54. Job Is Just (2)

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Hymns: RHC 360 My God, Is Any Hour So Sweet, 371 Sweet Hour of Prayer, 3339 When I Fear My Feaith Will Fail

Job 21:27-34

27Behold, I know your thoughts, and the devices which ye wrongfully imagine against me. 28For ye say, Where is the house of the prince? and where are the dwelling places of the wicked? 29Have ye not asked them that go by the way? and do ye not know their tokens, 30That the wicked is reserved to the day of destruction? they shall be brought forth to the day of wrath. 31Who shall declare his way to his face? and who shall repay him what he hath done? 32Yet shall he be brought to the grave, and shall remain in the tomb. 33The clods of the valley shall be sweet unto him, and every man shall draw after him, as there are innumerable before him. 34How then comfort ye me in vain, seeing in your answers there remaineth falsehood? (Job 21:27-34 KJV)

God Is Just (2)

OUTLINE

  • The Wicked’s Apparent Prosperity (v17-26)
  • The Wicked’s Certain Judgment (v27-34)

INTRODUCTION

Recall we said last week, Job’s mental condition is well-described by the Apostle Paul by Romans 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

His outward condition of physical misery does not rob him of his peace with God. 

Romans 5:2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Though the outward man perishes, the inward man, the man Job at his core, is renewed day by day through the trace of God. Looking to the time when his change will come.

Romans 5:3-5 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

Job is thriving in his rebuttal of his friends wrongful assessment of God’s working and providence.

In the Christian’s life, we are to expect tribulation. Tribulation produces in him steadfast endurance. Troubles, sufferings, tears, affliction and distress are a part of this earthly life. We cannot avoid it. It is allowed by God in His sovereign will to mould us that it may bring forth godly virtues.

One of the fruits of tribulation is that it produces this spiritual fruit called patience. Tribulation builds Christian character. We do not welcome tribulation, humanly speaking. As we think of the emotion, mental, physical suffering that it brings, often we shudder. We look at the life of those who went through tribulation, we acknowledge it is tough going.

The word “patience” describes a bearing up under, patience, endurance as to things or circumstances that seemed overbearing. It can mean a prolonged sickness, having to care for a loved who is not well, loss of job, harsh working conditions. While we are, under those circumstances, we struggle.

The Christian virtue of patience describes perseverance, of steadfast endurance. Not giving up in adversity. The book of psalms is the Bible’s prayer book. It describes the many struggles of the psalmist through the vicissitudes of life. How he overcame and had victory through these prolonged hours of tribulation is meaningful study. The overarching lesson is to trust God though there seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel. This is a chorus for your encouragement.

Only Jesus, Only Jesus

Only Jesus, only Jesus

Only He can satisfy

All my burdens are turned to blessings

When I know my Lord is nigh.

If you are going through some affliction, may this chorus encourage your heart to keep trusting the Lord. This is true faith demonstrated when a man is soundly converted to Christ.

Romans 5:6-11 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.

Job had such a spiritual life. This was the spiritual dynamics of the inner man of Job.

The sixth blessing of being a child of God is joy in God. It describes an attitude of confidence in God, to rejoice in, glory in, boast in the stability of life with God. The psalmist testified of this joy in God as he made God the centre of his devotion:

Psalm 16:5-11 The LORD is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot. 6 The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage. 7 I will bless the LORD, who hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me in the night seasons. 8 I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. 9Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope. 10 For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. 11 Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

Life with God dispels fear and anxiety. We can trust in His care, provision and protection. When we are unable to rejoice in our circumstances, we can rejoice in the Lord under those circumstances. We can rest in His love and meditate upon His goodness. It brings strength to our soul.

Job was able to testify that his God is holy and just.

(2)The Wicked’s Certain Judgment (v27-34)

27Behold, I know your thoughts, and the devices which ye wrongfully imagine against me.

Matthew Henry observed well “Job opposes the opinion of his friends, which he saw they still adhered to, that the wicked are sure to fall into such visible and remarkable ruin as Job had now fallen into, and none but the wicked, upon which principle they condemned Job as a wicked man. “I know your thoughts,” says Job (v27); “I know you will not agree with me; for your judgments are tinctured and biassed by your piques and prejudices against me, and the devices which you wrongfully imagine againstmy comfort and honour: and how can such men be convinced?” 

 28For ye say, Where is the house of the prince? and where are the dwelling places of the wicked?

Job’s friends were ready to say, in answer to his discourse concerning the prosperity of the wicked, “Where is the house of the prince?(v28). Where is Job’s house, or the house of his eldest son, in which his children were feasting? Enquire into the circumstances of Job’s house and family, and then ask, Where are the dwelling-places of the wicked?and compare them together, and you will soon see that Job’s house is in the same predicament with the houses of tyrants and oppressors, and may therefore conclude that doubtless he was such a one.”

29Have ye not asked them that go by the way? and do ye not know their tokens, 30That the wicked is reserved to the day of destruction? they shall be brought forth to the day of wrath.

Have ye not asked them that go by the way? – Travelers, who have passed into other countries, and who have had an opportunity of making observations, and of learning the opinions of those residing there. The idea of Job is, that they might have learned from such travelers that such people were “reserved” for future destruction, and that calamity did not immediately overtake them. Information was obtained in ancient times by careful observation, and by traveling, and they who had gone into other countries would be highly regarded concerning point like this. They could speak of what they had observed of the actual dealings of God there, and of the sentiments of sages there. The idea is, that “they” would confirm the truth of what Job had said, that the wicked were often prosperous and happy.

And do ye not know their tokens – The signs, or intimations which they have given of the actual state of things in other countries, perhaps by the inscriptions, records, and proverbs, by which they had “signified” the result of their inquiries. [Barnes]

 31Who shall declare his way to his face? and who shall repay him what he hath done? 32Yet shall he be brought to the grave, and shall remain in the tomb. 33The clods of the valley shall be sweet unto him, and every man shall draw after him, as there are innumerable before him. 34How then comfort ye me in vain, seeing in your answers there remaineth falsehood? 

Who shall declare his way to his face? – That is, the face of the wicked. Who shall dare to rise up and openly charge him with his guilt? The idea is, that none would dare to do it, and that, therefore, the wicked man was not punished according to his character here, and was reserved to a day of future wrath.

And who shall repay him what he hath done? – The meaning is, that many wicked people lived without being punished for their sins. No one was able to recompense them for the evil which they had done, and consequently they lived in security and prosperity. Such were the tyrants and conquerors, who had made the world desolate. [Barnes]

Yet shall he be brought to the grave; rather, he moreover is borne(in pomp) to the grave. Even in death the advantage is still with the wicked man. He is borne in procession to the grave—a mausoleum or a family vault—by a long train of mourners, who weep and lament for him, and pay him funeral honours. The poor virtuous man, on the other hand, is hastily thrust under the soil. And shall remain in the tomb; or shall keep watch over his tomb. The allusion is probably to the custom, common certainly in Egypt and Phoenicia, of carving a figure of the deceased on the lid of his sarcophagus, to keep as it were watched over the remains deposited within. [Pulpit]