal questions. Why do people suffer, especially godly people? Where is God in suffering? Can God be trusted amid suffering? Job’s friends try to answer such questions with superficial and simplistic solutions, eventually earning God’s rebuke (Job 42:7–9).

Ultimately we learn from Job that we can hope steadfastly in our sovereign God. Instead of providing easy answers to hard questions, this incomparably glorious, all-knowing, and almighty God presents to people in all places and in all times the simplest, most powerful, and most universal answer to these questions. God’s answer to human suffering has everything to do with his own infinite goodness and care for his creation.

Suffering in a Fallen World

In the life of Job we see the breadth and depth of human suffering. We see suffering in health (Job 2:7), suffering in the loss of property (1:14–17), and suffering in the tragic death of family members (1:18–19). In Job we also listen in on a discussion in the heavenly courtroom between God and Satan (1:6–12; 2:1–7), in which God delights in the upright life of Job. There we are given a window into the normally invisible reasons for our trials and suffering.

Sin and suffering. Suffering is universal, though the kind of suffering differs from circumstance to circumstance. Sometimes we suffer because of our own sin. There is no such thing as sin without consequences. Sometimes God himself directly chastises his people for their sins. However, Job’s friends are wrong to assume that his suffering is a direct result of disobedience (Job 8:4), and it would likewise be wrong to conclude that all or even most suffering in the world today is divine punishment for specific sins. The speeches of Eliphaz (chs. 4; 5; 15; 22), Bildad (chs. 8; 18; 25), and Zophar (chs. 11; 20) reflect such wrong assumptions.

Common suffering. Another type of suffering is what we might call “common suffering.” This is suffering that affects all people without distinction. It is simply the result of living in a fallen world. It includes health problems from colds to cancer. It includes bad weather, earthquakes, and typhoons. It includes financial struggles, and even death itself. Each tragic incident in Job’s life includes an element of this common suffering.

Godliness and suffering. Not only are godly people afflicted with suffering just as others are, but the godly experience some kinds of suffering due specifically to their godliness (Matt. 10:24–33; Acts 14:22; 2 Tim. 3:12). Faithfulness to Christ will bring insult and at times persecution—suffering that could be avoided if we were not disciples of Christ. We see this principle in Job, for it was precisely Job’s uprightness that prompted God to single him out to Satan and then led Satan to seek to afflict him (Job 1:8–12).

Devastating suffering. Job’s suffering is uniquely profound and painful. Some suffering, we learn, defies any category. We discover in Job that Satan has a hand in some of the suffering of God’s people (Job 1:6–12; 2:1–7; compare 2 Cor. 12:1–10). But even such demonically instigated suffering is not outside of God’s sovereignty. Nor should our focus be on Satan when we suffer but rather on persisting in steadfast faith amid such God-ordained pain. At the very least a lesson to be learned from Job is that our vision and insight into suffering is severely limited. What is not limited, however, is God’s perfect understanding and sovereign control over every event in our lives. In the “Yahweh speeches” of Job (chs. 38–41), God does not engage Job in the details of his questions and complaints. Rather, God reminds Job that God is God and Job is not. God laid the foundation of the earth (38:4); he is God over the seas (38:8, 16), over the stars (38:31–33), and over every creature (39:1–30; 40:15–41:34).

A Global Message of Comfort and Hope

The almighty, all-good God. Despite its focus on challenges and sufferings, the book of Job speaks a message of great hope to the world. We live in a world longing for comfort and hope, and such hope is found in the sovereign God who sees, who is good, and who is faithful. We are not victims of random fate or uncontrolled circumstances. We are loved faithfully and passionately by a sovereign God who works all things for our good (Rom. 8:28). The suffering global church can take comfort amid suffering, knowing that God is pleased with our faithfulness to him, even as God expressed delight in “my servant Job” (Job 1:6–8; 2:3). James 5:11 reminds us that God will fulfill his good purposes and is indeed compassionate and merciful toward his people.

No neat formulas. Living an upright life of faith in God does not exempt us from suffering. This was the fundamental misunderstanding of Job’s friends (Job 8:6) and the reason that their “comfort” was so “miserable” (16:2). Indeed, in Job and in all of Scripture we see that suffering is a part of the experience of godly people, and that suffering is also a means for our sanctification. Suffering is a blessing as through it we learn that God’s ways and purposes are much greater than we can know (chs. 40–41). His purposes and faithfulness are much greater than the achievement of ease and a comfortable life; the global church must not make an idol out of worldly comfort and earthly abundance.

The sufferings of the Savior. Job confessed faith in the living Redeemer (Job 19:25). That Redeemer would one day come and suffer for us on a cross. Here we have yet another kind of suffering, the atoning sufferings of Christ. He suffered for our salvation, bearing the penalty for our sin. It is also our great privilege to share in his suffering (2 Cor. 1:5; 2 Tim. 1:8; 2:3; 1 Pet. 4:13). These are not the sufferings of health problems or bad weather or the consequences of our own folly. These are sufferings that flow from our union with and loyalty to Christ. There is a global attack on the righteous, but God will continue to provide sufficient grace to his people (2 Cor. 12:9).He will grow both his people and his kingdom through such suffering as it is endured in faith.

Our Intercession and Mission of Hope

Though God’s righteous anger burned against the three friends of Job, their folly was forgiven in response to the righteous intervention of Job’s prayers (Job 42:7–9). What then is the Christian response to those who suffer—and to those who cause suffering?

We are to intercede for the world, both in prayer and in life. We are to “comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God” (2 Cor. 1:4). This comfort must find expression in our ministry and service to those in need both where we live as well as around the world—to orphans, widows, and all those who suffer.

This comfort is most gloriously and eternally known as the church ministers the gospel of new hope in Christ to the world—to the lost, to the downtrodden, and even to our enemies (Matt. 5:44). For the greatest suffering in this world is not the loss of property or even family; it is to be lost in sin, without the living Redeemer.

Proverbs Fact #1: Wisdom

Fact: Wisdom

Wisdom is a key term in Job, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes. The word can mean “skilled at making sound decisions in life.” Proverbs 9:10 states that “the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.”

Job Fact #1: Comfort

Fact: Comfort

Comfort is a key word in the book of Job. When faced with personal tragedies, Job receives no comfort from his friends (16:2). But when God answers him (see chs. 38–41), he finds the comfort he needs.

Job Fact #7: Three cycles of conversations

Fact: Three cycles of conversations

The book of Job includes three cycles of conversations in which the friends of Job offer their comfort and advice, and then listen as Job responds. The first cycle covers chs. 4–14.

Job Fact #15: Elihu

Fact: Elihu

Elihu is the only character in the book of Job with a Hebrew name.

Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar

Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar

After the Lord allowed Satan to afflict Job, three of his friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, came to comfort him. However, all three wrongly assumed that Job’s suffering was the result of some hidden sin. Each man urged Job to repent so that God would have mercy on him. But Job insisted that he was innocent. Although it is true that some suffering is a result of sin, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar oversimplified this truth. They believed that all troubles are punishments for wrongdoing, which was not the case for Job. The wrong actions of Job’s three friends should remind believers today to be wise and sensitive when dealing with people in distress. The Lord rebuked Job’s three friends and instructed Job to pray for them. (Job 42:7–9)

Study Notes

Job 21:7–16 Job argues that, contrary to what his friends have been saying (e.g., 18:5–21), the wicked often prosper and their offspring flourish (compare Psalm 73).

Study Notes

Job 21:22 Since God is the judge of those who are on high, who are therefore unseen, the friends should be all the more careful about claiming to understand what God’s purposes are, based merely on what they see on earth.

Study Notes

Job 21:33 all mankind follows after him. Many people are fooled by the external successes of the evil man. They follow his example in life and honor him when he dies.

Study Notes

Job 15:1–21:34 Second Cycle. The arguments of each participant harden in the second round of speeches. Once again the three friends say that Job is suffering because of his sin. Job refuses to accept that explanation. He sees the wicked not as sufferers but as those who prosper despite their godlessness.

Job 21:1–34 Job’s response closes the second cycle of the dialogue with his friends.

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Dive Deeper | Job 21

You might have heard or asked the question, "Why do bad things happen to good people?" But I more often struggle with the inverse question, "Why do good things happen to bad people?"

Seeing the worldly success of nonbelievers often builds up in me a baseless bitterness against the Lord. After all, I've held up my end of the bargain with God in giving my time, talent, and treasure. Shouldn't I be better off than those who "do not desire the knowledge of [God's] ways" (Job 21:14)? I struggle to understand the "return on investment" of my obedience when those who live in disobedience are experiencing the prosperity that I desire.

In this passage, we see Job process through a similar struggle. He responds to his friend Zophar's assertion that the wicked and righteous will get what they deserve in this life by asking, "How often is it that the lamp of the wicked is put out?" (Job 21:17a). He calls Zophar's assertions "empty nothings" and nothing but "falsehood" (Job 21:34). His own experience of seeing the wicked prosper in this life (Job 21:7-13) causes him to conclude that, while the wicked may have experienced a more prosperous and comfortable life, they will die just the same as the righteous (Job 21:26).

Having the privilege of access to the whole Bible, we can take comfort in the fact that every person will stand judgment for their actions on earth (Hebrews 9:27; Revelation 20:11-15). Therefore, we know that one day the wicked will be punished, with eternal separation from a loving God. We know that God is perfectly just, so we can trust that He "will not let the guilty go unpunished" (Exodus 34:6-7).

In moments when I don't understand the prosperity of the wicked, I often remind myself of the following three truths:

1. The wicked will be punished one day.

2. I also deserved to be punished, yet was redeemed by Christ's blood. 

3. Obedience is not determined by the outcome.

This month's memory verse

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

– Galatians 5:22-23

Discussion Questions

1. To what extent do you subscribe to the idea that the wicked deserve punishment and the righteous deserve blessings? 

2. How do you balance desiring justice for the wicked while also desiring that the wicked be reconciled to God? 

3. Recall a time when you did not understand what God was doing. What does Job's response reveal about his trust in God? How can you apply Job's insights to your own life?

As we gear up to release even more features for Join The Journey in 2025, our staff team, unfortunately, no longer has the margin to continue to support the comment functionality. We have big things in store for Join The Journey 2025. Stay tuned!

MS

Michael Scaman

William Wilberforce might make a statement as to why he endured much opposition like Job in (chapter 21) Dear Friends at the British and Foreign Bible Society, I trust this letter finds you well and in good spirits. It is with great pleasure and gratitude that I take this opportunity to extend my warmest greetings to each member of your esteemed society. As Job would say " Bear with me, and I will speak, and after I have spoken, mock on." I am persisting despite conventional wisdom given in society and too often even in the church of our day. Despite the darkness during the monumental eclipse of clarity in seeing things aright, I am determined to persist until I succeed in abolishing the slave trade. You may choose to look the other way, but you can never say again that you did not know. In the face of injustice and suffering, I refuse to accept empty platitudes and falsehoods. Like Job, I question why the wicked prosper while the righteous suffer. I see their abundance and apparent peace, despite their wickedness, and I cannot reconcile this with conventional wisdom. I challenge those who claim divine justice, for the fate of the wicked does not align with their supposed punishment. Job's courage to question and his refusal to accept simplistic explanations inspire me to seek deeper truths and advocate for justice, even in the face of adversity. Just as Ezekiel considered Job as real history and something to learn from so should we in Ezekiel 14, verses 14 and 20. In verse 14, the prophet stated: “Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness, says the Lord God.”. Just as James in James 5:10-11 considered Job as real history and something to learn from so should we. James said “My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and patience. Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord—that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.” There are two great objects before me: the abolition of the slave trade and the reformation of manners With the Spirit and the encouragement of the scirptures I and we will strive towards these ends, like Job, despite relentless opposition. Yours ever, William Wilberforce (as if by)
GJ

greg jones

I really appreciate how Michael Scaman puts parts of scripture into other people’s words. For a comment I’m going to badly write out Job and I having a conversation concerning this part of the larger conversation he’s having with his friends. Sometimes it helps me better hear some little thing being said when I put myself into a conversation. “Keep listening to my words,
 and let this be your comfort.” Oh man. I caught that. “As for me, is my complaint against man?” I don’t know Job. I would say yes, and no. “Why should I not be impatient? Look at me and be appalled, and lay your hand over your mouth. When I remember, I am dismayed, and shuddering seizes my flesh.” Job, I would say you make a good case to have a legitimate complaint against God. I mean I think God is big enough to understand a complaint we might have against him on our part. 
    “They spend their days in prosperity, and in peace they go down to Sheol. They say to God, ‘Depart from us! We do not desire the knowledge of your ways.” Hey Job, I don’t hear you naming names but…You keep describing God’s ways concerning you and it seems to make your buddies uncomfortable. You said earlier “find comfort in this” and you’re talking about the prosperity of the wicked. So, ironically, for that part it sounds like you have a complaint with your friends too. What’s that Job? yes I’ve read chapter 42. And yes I’m aware of the conversation between satan and God in chapters one and two. “What is the Almighty, that we should serve him?” Yes Job. It is ironic. That does describe the accusation against you back in the first two chapters. But how do you… “And what profit do we get if we pray to him?” Yes, yes, Job, I am familiar with Job 42:7-8, and yes that’s ironic also. But how do you know what chapters 1, and 2 say and what 42 will say while you’re speaking in this chapter? Wait Job I didn’t hear…you say that again?…Well it’s pretty important to some people. “How often is it that the lamp of the wicked is put out? That their calamity comes upon them? That God distributes pains in his anger?” Job I don’t have any idea how often God puts the lamp of the wicked out so that their calamity comes upon them or how often God distributes pain in his anger. Ok, ok I’ll read it. Ahem. After the Lord had said these things to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has. So now take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly. You have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has.” So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite did what the Lord told them; and the Lord accepted Job’s prayer. Job 42:7-9 Yeah, Job I see your point. In the case of your friends God was angry at them but nothing happened. At least as the result of God’s anger anyway. And in your case God wasn’t angry at you and I see what happened to you…You had no input on what transpired in your own life, and yet, you had a direct input on what transpired in the lives of your friends when it concerned God’s anger towards them. Yeah Job. Man after talking I’m just thinking about three questions I read in a devotional today and imaging how you might have answered them in a conversation.
SB

Sue Bohlin

Thanks, Andrew. I recently saw a meme that said, "Why do bad things happen to good people? That only happened one time, and He volunteered for it." BAM. In this chapter, Job pleads for his friends to LISTEN to him. They have talked and talked and talked, completely sure they are right and he is wrong, but nothing he has said seems to have any impact on them. That is such a hurtful place to be. I recently attended a "Soul Care" training taught by a professional counselor with deep theological education, and one of the points he made several times was how important it is to ask questions and listen well instead of jumping to conclusions when trying to minister to people--especially hurting people. I notice that none of Job's friends ask him questions. They assume they are reading Job's horrific, trauma-drenched situation right because of their presuppositions. Another big point the counselor made was that we are ALL impacted, every square inch of us, by sin, and one thing sin does is to blind us to how things really are. We need to respectfully and gently approach every conversation--again, especially with hurting people--with an awareness that we don't know our own blindness so we don't know where we're missing the true picture. We NEED to rely on the Holy Spirit, who sees everything rightly and clearly and accurately.
AL

Amy Lowther

1. If the wicked get punished, they receive structure and positive support to learn new skills which will be more effective in completing tasks than those associated to being wicked. Practicing what is right and practicing what is morally correct can bring blessings. Anyone can be wicked and anyone can receive blessings. Everyone deserves the best and should do their best as God prefers. 2. It takes believing in God and valuing His ways to see the wicked for what they really do and for what they really need. Wicked people can be extreme and overwhelming, but with opinions aside and God’s Ways prioritized, wicked people can be understood. 3. Job knows what he did and what God is capable of doing. It is important to trust God even when things are wicked. God helps everyone in positive ways or helps move everyone in the right direction. Andrew - Thank you for sharing your ideas. Thank you for your honesty is saying, “Seeing the worldly success of nonbelievers often builds up in me a baseless bitterness against the Lord”. Skip the bitterness. Return to the Lord. See and understand the nonbelievers for who He made them to be. The Lord is at work whether anyone believes in Him or not. He can help all of us when we ask Him.